When two detectives come looking for him and disclose to young Charlie that her uncle is potentially a serial killer known as the “Merry Widow Murderer,” she begins to navigate to the bottom of who Uncle Charlie really is, trying not to destroy her family in the process. And, in a memorable scene at the family’s dinner table, he delivers a misogynistic rant about elderly widows, whom he sees as “fat, wheezing animals,” taking up space and hoarding their deceased husbands’ money. He gives her an expensive ring engraved with someone else’s initials. But young Charlie’s enthusiasm is quickly deflated when she notices some strange things about her beloved uncle: He hides pages of the newspaper and grows irate when she brings it up. The family is delighted to host him, and he charms their small town with his debonair ways. Her prayers for excitement are answered when she receives word that Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton), her mother’s brother and young Charlie’s namesake, is coming for an extended visit. Teresa Wright stars as Charlotte “Charlie” Newton, a teenage girl who has grown weary of the boredom and averageness of her nuclear family’s life.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943), allegedly the director's favorite of all his films, is a tense masterpiece, anchored by two tremendous lead performances.

Teresa wright shadow doubt