"Shadow of a Doubt"

'Shadow of a Doubt' is a thriller made in 1943, and was one of Alfred Hitchcock's favourites out of his own collection of creations. 
As a class, we watched the opening of this film, and analyzed it, in terms of mise en scene. What we discovered about the opening of the thriller is as follows;

Settings and Props
Props include a cigar, which suggests that the owner, in this case the character Uncle Charlie, is well of and can afford such possessions. This idea is reinforced with the fact that another prop is a sum of money scattered over the bedside table and on the floor. The fact that the money is on the floor, suggests that it is of little importance to Uncle Charlie, and to him it is in fact worthless. A third prop used was an empty glass, which Charlie throws at a wall, as an act of anger. This action suggests that he could potentially be aggressive, violent and dangerous.

Positioning of characters and objects within the frame
When Charlie leaves the apartment and walks down the road, he is in the centre of the frame. The two men who are after him are in the foreground, whilst Charlie is in the background, and they are either side of him, suggesting a sense of entrapment on Charlie's part. Also, when we are first introduced to Uncle Charlie, and then to his niece, also named Charlie, they are both first seen laid out on a bed and the camera approaches them from the same angle. This technique is known as a mirroring effect, and it suggests they are 'two sides of the same coin' but with differing personalities. This is shown in the above video of the two shots.   

Costume, Hair and Make up
Uncle Charlie, in the opening sequence can be found to be wearing a suit that looks as though it is expensive, again reinforcing the idea that Charlie is rich. His hair is sleek and gelled back, looking as though it is well tended to.

Facial expressions and Body language 
Both Uncle Charlie and his niece are found, as I have previously mentioned, lying on the bed. They both wear an expression of tiredness on their faces and look relaxed and uninterested in their environment.

Lighting and Colour
To begin with, there is light entering the room in which Charlie is laying on his bed. When the woman comes into the room and pulls the blind down, Charlie enters darkness, at which point he moves from his relaxed, lazy position on the bed, and begins to move around. This suggests that he tends to 'come alive' in the darkness, and at night, hinting that he is the antagonist of the film. The opening seems to have a lot of shadows, and therefore I know it uses low key lighting He is provided with an ominous look when he is on the phone shortly after, due to the shadow that is created over his eyes, by the hat he is wearing.