A Shadow Of A Doubt Scene Analysis

I chose to discuss the second scene from A Shadow of a Doubt (Alfred Hitchcock, 1943), out of the three options. This scene was very important to the film as a whole. Charlie now knows what her uncle did and why he has come to town and it shows her reaction and him realizing that she has figured it out and trying to convince her it is not true. This scene sets up what is about to take place for the remainder of the film.
Within a scene, everything is carefully thought out and serves a purpose. These elements that make up a scene are called Mise-en-scéne. The biggest purpose is to give the audience a sense of realism and further suspend their disbelief. For example, the props, costumes, makeup, lighting, setting, etc. are all chosen to seem natural so that

Along with the composition of each shot, Hitchcock does this through the editing of these shots together. He uses one of the most common styles called continuity editing. This style is meant to be invisible so that the viewers to do not notice cuts from shot to shot. It is meant to flow naturally. It can be seen in the scene from A Shadow of a Doubt when cuts are made during moments of action. For example, the camera changes positions as Charlie moves down the street. The scene appears to flow at the speed of real time and follow the same two characters, not jumping back and forth between two different settings. This style of editing makes the shots appear to be continuous to the viewers.
A Shadow of a Doubt is a great example of an earlier film and is a very important piece in our country’s history of film. Alfred Hitchcock was a wonderful director and producer who will continue to be remembered for his great creations in film. He used many different techniques, including Classical Hollywood style and structure, to develop this film into what it is, and can be used as a great example when learning about those