Shadow of a doubt 1943 script1/20/2024 ![]() Some of his finest acting can be seen in the William Wyler drama "Mrs. That approach to the role was not relegated only to Capra's film many of Travers's performances are similar in tone, though serious drama was not outside of his reach. And, of course, it's all done in pure Hitchcockian style.A veteran of the English stage, actor Henry Travers came to Hollywood in the early 1930s and is best known as Clarence the guardian angel from Frank Capra's classic film "It's a Wonderful Life." The relaxed demeanor and bemused whimsy of Travers's angel, who hopes to earn his wings by helping a depressed and suicidal James Stewart to find the true worth of being alive, helped make the film a beloved holiday favorite. Through narrow escapes and a climactic scene aboard a speeding train, this witty thriller strips away the façade of small-town tranquility to reveal evil where it's least expected. But the film's chilling prologue has already revealed Uncle Charlie's true identity as the notorious Merry Widow Murderer, and the suspense grows almost unbearable when young Charlie's trust gives way to gradual dread and suspicion. Charlie was named after her favorite uncle, who has just arrived for an extended visit, and at first Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) gets along famously with his admiring niece. ![]() That's where young Charlie (Teresa Wright) lives with her parents and two younger siblings, and where murder is little more than a topic of morbid conversation for their mystery-buff neighbor (Hume Cronyn). Scripted by playwright Thornton Wilder and inspired by the actual case of a 1920's serial killer known as "The Merry Widow Murderer," the movie sets a tone of menace and fear by introducing a psychotic killer into the small-town comforts of Santa Rosa, California. Alfred Hitchcock considered this 1943 thriller to be his personal favorite among his own films, and although it's not as popular as some of Hitchcock's later work, it's certainly worthy of the master's admiration. ![]()
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