Charlie's sister mentions how his personality had changed after the accident (getting into mischief), which is what happened with Nelson, who soon began to commit burglaries.īefore leaving for the west coast Charlie leaves his room and turns to follow his landlady. Earle Nelson, the serial killer on whom this story is loosely based, suffered from extremely serious mental illness which, along with his history of occipital headaches, was attributed to a near-fatal bicycle accident in his childhood in which he was seriously struck on the back of the head. In a 1959 interview, Teresa Wright said that this was her favorite movie.Īlfred Hitchcock wanted William Powell to play Uncle Charlie, but MGM refused to loan him out, so the role went to Joseph Cotten.Īlfred Hitchcock had wanted either Joan Fontaine or Olivia de Havilland for the role of Young Charlie, but they were unavailable.Ĭharlie's sister mentions that he'd had an accident on a bicycle when he was a boy. In his interview with François Truffaut on 'Shadow' (first published in 1967), Alfred Hitchcock said the dense, black smoke belching from the train that brings Charles Oakley to Santa Rosa was a deliberate symbol of imminent evil.Īlfred Hitchcock said that part of why he considered this to be his favorite movie was that he loved the idea of bringing menace to an otherwise idyllic small town. But in the audio interview with Truffaut, Hitchcock confirmed it was his favourite film, and later reiterated that Shadow of a Doubt was his favorite film in his interview with Mike Douglas in 1969 and in his interview with Dick Cavett in 1972. When later interviewed by François Truffaut, Hitchcock denied the suggestion that Shadow of a Doubt was his 'favourite'.

Hitchcock, most critics have always considered Shadow of a Doubt, which you made in 1943, as your finest film.' Hitchcock replied immediately, 'Me too.' Markle then asked, 'That is your opinion of it still?' Hitchcock replied, 'Oh, no question.' At the time, Hitchcock's most recent work was Marnie. In a 1964 interview on Telescope with host Fletcher Markle, Markle noted, 'Mr. The film was also Alfred Hitchcock's favorite of all of his films. In 1991, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story for Gordon McDonell.

Gordon mcdonell shadow of a doubt