SPOILER DISCUSSION

1.The opening basically tells us the detectives are after the “Merry Widow” killer due to the name of the waltz which dissolves into them as they look for Uncle Charlie. It’s a fantastic start which introduces us to both the waltz as a refrain while revealing the nature of the true crime being investigated.

2. I love how the conversation between Ann and Joseph near the start of the movie illustrates exactly why everyone is so bad at figuring out that Uncle Charlie is responsible for so many issues; it’s because no one is focused on chivalric virtues or ideas anymore. Ann points out that no one reads them anymore (she reads Ivanhoe as opposed to her father) in favor of mysteries, but her dad constantly interrupts her as she tries to explain this which is telling. It’s hinted that Ann figures out that something is going on with her uncle as her mom and dad both never figure it out.

3.Charlie mentions that she has a psychic connection with her Uncle and calls them twins when he gives her the ill-fated ring. He hears the “Merry Widow” waltz in his head due to his guilt, but Charlie starts humming it because of her connection to him. She even comments on it talking about how once you hear a tune you yourself can’t stop humming it and talks about how tunes jump from person to person; in this case, the tune jumped from mind to mind.

4.I love the scene of Uncle Charlie trying to get rid of the newspaper evidence. First and foremost, it’s his suspicious activity that lead Charlie on his trail. If he never tried to hide the paper and then draw additional attention to it by calling the children, it’s likely that no one would have found out he was hiding something.

The moment is even better because he builds a paper thin house that can’t hold up. It’s a perfect analogy for his influence on the Newton house itself, a symbol for suburban America in general. His lies are a paper-thin foundation that will eventually collapse in on themselves. The story he sells as his own is filled with glaring holes.

5. Herb and Joseph’s conversations demonstrate the fantastical nature of the story. The murder plots they describe as being easy to carry out are not only play enacted by Herb (the drink spiking) reinforcing the point, but also demonstrate the fragility between “reality” and “fantasy”. Uncle Charlie’s plots are more ridiculous (ex: his attempt to poison Charlie with carbon monoxide) but happen without the police or his family, sans Charlie, being any wiser because they operate within the one of the “fantasies” of the movie.

6.It makes sense that the only of Uncle Charlie is from his childhood. It’s the first time before his accident, the moment we’re supposed to take as the start of his disillusionment with the world around him. Furthermore, everyone around him treats him like the “youngest child” of the family because the only memory they have of him is of being in that state.

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7. There are two moments where Charlie walks with a possible partner in “marriage”: 1.When she walks with Uncle Charlie upon his arrival 2. When she walks with Jack to show him around the town. During both excursions, she’s noticed by her friends who recognize her partner as a possible romantic relation. Uncle Charlie represents a commitment to the underside of the dream while Jack represents the top of it; in other words, one man is a path to unlawfulness and the other one is a path to legality. Given Uncle Charlie’s placement of the ring on the inverted marriage hand and finger and Jack’s desire to actually marry Charlie, this comparison becomes more apt (not to mention the hidden possibility of incest that the movie hints at repeatedly making that comparison less about symbolic marriage and more about literal).

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8. There are three moments where Charlie walks across the street where the police officer stands; this is an extension of her house and represents the fantasy of the rule of law. The first time she walks across happily with her Uncle Charlie. She is unaware of the truth the fantasy hides. The second time she runs down to the library and gets chastised for breaking the law. The faux protection by the police can’t protect her from figuring out the truth; the fantasy crumbles. Finally, she goes down with her uncle chasing after her. This time both of them are aware of the “truth” and put up an act in front of the police, keeping up the façade of the lawful fantasy.

9. The majority of the movie sees the characters going to wholesome locations like the library or the bank; these are places of repute and legitimacy. It’s only when Charlie is fully aware of what her uncle has been doing that the two of them go to the bar; a seedy location meant for adults. This location isn’t out of place for a film-noir, yet its introduction feels so jarring. That’s using genre for effect. Digression aside, this is why Charlie’s classmates statements are so horrific. They take on the same feeling as Herb and Joseph’s conversations about murder; they describe a morbid reality that’s only a few shades off from the real world.

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10.The moment where Charlie finally gets to the bottom of what Uncle Charlie did is fantastic. The second refrain to the waltz is used in a dissolve. The camera cranes upward after Charlie looks at the paper revealing her enormously large shadow. Now she knows without a shadow of a doubt that her uncle is a criminal. As she looks one direction, the refrain is used to dissolve to a shot of Uncle Charlie walking in the opposite direction. Now that the reveal has been set, the parties are now set to fight as they’re no longer on the same side.

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11.The third refrain occurs near the end of the movie when Uncle Charlie decides to kill Charlie on the train. As he grabs her the camera shows the couples’ hands and feet. If we didn’t have context we could almost guess the two were dancing. It’s only once this deadly dance ends, as uncle Charlie’s body is destroyed by the oncoming train, that the refrain dissolves into the frame once again; now the “dance” is complete and Uncle Charlie’s story is finished.

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12.Uncle Charlie’s monologue regarding widowed women as being no better than diseased animals is chilling and reminds the audience of the depravity of the seemingly kind uncle. Hitchcock’s decision to not cut to Charlie’s questions during her uncle’s unending vitriol and then back to him demonstrates how deep his hatred cuts; it’s so incorrigible that nothing can interrupt it.

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13.When Charlie goes to her garage with Jack, her face is covered with shadows while the rest of her is surrounded by light. Given that she’s at a crossroads at what to genuinely do with her uncle, it makes sense that her very figure is caught between shades of light. It’s only when Jack mentions that he’s in love with her and then draws her forward that she laughs and becomes covered in light. Their love is capable of sustaining the “proper” dream in spite of everything around them (this is akin to the way Blue Velvet’s Jeffrey and Sandy have a relationship that serves a similar function) . However, it’s at this moment that the garage door closes. The light is put out by a shadow which overwhelms everything.

We (and Charlie) obviously know that it’s Uncle Charlie who’s responsible. He stands outside acting innocent and then constantly references the garage door to the couple, getting Jack to exclaim that the garage closed on itself. It’s a seemingly innocuous comment, but it’s set-up for Uncle Charlie’s carbon dioxide killing method. He’s had the “law” accept that the garage door can close on its own, so someone dying in the garage as it remains unable to open seems believable, especially within the logic of the fantas(ies) the movie employs.

14. One of the most interesting parts of the story is the seemingly unmentioned tale of Ann. We get to hear her at the start of the film and know that she’s a voracious reader and happens to know a host of facts. Thus, we can assume that she’s fairly intelligent. This comes into play near the mid-point of the film when she asks Emma if she, Ann, can change seats with Robert so as to be further away from Uncle Charlie. This happens the day after Charlie herself has learned the truth about Uncle Charlie and we know as per Ann’s comments, privacy is hard to come by when sharing a room. It reasons to say then that Ann discerned something was up about Uncle Charlie despite not knowing the full story.

This story thread is brought to our attention again when Detective Saunders (Wallace Ford )mentions that he’s been talking to Ann to get even more information. Once again we don’t know what she’s been saying or what Saunders has gleamed, but it’s hinted that she may or may not know something. Nothing is ever made certain nor is the story thread that apparent if you’re not thinking about it, but it’s a neat detail that demonstrates that Uncle Charlie’s aura is corrupting even if in an indirect sense.

15.Though the detectives only describe the Newton’s as an “all-American” family as a façade to get into Uncle Charlie’s photograph, the moniker is important as a symbol. The movie is about the deconstruction of the American dream. That’s why it happens in a quaint American suburb with a conventional American family. Hitchcock uses the ploy to draw our attention to just how normal the family is. This idea is brought to its comedic extreme when the detectives pretend like they’re genuinely interested in taking a photo of Emma baking an apple-pie; that’s the quintessential American desert.

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16.The house is a battleground and the status of which Charlie is winning can always be ascertained based on who has the high ground. In other words, the one who “owns” the staircase is the victor. When the family first greets Uncle Charlie, they all come into the house through the front door; they are all engaged in the lawful fantasy. Later on when the detectives come, Uncle Charlie and Charlie enter through the front but the former leaves through the back. The detectives predict he’ll do the same because he has something to hide. As he comes back from the back of the house, the “illicit” doorway, Charlie begins to suspect his identity.

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She begins to avoid her uncle due to this suspicion, choosing to use the back door. In other words, engaging in dishonest behavior instead of embracing the “fantasy”. This back path becomes Charlie’s main route of transport, as she seeks to constantly avoid her uncle due to increased understanding of the situation. It’s only after the confrontation with her uncle at the bar that she finally acquiesces to the lawful fantasy and enters the front of the house. She can’t rupture her mother’s tranquility and so must accept the fantasy she knows is a lie.

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After Uncle Charlie and Charlie hear the news about the “killer” being caught, the former goes up the stairs and talks about how he’s relieved. However, he realizes that now his gig is up. Charlie has no reason to give him any more time at the Newton household because now he no longer has any worries. Despite being at the top of the stairs, he has no power because he’s been denied access to the proper fantasy. As he looks down, the camera cuts to Charlie in control. She’s in the light and her shadow is cast. She confronts her uncle at the top of the back entrance after his first murder attempt which happened at the same location; unable to killer her even in his domain. This time he’s fully encased in the shadows as a light shines on her. She will no longer allow his corruption to enter the house in any fashion. Given their position as “psychic twins”, her threat to kill him is one that cannot be ignored. This is why Uncle Charlie acts again, this time with far more urgency in his second attempt.

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He walks down the stairs confident that this time he’s finally won. Unfortunately for him, Charlie survives and enters the house from the front, this time ready to render things “normal” again. As he leaves for his speech, she fights to take control. First, she attempts to locate Jack; the law should be able to nullify the illegal. However, she is unable to find him. The realization that the fantasy is just a fantasy, not something to be relied upon hits her as she’s framed from a canted angle with the stairs domineering over her. The fantasy cannot grant control; it is merely a frame that encapsulates. With this knowledge, she finally goes up the stairs to find the ring and end the charade once and for all. She has the final move as she walks down the stairs, ring on hand, this time restoring the fantasy by her own hand.

17. When Charlie first meets Uncle Charlie after having gone to church, the latter mentions that Church is a “show”. He’s surprised that people are going to it. That makes sense given his sense of rampant nihilism. He has no faith in the world or any possibility of goodness within it, so the idea of a benevolent God is impossible for him – a fundamental incompatibility with an American Dream that holds “one God above all.”

This makes the ending a painful irony as the Church (and town) hold a service for him, re-writing him as a hero upholding the best of their values. If they knew the truth after all he did, they would lose faith in the fundamental fantasy or at least become deeply troubled with it as Charlie is by the end.