Rear Window (1954)

Rear Window - 1954

Our next film is 1954's "Rear Window", which follows the story of a man who is wheelchair bound with nothing to do but look outside at the neighbors.  When something happens to one of those neighbors, he must find out what happened to them.

The film's cast includes James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr, Judith Evelyn, Frank Cady, Jesslyn Fax, and Gig Young.

"Jeff" Jeffries is a photographer who was injured on the job.  Because of his broken leg, he's wheelchair bound and he's got nothing to do but stare out of his windows at the neighbors.

And it's quite the assortment of neighbors, too.  There's an acrobatic dancer, a songwriter, a squabbling husband and wife, a lady who is hard of hearing, and a woman who is desperate for romance in her life.

The few visitors that Jeff does get are his nurse, Stella, and his girlfriend, high society girl Lisa.

Beautiful Lisa and the slovenly Jeff make for an unlikely couple.  Lisa wants to marry Jeff, but he doesn't think that their lifestyles will mesh.

She gets upset when Jeff tells her about what his life is like when he's on an assignment and how it wouldn't be agreeable to her.

When he's all alone, Jeff notices that the squabbling husband and wife seems to be now just a husband.  The apartment is completely closed up, and the husband is keeping odd hours.  Jeff thinks that the man has murdered his wife and is disposing of her somehow.

When he tells Lisa of his suspicions, she thinks he's lost his mind.  (FYI: this is the only film in which Grace Kelly appeared smoking.  She refused to be seen with a cigarette in all her other films.)

However, once the apartment windows are opened and they see the man tying up a large trunk and the mattress on the bed has been rolled up, Lisa begins to see things Jeff's way.  "Tell me what it is you saw and what you think it means," she says.

Even Stella gets in on the action.  She's constantly theorizing how he could have murdered her.  The case seems to fascinate her.

However, when Jeff and Lisa bring the case up to the police, they are disappointed when the police tell them that there is no case.  Everything with the man's story checks out.

Not content with letting things go, Jeff, Lisa, and Stella take matters into their own hands.  This includes anonymous letters and phone calls to the husband.  Lisa even breaks into the apartment to find evidence.

She finds the evidence but is caught by the husband in the process.  She tries to get Jeff's attention.  The husband notices this and now he knows who has been sending him the notes and making the phone calls.

This, of course, puts Jeff's life in danger.  Jeff finds himself hanging onto his apartment for dear life when the man makes his way there and decides to get rid of Jeff.

Don't worry.  Jeff doesn't get killed.  He does, however, break his other leg, which means he's now got two casts instead of one.

He's also got Lisa.  She's traded her fancy clothes for more sedate blue jeans and a blouse.  She watches lovingly over Jeff while he sleeps.

Being dressed down doesn't mean that Lisa has lost her love of high fashion.  Once she's sure Jeff is asleep, she trades her novel for a copy of Harper's Bazaar.

Cast rundown:

   James Stewart...............................L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries

   Grace Kelly....................................Lisa Freemont

   Thelma Ritter.................................Stella

   Raymond Burr................................Lars Thorwald

   Judith Evelyn.................................Miss Lonelyhearts

   Frank Cady....................................Man On Fire Escape

   Jesslyn Fax....................................Miss Hearing Aid

   Gig Young.....................................Jeff's Editor (voice only)

And that's it for Rear Window.  Of the four movies he made with Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart always said that this was his favorite.  In 1998, it was included on the American Film Institute's list of Top 100 Greatest American Movies.  And it has also been included on the list of greatest movies of all time.

True to form, director Alfred Hitchcock made a cameo in this film.  He appears about half an hour into the movie, where he winds a clock for the songwriter.  Another piece of trivia: the songwriter is Ross Bagdasarian, who created Alvin and the Chipmunks.

As always, if you wish to leave a comment, please remember our posting rules.