| 1 | * AwardSnub: It received just one UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nomination for Best Story. It wasn't nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor or Actress. |
| 2 | * AwesomeEgo: Uncle Charlie clearly believes there is no one as cunning or wicked as he is. [[spoiler: He's right-- but only about the second one.]] |
| 3 | * CompleteMonster: Charles "[[EvilUncle Uncle Charlie]]" Oakley is a [[FauxAffablyEvil seemingly affable and caring]] man who in actuality is a cold-blooded SerialKiller known as the "Merry Widow Murderer". Denouncing widows as "[[HeManWomanHater greedy, fat wheezing animals]]" who exploit their husbands' hard-earned wealth, Charles has strangled at least three women to death, [[TheBluebeard stealing their fortunes for himself]]. When his niece discovers evidence of his dark secret, Charles sets about attempting to murder her, sabotaging a staircase to make her fall to her death, attempting to suffocate her with exhaust fumes in a garage, and ultimately attempting to throw her off a train and get her run over by an oncoming speeding train. A misanthropic maniac who has no remorse for his petty actions, Uncle Charlie stands out as one of the earliest, and most vile, depictions of a sociopath in film. |
| 4 | * EnsembleDarkhorse: Louise Finch, Charlie’s classmate and the waitress at the bar has a couple of fans for her unenthusiastic performance and having a hard-luck life that would make its own compelling story. |
| 5 | * EvilIsCool: Charles "Charlie" Oakley is easily the film's most popular character due to how much his screentime is used to advance his development and just what he's capable of. Having seriously irresistible charisma doesn't hurt either. Even when his true monsterous nature's revealed, fans still love him. |
| 6 | * FanPreferredCouple: Along with IncestYayShipping the chemistry between Uncle Charlie and Young Charlie is far more palpable and compelling than her relationship with SatelliteLoveInterest Detective Graham. |
| 7 | * NightmareFuel: Uncle Charlie's ''incredibly'' creepy rant during dinner, about how rich widows are useless, wheezing cattle who deserve to be slaughtered. What's almost as creepy is how everyone else brushes it off within seconds. It's the WeirdnessCensor being PlayedForDrama, and it works. |
| 8 | * RetroactiveRecognition: Future ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'' icon Creator/MacdonaldCarey as Det. Graham, and Henry Travers (Clarence in ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'') as Pa Newton. |
| 9 | * UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Pa Newton says he's never worn a wristwatch before and thinks it will make him look fancy. There's also Uncle Charlie sending the Newtons a telegram and Ma Newton not really knowing how to use a phone. Otherwise averted, as the movie never mentions the second World War, aside from a brief headline in a newspaper Charlie reads "Tojo Speaks For..." - Tojo Hideki was the Prime Minister of Japan for most of the war. |
| 10 |
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