Hitchcock | Shadow of a Doubt (1942)

Shadow of a Doubt (1942)
written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, Alma Reville and Gordon McDonell

Hitchcock would often claim this film to be his personal favorite. It is in the IMDb's top 250 highest rated movies. I just don't see it. This is -- no doubt -- a good film, but I can't imagine it making my personal top ten of Hitchcock flicks by the end of this project.

There were several parts of the film I just couldn't buy. The romance between Young Charlie and Detective Graham felt horribly tacked on. It seemingly arose out of nowhere and existed merely to check a box on the list of "things a Hollywood picture needs." I also had a hard time with Young Charlie's reluctance to turn her uncle in for fear of breaking her mother's heart. Even after Uncle Charlie tries to kill her twice, she does nothing but tell him to leave town. Her mother's feelings are more important than her own life? Quite the daughter.

Other than that, it's a nice film. (7/10)

Watched the region 1 DVD released by Universal in 2006. Nice transfer and a nice documentary.