The 23rd Best All Time Film

(8th Pre-1973) 

Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 

Hitchcock ranked this as his favorite of his own films. I find it to be his fourth best. In any case, it is likely the most overlooked of his many masterpieces. The story is great, the symbolism consistent and powerful, the direction always in control. It is a horrible crime story but told in a way that keeps all of the horror just under the surface. And, it is an effective exposé of the way communities hide the rotten, sinful underbelly that curses all of humanity. We like to pretend that it isn’t there, but denial just allows it to thrive.