Rear Window (film)
"Rear Window" is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, set in an apartment complex courtyard in Greenwich Village, New York. The story follows L.B. Jefferies, an injured photographer confined to a wheelchair, who becomes increasingly suspicious of his neighbor, Mr. Thorwald, whom he believes has murdered his wife. The film is inspired by Cornell Woolrich's short story "It Had to Be Murder" and incorporates elements from actual murder cases.
As Jefferies observes his neighbors through his window during a summer heat wave, he witnesses a series of unsettling events that lead him to suspect foul play. The film's narrative is told from Jefferies' perspective, employing innovative filmmaking techniques, including long camera lenses and a meticulously constructed set that replicates an entire apartment complex. Upon its release, "Rear Window" received critical acclaim, grossed over $5 million, and earned four Academy Award nominations. It has since been recognized as one of Hitchcock's greatest works and a landmark in cinema, noted for its cultural and historical significance.
Rear Window (film)
- Release Date: 1954
- Director(s): Alfred Hitchcock
- Writer(s): John Michael Hayes
- Principal Actors and Roles: Grace Kelly (Lisa Carol Fremont); James Stewart (L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies); Ross Bagdasarian (Songwriter); Raymond Burr (Lars Thorwald); Wendell Corey (Lt. Thomas J. Doyle); Thelma Ritter (Stella)
- Book / Story Film Based On: It Had to be Murder by Cornell Woolrich
Rear Window is an American mystery thriller film that takes place in and around the courtyard of an apartment complex. An injured photographer, Jeff, watches his neighbors through his window and becomes suspicious of one of his neighbors, who he believes has murdered his wife. The story is inspired by a short story called "It Had to Be Murder," written by Cornell Woolrich in 1942. The film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who said that its plot was also partially inspired by the murder cases of Patrick Mahon and Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, both of which involved the murder and dismemberment of their wives.
Years after its release, Rear Window became the subject of heated copyright infringement disputes involving the owner of the short story’s rights, Sheldon Abend. In 1969, Woolrich, the story’s author, had died, leaving the rights to the story up for sale. Abend bought the rights to Woolrich’s story from Chase Manhattan Bank in 1972, for $650 as well as a percentage of any proceeds made from its utilization (such as Hitchcock’s film). A few years later, Abend filed what would be just the beginning of his legal action against the owners of the film. The battle between Abend and the various changing hands of the film’s rights holders continued to rage on, until the case was eventually brought before the United States Supreme Court in 1989, which ultimately ruled in favor of Abend and his case.
Despite the controversy surrounding the rights to the film and the original short story, Rear Window has been heralded as Hitchcock’s greatest film, in addition to being considered one of the greatest films of all time.
Plot
Rear Window is set in Greenwich Village, New York, and is told from the point of view of L.B. Jefferies (known as Jeff), a professional photographer who has recently injured his leg on the job. During his recovery, he is confined to a wheelchair and unable to do much else besides sit in his apartment all day. Stella, a nurse who helps him with his recovery, and his girlfriend, Lisa, visit him.
The rear window to Jeff’s apartment looks out into a courtyard surrounded by other apartments. New York is hit with a heat wave, and as a means of battling the temperatures all the residents of the apartment complex keep their windows open. To amuse himself while cooped up in the house, Jeff spends his time watching his various neighbors and their daily antics. His neighbors include an amateur dancer ("Miss Torso"), a composer, Mr. Thorwald (a traveling salesman), and his wife, who is bedridden.
One night, Jeff hears a woman scream and then a glass break, and later in the evening witnesses Mr. Thorwald leaving his apartment. He continues to see Thorwald leave late at night, each time carrying cases. Soon, Jeff realizes that he has not seen Mrs. Thorwald in awhile, and witnesses Thorwald cleaning various knives. Jeff becomes convinced that Thorwald has murdered his wife, and relays his theory to Lisa, Stella, and his detective friend Doyle.
Through the entire film Jeff watches Thorwald, but he remains unable to prove that Thorwald is a murderer. One night, Jeff devises a plan that lures Thorwald away from his apartment, and Lisa sneaks in through an open window. Unfortunately, Thorwald returns to find Lisa in his apartment, and Jeff calls the police from across the courtyard. She signals to Jeff through the window that she has found Mrs. Thorwald’s wedding ring, but Thorwald sees her gesture. When Lisa has been taken down to the police station, Jeff is left alone in the apartment. His phone rings and no one answers on the other end, and Jeff knows that Thorwald has caught on to him and will come to Jeff’s apartment. Jeff tries to delay Thorwald when he arrives by firing his camera flashbulb numerous times, blinding Thorwald. However, Thorwald grabs Jeff, and just as the police arrive, tosses him from the rear window.
The film concludes with Jeff, in a wheelchair, both of his legs in casts as the heat wave has subsided.
Significance
Rear Window was shot entirely inside, on a Paramount soundstage. In order to make the set look realistically like an apartment complex, crews spent months building the set. Everything was built to size, with some of the apartments reaching six stories high. In total, there were thirty-one apartments in the complex, eight of which were fully furnished, with functioning plumbing and electricity and could actually be lived in. The lights were designed so that many different times of day could be replicated, and actors "living" in the top apartments had to suffer through the extreme heat generated by the fixtures.
Most of the shots were filmed from Jeff’s apartment, due to the film being from his point of view, and long camera lenses were used to film the apartments across the courtyard. Hitchcock filmed almost exclusively from Jeff’s apartment, and relayed directorial cues and notes to the other actors via radios, hidden ear buds, and concealed microphones placed in the other apartments. As was customary in all of Hitchcock’s films, he can be seen in the film, in the composer’s apartment winding a clock.
For the sound in the film, such as speech, music, and other background noises, it was entirely diegetic—it all came from within the Rear Window world. For example, apart from the orchestral score that plays in the first three shots of the film, all of the music in Rear Window emanates from radios characters are listening to on screen.
When Rear Window was released on September 1, 1954, it opened to positive reception from both critics and audiences alike. In its first year of release, the film grossed over $5 million at North American box offices. The film was also recognized with four Academy Award nominations, including best director for Hitchcock, best screenplay, best cinematography (color), and best sound recording. In 1997, Rear Window was added to the Library of Congress by the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Awards and nominations
Nominated
- Academy Award (1954) Best Director: Alfred Hitchcock
- Academy Award (1954) Best Screenplay (Adapted): John Michael Hayes
- Academy Award (1954) Best Sound Recording
- Academy Award (1954) Best Cinematography (Color)
Bibliography
Belton, John. Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999. Print.
Crowther, Bosley. "Rear Window (1954): A ‘Rear Window’ View Seen at the Rivoli." The New York Times 5 Aug. 1954. The New York Times. Web. 15 July 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE6DD113EE53BBC4D53DFBE66838F649EDE>.
Dirks, Tim. "Rear Window (1954)." AMC Filmsite. American Movie Classics Company, 2015. Web. 15 July 2015. <http://www.filmsite.org/rear.html>.
"Rear Window (1954)." Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Turner Entertainment Networks, 2015. Web. 15 July 2015. <http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/87777/Rear-Window/>.
Woolrich, Cornell. Rear Window and Four Short Novels. New York: Ballantine, 1984. Print.