I liked Cotton's performance a lot...the longer you're in the movie, the creepier he gets.

Theresa Wright is very sexy

Famously Hitchcock's favorite film of his. It's not mine, but the more I think about it, the more I like it. It grows on you. Joseph Cotten plays dashing young Uncle Charlie who returns to his innocent and friendly home town where Teresa Wright's young Charlie (his niece Charlotte), who initially admires him, begins to suspect he's not the man she thinks he is. It's a tour de force in creating a relatable villain that creeps you out as much as he does his niece the more things come to light. Like her, you're holding out hope it's all a big misunderstanding, and I'm not saying if it is or not. Meant as the invasion of corruption into naive small-town America, the setting will make it seem rather un-Hitchcockian at first, and perhaps that's why it takes a while to really get into it. As with Saboteur, lots of interesting characters to sink one's teeth into. I could take or leave the precocious little girl, but the uptight mom is a delight, as are the two older gentlemen whose favorite topic of discussion is how they would murder one another without getting caught. Great macabre humor.