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.
