Joseph Cotten in Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

(This blog post is part of the Joseph Cotten Blogathon hosted by In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood)

Over the years Joseph Cotten played a wide array of roles, from heroes to villains to characters that fell somewhere in between. Perhaps the best known villainous role of his career was that of Charlie Oakley in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943). Not only was Charlie Oakley perhaps the best villain ever played by Joseph Cotten, but many would rank Charlie Oakley among the greatest villains ever portrayed on the silver screen.

Shadow of a Doubt centres on teenager Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (played by Teresa Wright), who is delighted when her Uncle Charlie Oakley comes to her hometown of Santa Rosa, California for a visit. Unfortunately, it turns out that Uncle Charlie is one of two suspects for being the "Merry Widow Murderer". Worse yet, as time passes it turns out Uncle Charlie and the Merry Widow Murderer are one and the same.

Shadow of a Doubt originated a story from Gordon McDonnell, the husband of Margaret McDonell, the head of David O. Selznick's story department, had. It was loosely based on real-life murderer Earle Nelson, who had committed a series of rapes and murders in the Twenties. The screenplay would benefit from the work of two legendary writers, Thornton Wilder (the author of the plays Our Town and Skin of Our Teeth) and Sally Benson (best known as the author of the anthologies Junior Miss and Meet Me in St. Louis). As on most Alfred Hitchcock films, Hitchcock's wife Alma also worked on the screenplay.

Shadow of a Doubt was largely filmed on location in Santa Rosa, with the opening scenes filmed in the Central Ward of Newark, New Jersey. Many of the buildings used in the film are still standing, including the Newton family's house and the railroad station (although it is now a visitor centre). 

Shadow of a Doubt benefited from a sterling cast. Teresa Wright, who had begun her career as an understudy to Dorothy McGuire and Martha Scott for the role of Emily in Our Town, was ideal for the role of Charlie Newton. Henry Travers as Young Charlie's father Joseph and Hume Cronyn (in his screen debut) as the Newton's neighbour Herbie Hawkins, were perfect in their roles as two characters obsessed with true crime stories. Macdonald Carey did a great job as Detective Jack Graham, who was in charge of investigating the Merry Widow Murders. Of course, aside from Teresa Wright, Shadow of a Doubt was very much Joseph Cotten's film. As Charlie Oakley, Joseph Cotten gave one of the greatest performances of his career. Mr. Cotten's Uncle Charlie was at the same time sympathetic and sinister. It is hard not to root for Uncle Charlie, even once one realises that he is pure evil. 

Critics were unanimous in their praise for Shadow of a Doubt, praising both Alfred Hitchcock and the movie's cast. It has maintained its reputation as one of Alfred Hitchcock's best films ever since. It currently holds a score of 100% at the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. Despite its critical acclaim, upon its initial release Shadow of a Doubt only did moderately well at the box office. It was far from a flop at the box office, but it was also far from a box office smash as well. Fortunately, audiences have since discovered Shadow of a Doubt, to where it is one of Alfred Hitchcock's best loved films.

Of course, Shadow of a Doubt not only remains one of Alfred Hitchcock's best loved films, but it also gives us one of Joseph Cotten's best performance. It was certainly his best role as a villain.