Very, very solid. Suspense is the name of the game here. I gotta watch it again once I'm done with the entire Hitchock collection.

-A-

A+/A

A masterpiece. My favorite Hitchcock that I have seen so far and one of my favorite thrillers overall, I'm shocked at how much I loved this movie.

First of all, the characters in this film are just wonderful, you feel like you could know these people, all so life-like and enjoyable to watch... Hitchcock casted nobody aside in here.

Second of all, Cotton's Uncle Charlie has to be one of the best and most frightening on screen villians I have ever seen. This man is intelligent, he has depth, he believes what he is doing is the right thing, someone like Norman Bates is just off his rocker, but Uncle Charlie... man, he's frightening as hell, his mindset and the pure evil of him. The way he's seemingly such a good guy at the beginning, you almost think that he's wrongly accused in some scheme and the 2 guys following him are wrong, the audience is tricked into liking him at the beginning, and then of course when he makes his turn to one of the most twisted and evil characters in film history, not only is the family shocked at being played, but you are as well. When he looks at the camera and says "Are they?" when referring to the widows being human beings, it's one of the most chilling moments I have seen in film. The cocktail bar, the garage thing, when he drops his cigarette, what an amazing creation by Hitchcock. Joseph Cotton is incredible in the role as well.

Teresa Wright does a wonderful job of carrying the film, you never stop feeling and cheering for her, and the transformation throughout the film from innocent and bubbly at the beginning to cold at the end, perfect.

Hitchcock of course directs his ass off as always, the panning shots of Teresa in the library, the way he films the house, the expressions on Cotton's face, amazing.

It will most likely make my top 3 Hitchcock films when I get through them all (I also have the collection).

Funnily enough, this is probably my least favorite Hitchcock. Not a fan of Uncle Charlie - one of the least convincing villains Hitchcock has produced. By no means a bad effort (it's very good), I still found myself wanting more.

B+/A-

Really good thriller and very superbly directed by Hitchcock, who shows the great filmmaker he will soon become. some of the characters are somewhat naive, but there are some very great subtlties in here like the idea of incest and humor like the father and his friend constantly discussing murder. Uncle Charlie was certainly a great villian and his transgression was almost tragic as he seemed so likeable even in the end. The other characters are a little too unbelievable at times though, and there are certainly some plot nuances in here from making it one of his greats.

This is absolutely top-tier Hitchcock. The small-town American milieu he creates is completely absorbing and convincing, and the intimacy of the story and lack of technical gimmickry is a refreshing change from all the high-concept stuff he was tackling most of the time.

Shame about the title, though. If only they'd kept "The Merry Widow Murders"!