Our offering today reflects one of the better received movies ever made by director Alfred Hitchcock. Based at a Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window of New York City, New York, we get an intriguing story told from the perspective of a professional photographer confined to a wheelchair with a courtyard, another apartment and the wits of the characters to guide us. Based on the Cornell Woolrich 1942 short story It Had to Be Murder, Rear Window (1954) dares to ask if there in fact was murder before raising the stakes in a decisive answer that moves us from mystery to thriller.
Hitch introduces the charming concept of giving as clear a part in the movie as one can get with the central character L.B. Jefferies, as portrayed by James Stewart. It us Jefferies as the professional photographer, cast from toes to hip on his left leg, who accepts the guilty pleasure of looking in on the courtyard below and the multiple floors of neighbors across that courtyard living their lives with curtains and blinds drawn for life to unfold for everyone.
With the benefit of a heatwave to keep windows open, L.B. Jefferies discusses the stories unfolding in front of him with his socialite girlfriend, Lisa Fremont, and his nurse, Stella, who visit his apartment daily. Grace Kelly portrayed Fremont as Thelma Ritter portrayed Stella. It is with the commentary about traveling costume jewelry salesman Lars Thorwald and his bedridden wife, a newlywed couple, a songwriter pianist, a dancer nicknamed ‘Miss Torso’, a woman nicknamed ‘Miss Lonelyhearts’ and a middle-aged couple whose small dog likes digging in the flower garden that we get a sense of the intrigue we all get to discover. Judith Evelyn portrayed Miss Lonelyhearts.
The curiosity of the eavesdropping remains precisely that until one evening when, at home by himself when L.B. Jefferies and we hear the breaking of glass and screaming from across the courtyard. In the middle of the thunderstorm that follows overnight, Jefferies sees Lars Thorwald, as portrayed by Raymond Burr, repeatedly carrying a suitcase from the Thorwald apartment. Mrs. Anna Thorwald, as portrayed by Irene Winston, isn’t seen again after this point. The warning from Stella about the views of New York state when it comes to sentencing for being a Peeping Tom struck me as humorous and clever commentary.
Convincing himself that this and other plot points add up to murder, L.B. Jefferies calls upon his New York Police Department Detective friend Tom Doyle, as portrayed by Wendell Corey, to share his suspicions and assistance in bringing about justice. When Jefferies can bring suspicions without having concretely witnessed a murder, the mystery of what we really saw is mixed in with a request for investigation that simply and logically isn’t actionable. While this is no good, it simply brings us, socialite Lisa Fremont, and nurse Stella even more intrigued as the coincidences continue to pile up.
When the mystery of what really was happening became too much for Lisa and Stella, the cleverness of action mingled with the charm of screenwriter John Michael Hayes‘ script to offer a story for cinema lovers with the gumption to enjoy Alfred Hitchcock. The movie worked really well. I give Rear Window as directed by Alfred Hitchcock 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Matt – Saturday, May 7, 2022
Matt Lynn Digital 