Amazon.com Essentials:
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. 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. 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). 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. 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. 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. And,
of course, it's all done in pure Hitchcockian style. --Jeff
Shannon
