31 Days of Oscar: Shadow of a Doubt

Alfred Hitchcock's personal favorite among his own films, this taut little thriller (an obvious precursor to David Lynch's Blue Velvet) stars a terrific Teresa Wright as the plucky Charlotte Newton, a rare Hitchcock heroine facing evil on her own.

Known as "Charlie", Wright's character suspects that her favorite uncle/namesake Uncle Charlie (a cast-against-type Joseph Cotton) is a serial killer. That the Oscar nominated story unfolds against the backdrop of a typical small American town makes it all the more chillingly effective.

Shadow of a Doubt airs at 7:30 AM EST tomorrow on Turner Classic Movies.