The Window at the Rear

Rating: 8/10 (9 April 2004)

James Stewart, who must have been Hitchcock's leading man more than any other actor, rivaled only by Cary Grant, plays a wheelchair bound photographer who is having doubts about his relationship with lovely socialite Grace Kelly (who kind of looked like Nicole Kidman in her day) and who's only hobby at the moment is spying on his neighbor's during a heat wave. That's when he thinks he spots a murder, but is it for real or is his imagination running away with him?
The only thing missing from this entry would have to be the dysfunctional relationship between a man and his mother. You've still got the creepy imagery, the "nowhere to run, nowhere to hide" feeling, and the beautiful blond. I think James Stewart must have been liked by the audiences of his day on account of his being so unpolished (you know, his funny voice and what not), but he makes for a good confused hero and this makes for an entertaining suspense tale. That's future Perry Mason star Raymond Burr as the film's little seen villain, by the way.