A Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Teresa Wright stars as Charlotte “Charlie” Newton, a young woman that feels lost in the banality of life. In desperation, she telegraphs her beloved uncle Charlie (Cotten), who she has been named after, in hopes he will free them from their “rut”. Little does she know that her Uncle has already planned an escape to come visit as well as to disrupt life as she knows it.

The Mystery

Before we meet young Charlie, we first meet older Charlie. He lays in a hotel bed awake, fiddling with a cigar next to money that has spilled out out of an open wallet onto the floor. The hotel attendant enters to inform him that two men are looking for him.

Before he makes his escape, he breaks a glass and walks to the window where the two men stand in waiting. He thinks to himself, “What do you know? You’re bluffing. You’ve nothing on me. An almost clear confession of guilt.

We soon learn that he is one of two potential suspects for a serial killer, known as the “Merry Widow Murderer”. It is a nationwide man hunt for a killer that targets widowed women. The suspect kills them and steals their jewelry and cash on hand. Leaving almost no trace behind them.

At first, Charlie’s guilt is almost too obvious. The angle must be that he is actually innocent and there is a “shadow of a doubt” still about his innocence. However, as time goes on, that shadow gets slimmer and slimmer. He makes almost no attempt to hide his guilt as he plays cat and mouse with detectives.

So what is the mystery? Clues pop up throughout the film from characters that are outside of the primary plot. The question is posed by Herbie Hawkins, played by Hume Cronyn. Hawkins is the neighbor and family friend. He periodically stops by for dinner and stays to discuss his pastime, crime fiction, with young Charlie’s father, Joseph Newton (Travers). The current topic of their discussion is, what is the best method for killing someone and getting away with it?

The real mystery is not about older Charlie’s guilt. It is about being able to get away with murder, about who will survive, and about the relationship between young Charlie and older Charlie.

Young Charlie discovers that the detectives are after her uncle for murder, a discovery yet to be revealed to the rest of her family. A second game of cat and mouse begins between the two Charlies. The emerging mystery surrounding what will happen to them. Will the older Charlie get caught? Can young Charlie avoid being the next victim? What would be the best way to kill someone and get away with it?

The Dilemma

Young Charlie feels like an ordinary person living an ordinary life. Perhaps she is bored, perhaps she is just looking for meaning. She feels that the people are the problem, not the circumstance. That they need a spark to get out of the rut. She is also dismissive of the fact that her father got a raise, money isn’t the answer. Charlie specifically wants to do something to show appreciation for her mother, get her a new hat or do something special for her to show her appreciation.

Older Charlie despises women, a misogynist. His hatred is focused on widowers and his remedy is murder. He too feels that there is a problem with people. He does not see it as people being in a rut needing to create meaning to save their souls. Instead he see’s people, specifically older rich women, as a pestilence on society that needs to be extinguished.

Uncle Charlie: …And what do the wives do, these useless women? You see them in the hotels, the best hotels, every day by the thousands, drinking their money, eating their money, losing the money at bridge, playing all day and all night, smelling of money, proud of their jewelry but of nothing else, horrible, faded, fat, greedy women.

Young Charlie: But they’re alive. They’re human beings.

Uncle Charlie: Are they?

Older Charlie accuses young Charlie of living in a dream and being naive. This is true in the sense that she is young and transitioning out of adolescence. Childhood and its innocence and lack of responsibility quickly shifts once you finish High School and transition to the next phase of life.

We witness young Charlie beginning to grapple with this existential shift. It seems as if the story could almost be viewed as older Charlie being a figment of her imagination. Her desire to have older Charlie come visit is an attempt to find safety in memories of her youth; a grounding. The Charlie that visits her brings a clear message. You can’t go back. Older Charlie is the manifestation of her existential crisis. She must reject her naive perspectives on life and people and embrace the next phase of her life. A phase where you must be responsible for yourself, decide what to do with your life, and learn how to remain safe in a world that might be out to get you. For young Charlie, the next steps lead her to a love interest and the path to her life outside of her parents house. Older Charlie almost leaves to remain a threat, but young Charlie is able to kill him and peacefully continue on with her life.

The Merry Widow

The killer at large, known as the “Merry Widow Murderer” is also alluded to in other ways. The moniker is also a reference to the late 19th century play and early 20th century opera, The Merry Widow. The score for the opera features the tune “The Merry Widow Waltz” composed by Franz Lehár. The tune is often whistled by older Charlie. The tune becomes a clue for young Charlie as she begins to believe her infallible uncle may in fact be the killer at large.

Teresa Wright

Teresa Wright does an excellent job in her portrayal of Charlie Newton. By design, the character has a measured shift from blind naivete to a guarded skeptic. Wright is able to maintain the essence of Charlie as she makes the shift throughout the story. This helps keep Charlie grounded in reality and relatable until the end. We want to be whimsical and trustworthy like the initial state of Charlie, but over time we learn that you must always be prepared to be skeptical and able to discern when things may not be what they appear.

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Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Cinematography: Joseph A. Valentine

Written by: Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, & Alma Reville

Story by: Gordon McDonell

Editing By: Milton Carruth

Starring: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey, Henry Travers, Patricia Collinge, & Hume Cronyn.

Runtime: 1h 48m

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Film Noir, Thriller

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

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