Apparently you have to love Hitchcock to love "Shadow of a Doubt," judging from the comments in this forum. I'm no Hitchcock aficionado, but I did come to the picture with enough knowledge of his work to expect interesting filmmaking, great performances, smart dialogue and masterful suspense. I was disappointed on every count. The directing itself has some nice touches, but overall it's a bit ham-handed, as are the performances--especially from the youngest daughter, whose work here is laughably bad (though that's understandable as she was no professional--but couldn't the DIRECTOR have coaxed a better performance out of her?). My favorite parts were the performances of the young Hume Cronyn, and of Travers. Cronyn is excellent here, outacting Cotten turn for turn. Worst of all is the dialogue--unrealistic and exaggerated. This is a picture very much of its day. It's worth seeing, to be sure, but it's no masterpiece.
Review of Shadow of a Doubt
