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eelb — 12 years ago(January 15, 2014 02:53 AM)
Young Charley has led a sheltered upbringing, with many boring men in her life. Witness the Hume Cronym character, who is roughly young Charley's age, and his appearance and behavior. Uncle Charley is the only charismatic man that has been in her life. Obviously a role model for her of the kind of man she would desire. I don't think her admiration for him quite reaches the level of her desiring him sexually, but it's certainly not too far off.
As for Uncle Charley, I don't think he's sexually driven. If he was, his nefarious plans would've included something other than murder. Given her hotness, most psychos would plan something a little more interesting to include in her demise. Maybe if it wasn't 1943, Hitchcock could have gotten away with something a little more adventuresome in that regard. But the film gives no indication Uncle Charley is motivated by sex.
It's interesting when the young detective enters the picture, that he also is an attractive man of more worldly experiences, that young Charley finds appealing. He comes with the excitement of Uncle Charley, but with a moral compass, and minus the psychotic behavior. Also, his entry into her life, coincides with her realization of Uncle Charley's dark side. -
red_rackham_77 — 13 years ago(March 30, 2013 09:17 AM)
It seemed a bit incestuous between Charlie and Charlie (very twisted but I loved it) the scene where he looked at Charlie and the detective talking, his hands looked like he wanted to strangle someone. Either the detective or Charlie to keep her from getting taken by someone, you know "If I can't have her no one will".
I loved this movie, it is the perfect thriller movie with a twisted villian and his "innocent love". -
mmcaravaggio — 12 years ago(September 26, 2013 05:33 PM)
It's cute that he is given her bed to sleep in. Why not? Then he walks to the flower vase and plucks a flower. Why not again? Lots of good stuff on the metaphoric level here. And I've only watched ten minutes. And there's a ring he gives her later? Even better. A subliminal marriage. Good old Hitch. A complete perv to the end. You see the same stuff in The Birds, which I teach a lot. Mother/son love there, along with trapped woman fantasies. A friend sees Vertigo as necrophilic regarding women, which wouldn't surprise me, given the female corpse scene in Frenzy
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amyghost — 11 years ago(April 09, 2014 03:16 PM)
Hitchcock has stated directly in at least one interview that he wanted to suggest a sexual relationship between the two. The opening sequence, which shows Charles, prior to his narrow escape, lying down on the rooming house bed which then cuts to the scene of Young Charlie lying in
her
bed was, he said, deliberately intended to invoke in the viewer a subliminal or subconcious image of the two of them in bed together. He made no bones about what he was getting at.
And the climactic scene, where Charles attempts to strangle and hurl Young Charlie off the train, is incredibly obvious. Watch the positioning and physicality of their bodies as they struggle (and pay close attention to the dialogue!)the idea of intercourse/rape is being quite clearly implied. It couldn't be shown, but it could sure as hell be hinted at, and Hitch was definitely doing just that. -
OnceUponATimeInTheWest — 11 years ago(March 04, 2015 05:59 AM)
I have seen this film many times and I think Teresa Wright is absolutely gorgeous. I was looking for a thread like this because I definitely felt there sexual tension between them. In real life they were about 13 years apart and actually played husband and wife in the film The Steel Trap 1952. I have read some of the posts ascribing this train of thought as dirty etc.but that is ridiculous. Now if I had a niece that looked likejust kidding (not really)
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OnceUponATimeInTheWest — 11 years ago(March 04, 2015 11:32 AM)
I have seen this film many times and I think Teresa Wright is absolutely gorgeous. I was looking for a thread like this because I definitely felt there sexual tension between them. In real life they were about 13 years apart and actually played husband and wife in the film The Steel Trap 1952. I have read some of the posts ascribing this train of thought as dirty etc.but that is ridiculous. Now if I had a niece that looked likejust kidding (not really)
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DracTarashV — 10 years ago(August 05, 2015 09:12 PM)
Even if the - arguable - incestuous subtext in the film was nonexistent, one cannot deny their relationship was something special.
Young C was clearly enamored with her uncle in the beginning.
Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry! -
Maddyclassicfilms — 10 years ago(August 09, 2015 08:32 AM)
I think you're right. I always had the same reaction as you to the way in which she runs off from the bar and he chases her. Maybe this was intentional on Hitchcock's part and we are meant to think this or perhaps we are all reading too much into it because of the strong chemistry between Cotten and Wright.
The fact that so many people on this thread think the same thing though proves there has to be something to this idea.
Go to bed Frank or this is going to get ugly
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amyghost — 10 years ago(August 09, 2015 12:02 PM)
I've always felt that there's a strong suggestion that Uncle Charlie means to rob Young Charlie of her innocencewhich he does symbolically in the bar sequence. It seems plain enough that Hitchcock was definitely hinting Charles meant to rob her of her innocence in another, and less symbolic way, as wellbut this had to be confined to hints, as something that certainly couldn't have been said blatantly in the language of 1940's Hollywood film.
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cesetevi — 10 years ago(January 02, 2016 04:11 AM)
yes there is and i think it is intentional.Because when young one goes to post office she explains mental telepathy which confronts telegram.That dialogue is something I find very clever.Before the physical tension, I mean newspaper grabbing scene, there are many emotional reasonings that young one talks about.From humming waltz to feeling old one.
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amyghost — 10 years ago(January 02, 2016 05:43 AM)
That's a good point. It's young Charlie herself who points out more than once that she's moving towards maturity, and is no longer the child her family somewhat regards her as, with the exception of Charles.