Rear Window has Style, Suspense and Genius-Grade Storytelling.
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Rear Window makes it very clear that Hitchcock is called the "Master of Suspense" for a reason.
Written by BHM Editor
Don Sumner
April 21, 2007
Release: 1954
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Written by: Cornell Woolrich (short story)
and John Michael Hayes (screenplay)
Starring:
James Stewart as L. B. Jefferies
Grace Kelly as Lisa Carol Fremont
Wendell Corey as Det. Lt. Thomas J. Doyle
Thelma Ritter as Stella
Raymond Burr as Lars Thorwald
There are rare stories captured on film that will remain classics for generations. Alfred Hitchcock, it seems, is responsible for creating several of the most enduring and amazing of them all.
One such enduring classic is Rear Window, released in 1954. Every element, including production, characters, storytelling, suspense, acting, music, scares and pace come together to create a living piece of art that is a joy to behold.
The story centers on L.B. Jefferies (James Stewart), a professional photographer who is stuck inside his apartment while he heals from a nasty leg injury. With little to keep him occupied Jefferies becomes addicted to watching the drama that unfolds daily outside his rear window.
Jefferies’ view faces a neighboring apartment building several stories high,
and he can watch the day to day activities of the occupants from his window vantage-point.
There is “Miss Lonely-heart”, the aging single woman who pretends that she is
having romantic dinners with handsome men, all the while talking to an empty chair and thin
air. Then there is “Miss Torso”, the leggy dancer that entertains wealthy gentlemen
in her apartment searching for the one she will finally love. Other players in the real-life drama
include the old couple that sleeps on the fire escape to beat the heat, the struggling composer
who creates beautiful piano melodies and…Mr. Thorwald (Raymond Burr).
Thorwald spends his days tending to his bed-ridden wife. Between the constant care that she
requires and the frequent fights she draws him into, it appears to Jefferies, as he watches
them unnoticed from the window across the courtyard, that Thorwald is getting pretty tired
of the burden. Suddenly, one day, Mrs. Thorwald vanishes.
Rear Window takes us through Jefferies’ quest to figure out what happened to Mrs. Thorwald and how to prove that her disappearance is the result of foul-play by her less-than-adoring husband. Because Jefferies is unable to leave his apartment he employs his nurse (Thelma Ritter) and girlfriend (Grace Kelly) to assist the amateur sleuth in his quest for the truth.
From the beginning Rear Window has a lush and crisp feel. Shot originally in
color, Rear Window was remastered several times before being restored to the look
and feel of the original colors in 1998. The characters are incredible. Jimmy Stewart is his
smart-aleck self, of course, and the nurse Stella adds a street-smart sass that could steal the
show…if it was not for Grace Kelly. Grace is absolutely stunning in Rear Window
and she exudes a style and class that is matched only by her beauty and ability to create a
compelling character. Grace Kelly was one of a kind.
The music is the perfect complement to what happens on the screen in Rear Window, and the pace is flawless as the viewer is drawn ever deeper into the drama of Mr. Thorwald and the epic tales of those viewed through the rear window. Alfred Hitchcock is not called “the master of suspense” for nothing - Rear Window will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, no matter how many times you watch it.
The reality that everybody has things they do in their private lives that would be hard to explain if viewed by others is a timeless truth that will never be outdated. Thanks to Alfred Hitchcock Rear Window dramatizes that fact with the same result. Questions or comments about Rear Window? Contact us!
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