Instead of being a picture of decadence and decay she is soul-searching, worrying about the health and well-being of her mother and trying to discuss issues that fly over her father’s head. This is the daughter of Charlie’s sister, also named Charlie. This is Charlie Oakley’s niece a radiant young woman (wonderfully … I mean WONDERFULLY played by Teresa Wright) who also lies on a bed at (we suspect) the same time her namesake uncle was laying on the bed. Hitchcock then moves to the “all-American” family home to which he is headed and we see another figure laying on the bed. He buys expensive gifts, sends a telegram and he is on his way. What is interesting is that in order to escape, he gets the idea of running to his sisters home, a woman who adores him but he hasn’t visited in years. His reaction and sudden departure are no surprise to us. We know instantly that Charlie Oakley is guilty. The house keeper comes in and naively treats him with maternal fussiness, till she reveals two men where in the house earlier asking after him. ![]() When we are first introduced to Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) he languishes in apartment number 13, sleeping in the day, surrounded by money and empty booze bottles. The film is a thriller but we know from the start who the villain is. The plot centres around a duality and the horrifying time it takes for one party to see they are the reflection of another who is the very embodiment of evil. Two detectives, sisters and brothers husbands and wives, uncles and nieces, two girls, two families, and so on. ![]() In this film no one is singular, everyone comes in a pair. Shadow of a doubt is an early Hitchcock piece of masterful film making (1943) primarily around the theme of doubles, or twos, a theme Hitchcock would re visit many times over in future films.
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