"Here lie the broken bones of L.B. Jefferies."

Rating: Null/10 (14 June 2007)

"Rear Window" is one of the masterpieces of director Alfred Hitchcock, no question about it! My favorite actor James Stewart, who portrays the wheelchair-bound magazine photographer L.B. Jefferies, claimed this murder mystery to be his personal favorite of his four films with Hitchcock. One might have thought that after Stewart's negative experience in working with Hitchcock on "Rope" (1948), it was not likely that the two would ever work together again; in fact, "Rear Window" is a single-set drama just like "Rope" is, the difference being that "Rear Window" was an instant success and one of Stewart's biggest moneymakers in the 1950s. (If you have not yet seen "Rear Window," please DO NOT read any further.)
Hitchcock was a genius not only in casting the picture but also in the way he shot it. James Stewart's characterization of L.B. Jefferies (Jeff for short) is superlative, as Jeff is simply an ordinary man placed in an extraordinary situation. After breaking his leg on a photographic expedition, Jeff is forced to sit quietly in his Greenwich Village apartment during an excruciatingly hot summer and spend his time observing & spying on all of his neighbors across the courtyard. In particular, he focuses quite a bit on the windows of jewelry salesman Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr), whom Jeff suspects of murdering his ailing wife after he spies on Thorwald making mysterious trips at odd hours in the night with his sample case and wrapping a butcher knife & a small saw in a newspaper. The way Jeff tacitly uses facial expressions to convey his many reactions to his neighbors' various unfolding dramas is a true sign of James Stewart's skill as an actor. Whenever the camera focuses on the windows of the neighboring apartments, it is almost always from Jeff's perspective, thus we constantly hear indistinct snatches of conversation from the various apartments, and almost all the music we hear in this film comes from within the realm of the set (as when the songwriter, played by Ross Bagdasarian, turns on his radio or plays his piano); as we can conclude, Hitchcock was quite clever in setting these various limitations in order to keep the story captivating. And, of course, what would a Hitchcock picture be without generous sprinklings of HUMOR to break up the tension of the murder story? A majority of the humor stems from, once again, the antics of Jeff's neighbors!
In addition to the great James Stewart, the beautiful, enchanting Grace Kelly is splendid as Jeff's fashion-model socialite girlfriend Lisa Fremont, who in short order believes that Jeff's suspicion of murder has credibility. So does Jeff's sharp-tongued nurse therapist Stella, played by the wonderful Thelma Ritter. One person who does NOT take Jeff seriously, however, is Jeff's detective friend Lt. Thomas J. Doyle, smartly played by Wendell Corey. Doyle is so skeptical of Jeff's belief of Thorwald's act of murder that he uses pure logic to try to settle Jeff's suspicions. And finally, there is the murderer himself, Lars Thorwald, brilliantly played by Raymond Burr. From a distance, Thorwald doesn't look so dangerous . . . until he finds out that Jeff has been spying on him!
Here are a few of my favorite moments from "Rear Window." Once Jeff spots Thorwald wrapping the cutting utensils in newspaper, the close shot of Jeff's eyes is all that the audience needs to confirm that Jeff suspects murder. Jeff creates some humorous friction between himself and Lisa in a rather lively discussion of how different their lives are. Probably the scene that provides the most tension in the picture is that of Jeff helplessly WATCHING Lisa being physically assaulted by Thorwald after she sneaks into his apartment. The close-up of the mean look on Thorwald's face as he quietly enters Jeff's dark apartment is very frightening indeed. And finally, I cannot help but comment on the brilliant Franz Waxman, whose music score at times DRIVES the movie; my favorite musical moments in "Rear Window" are the bright jazz score with intricate harmonies during the introductory credits, the very GLOOMY score during Thorwald's mysterious sales trips at night in the rain, and the jazz combo in the songwriter's apartment accompanying Lisa rushing over to Thorwald's apartment to slide a letter under his door.
"Rear Window" is quite a gem of a movie, a true masterpiece showcasing the genius of that Master of Suspense: Alfred Hitchcock. Need I write more?