Nov. 06, 2002 - 3:05 pm
what's this? an Alfred Hitchcock film on the National Film Registry list starring Teresa Wright? awesome combination there. apparently this was Hitchcock's favorite film. interesting choice, and probably one that we wouldn't expect. this film also stars Joseph Cotten who you'll hopefully remember from Citizen Kane (1941) and half of Orson Welles' other films.
we start out seeing Uncle Charlie on the run from some people and quickly catching a train to Santa Rosa, where his sweet and mild-mannered family lives. at the time they were thinking about asking him to come and visit them anyway, but he beats them to it. the smartest and most perceptive member of the family is the twenty-year-old daughter, Charlie, who was named after her uncle. she feels a special connection to her uncle and feels as though they're sort of twins in a way. there's almost a sort of romance between them that remains unspoken throughout the film. later on she begins to realize that he's hiding something from them all. when the papers begin to tell of a murderer who might be hiding out nearby and the cops start knocking at their door looking for a man fitting the description of her uncle, Charlie starts to ask her uncle all sorts of questions. it starts to look like her perceptiveness may be getting her into a bit too much trouble.
i know i've commented on Teresa Wright on here before and her other films in the 40s. wonderful actress and she's so sweet, it's great sitting back and watching her. it was interesting to see Joseph Cotten as a villain of sorts in this film. really quite different from his character in Citizen Kane, but he plays it so flawlessly.
the dialogue in this film is great. there are lots of hidden meanings behind words and phrases, in the same way that the possible evil residing in the Uncle Charlie character remains slightly hidden throughout the film. it's interesting to find a film that can actually keep you somewhat second-guessing your first instinct about a character in the vivid way that this film does. definitely worth a look. 7/10.