Oscar Noir: Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943) might not be the first film that comes to mind when considering the Film Noir genre, but it certainly embodies the themes and nuances of Hollywood’s dark drama. Co-written by Americana connoisseur Thornton Wilder, Shadow deliberates on the naïve beliefs of a small-town girl named Charlie (Teresa Wright). Charlie’s bored with her picturesque but simple little world, and yearns for some excitement…the kind of excitement her favorite Uncle Charlie (who she’s named for) sees on a daily basis. Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton) is a traveler of the world. He’s rich, he’s charming and – though she may not know it – a little bit dangerous.


It could be argued that Uncle Charlie’s “danger” is precisely the excitement that draws the younger Charlie in, but that isn’t really the point...yet. For all these reasons and then some, the younger Charlie adores her uncle. He is her hero. And when he comes to town to visit, she’s eager for his presence to spice up her dull life.

Of course what WE know – what we learn upon his very introduction – is that Uncle Charlie is a man on the run. We don’t really know why, but we know he is a bad man. And with this knowledge we dreadfully anticipate the shattering of younger Charlie’s innocent naivety.

Retro Review: Psycho (1960)

Fifty years.

For fifty years, countless films have tried to emulate its formula with varying degrees of success. For fifty years, its scenes have been dissected to the point where they became separate entities. For fifty years, the screaming close-up shot of Janet Leigh's face has become the de facto cover photo for every book about horror film. For fifty years, reviews, articles, and theses have been psychoanalysing the Freud out of it. With its ubiquitous existence in the film canon, what can I write that hasn't been written already? Nothing, really. But I'm going to anyway.