3. Joseph Cotten As Charlie Oakley In Shadow Of A Doubt (1943)
Described by Hitch himself as his favorite Hitchcock film, Shadow of a Doubt has fallen out of favor to become a "second tier" Hitchcock movie, alongside other greats like Dial M For Murder. And while not as widely seen as Psycho, North by Northwest or Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt succeeds by having one of the most evil Hitchcock villains in Charlie Oakley. Charlie is the uncle of Charlotte (who goes by "Charlie"), played by Teresa Wright from Pride of the Yankees. Older Charlie, who had long been absent in the life of his sister and her family, returns for a visit after a series of unknown events. He comes bearing gifts for the family, including expensive-looking jewelry for his lovely young niece. She is ecstatically grateful for her gift, and the two share their first of many awkwardly incestuous moments together in the kitchen. As more light is shed on where Charlie has been in the recent past and why there are multiple detectives following him, Joseph Cotten, perhaps best known for his role in Citizen Kane, gets the opportunity to put on an evil villain acting clinic. When he's not making thinly veiled threats at his niece who adores him and perhaps even has a psychic connection with him, he's actively trying to suffocate her in her own garage. In the final moments of the film, Cotten portrays the true pathos of the character, successfully creating a truly legendary screen villain. Keep an eye out for Oldboy director Park Chan-wook's new film Stoker, which looks like it could be a thematic sequel to Shadow of a Doubt.