SHADOW OF A DOUBT

Shadow of a Doubt is a 1943 American psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson and Alma Reville, and starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotton.

The story follows Charlotte “Charlie” Newton and her family who live a quiet life in northern California. An unexpected visit by Charles Oakley, Charlie’s charming and sophisticated uncle, brings much excitement to the family and the town.  That excitement slowly turns to fear as young Charlie begins to suspect that her uncle may be concealing a dark secret and that her life may be in danger.

In 1962, over the course of a week, François Truffaut interviewed Hitchcock for more than 50 hours. These interviews became the seminal book Hitchcock/Truffaut, revealing Hitchcock’s creative process and philosophy on filmmaking. Hitchcock said that once he had the skeleton of the story for Shadow of a Doubt, he asked Wilder to write the screenplay. “…the reason I wanted Wilder is that he had written a wonderful play called ‘Our Town.’”  Working with Wilder clearly had an impact on Hitchcock who acknowledged him, unusually, in the main credits. Hitchcock said “it was an emotional gesture; I was touched by his qualities.”

Patricia Hitchcock later confirmed, on multiple occasions, that Shadow of a Doubt was her father’s favorite film.  

In 1991, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.  

FROM THE ARCHIVES