Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 7: Shadow of a Doubt

Shadow of a Doubt

• Screen Guild Theater (May 24, 1943): starring Deanna Durbin and Joseph Cotten (reprised his film role).
• Lux Radio Theater (January 3, 1944): starring William Powell and Teresa Wright (reprised her film role).
• Academy Award (September 11, 1946): starring Joseph Cotten (reprised his film role), June Vincent and Jeff Chandler.
• Screen Guild Theater (June 21, 1948): starring Joseph Cotten (reprised his film role) and Vanessa Brown.
• Ford Theater (February 18, 1949): starring Ann Blythe and Ray Milland.
• Screen Director's Playhouse (November 9, 1950): starring Cary Grant and Betsy Drake (Grant's wife).

Shadow of a Doubt is one of Alfred Hitchcock's finest films. Although it plays to many familiar themes in other pictures (such people idly speculating about murder), the unique emphasis on a small town environment makes it one of his freshest films as well. I'm very fond of it; the many radio adaptations are interesting to visit.

Given that Joseph Cotten was very busy on the radio it's surprising that he wasn't in all of these adaptations. Notably, the only one where Teresa Wright repeated her role (Lux Radio Theater) had William Powell instead of Cotten. Powell's okay in the part, but very different from Cotten.

But while they're mostly very good, I have to call out the Screen Director's Playhouse for being a rubbish adaptation on several fronts: there's all sorts of additions to the story, like a recurring nursery rhyme instead of the 'Merry Widow waltz'; Cary Grant plays Cotten's part far too obviously - he had no subtlety in his performance and was far too menacing in his dialogue; Betsy Drake was wrong in Teresa Wright's role, although 5 years younger than Wright, Drake's voice is too harsh; finally, the climax is very different, occurring in the home instead of on a train. Notably, Alfred Hitchcock did not host this episode, as he normally did (he even hosted for Mr. and Mrs. Smith!). It's a very disappointing piece of radio.