In Guillermo del Toro’s words: “ Shadow of a Doubt is one of the perfect Hitchcocks – the very first true American Gothic he made, and an eerie portrait of the world of the past being transformed by the touch of evil. But this was his finest hour, in what remains a terrific film. But he does ultimately play a heroic role, rescuing Wright from a gas-filled garage near the film’s close.Ĭronyn later appeared in Hitchcock’s Lifeboat and assisted with the screenplays to Rope and Under Capricorn. Were Herb to realise that he’s in the presence of a genuine killer, he’d probably explode with delight before running away in terror. These death-tinged exchanges remain sweetly innocent, with both men inhabiting a world where everyone knows everyone else’s business and doors are never locked. This infuriates Theresa Wright’s radiant Charlie, who eventually screams out “Can’t we have a little peace and quiet without dragging in poisons all the time?” Shadow of Doubt delves into competing theories of complex crimes, which find witnesses and suspects pointing the finger at each other. He’s invariably clutching a handful of tacky crime magazines and cheerily discusses the merits of different murder methods with Henry Travers’ equally unthreatening father. A maladroit, ageing manchild whose clothes never quite fit, he’s still living with his mother in the house next door. Hume Cronyn provides light relief as the shuffling Herb Hawkins, the crime-obsessed neighbour whose unwelcome intrusions punctuate the family gatherings.

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