Rear Window is one of Hitchcock’s masterpieces. It’s a simple, yet incredibly elaborate film that will make you laugh, excite you, and marvel about how hot Grace Kelly was. Everyone knows the plot of the movie for the most part; James Stewart plays L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries, a photographer confined to a wheelchair after suffering a broken leg.
Apparently he hasn’t heard of a TV, so he spends his days looking out the window at his neighbors. After a series of coincidences, he believes that his neighbor has killed his wife. With the help of his girlfriend Lisa (Kelly), detective/friend Doyle (Wendell Corey), and nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) he begins to uncover the mystery. This movie is a few minutes shy of two hours and is never dull…For a movie like this, that definitely takes some talent. First of all, the movie keeps throwing curveballs at you which make you question whether his neighbor is innocent or guilty.
But even watching it today, it’s not cliched. The subject of the film alone is fascinating; Voyeurism. Everyone is a voyeur, so the whole idea of voyeurism (especially when placed on film) can be fascinating and it’s really fascinating here. Hitchcock manages to keep the suspense going, while occasionally making you laugh. The scene where Lisa and Stella go down to dig up the flowerbed and Lisa eventually sneaks into the neighbors apartment are truly great moments. James Stewart delivers one of his best performances. Rear Window holds the #42 spot on the American Film Institute’s Top 100. The only Hitchcock film it ranks below is Psycho. If you like thought-provoking, slow moving suspense films. Check out Rear Window. It’s a masterpiece.
Cast
- 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
- Judith Evelyn as Miss Lonelyheart
- Ross Bagdasarian as Songwriter
- Georgine Darcy as Miss Torso
- Sara Berner as Wife living above Thorwalds
- Frank Cady as Husband living above Thorwalds
- Jesslyn Fax as Sculpting neighbor with hearing aid
- Rand Harper as Newlywed man
- Irene Winston as Mrs. Anna Thorwald
- Havis Davenport as Newlywed woman