Herbie, throughout the movie would tell Joe that he would kill people and make it look like an accident so that he would not get caught. The symbolism here is not only that Herbie’s character is supposed to represent a man who is also obsessed with murder but does not actually murder people, but that Herbie foreshadows how Charlie will die. In fact Herbie saves young Charlie’s life from the garage when it was filling with car exhaust. Herbie’s character, unlike Charlie’s, does not actually murder people. Throughout the film Joe and Herbie discuss different methods and ways to kill people and how to not get caught. Herbie, like Charlie is somewhat obsessed with the idea of murder. Herbie Hawkins unseeingly is an important character because he is at the opposite end of the spectrum that Charlie Oakley is. As we can see, Charlie never really does get to leave Santa Rosa because of his death after falling out of the moving train car. Just like Charlie, this trip to Santa Rosa is his last hand, and once it is played the game will be over. With a hand of cards like that, the game would be over once played.

Another way this can be interpreted is that he is on his last hand. They have no clue about his other life “in the east.” The cards are important because just like everyone on the train, Charlie has everyone fooled, including his family he is soon to be staying with. Just like the people playing, Charlie seems to have the best hand over his family.

This scene serves as a very important symbol for Charlie Oakley. There is then a shot of a hand of cards, all Spades, a full house. Luckily for Charlie, the doctor refuses saying that he is on his vacation for a reason. The passengers playing are bickering at the Doctor about helping Charlie with his illness. During this scene it shows a group of three people playing what is assumed to be bridge or another card game close to it. In the film, when Charlie is going to visit his sister Emma, Charlie pretends to be ill so that he does not have to come in contact with any other train passengers. Two of the most important symbols are the hand of cards played by the doctor on the train and the character of Herbie Hawkins. Throughout the film there is a heavy influence of symbolism which can be easily overlooked.

Little does everyone know that Charlie is not the man he is made up to be.

Alfred Hitchcock’s “Shadow of a Doubt” is a film noir which journeys through the tale of Charlie Oakley and his endeavors while staying at his older sister’s house in Santa Rosa, California.

Shadow of a doubt movie meaning