a true classic

Rating: 10/10 (16 March 2011)

This was classic Hitchcock in its extreme. It was the first Hitchcock movie I ever saw, and I'm glad I did. It got me into his films. In the film, Jimmy Stewart plays a photographer who is cooped up in his apartment due to a broken leg. There was no such thing as the internet back then, so he has to spend his time spying on his neighbors. He swears he sees one of them (Raymond Burr) commit a murder. He tries to get his lady friend involved. Hitchcock knows how to build the suspense. Those scenes are done with subtlety and with what is not seen, and that is as effective as what IS seen.
Spying on the neighbors is fun, like the lady getting undressed, the lady with the dog, and the pianist. Try and catch Hitchcock's cameo in this film-he makes one in most of his movies. The final showdown scene is tense and suspenseful. Not only is this the first Hitchcock movie I ever saw, it is also one of my favorites.
This is a classic, and the theme has been used many times, like in Disturbia and in an ALF episode. I'm sure I (and you) can think of other examples. This is Hitchcock at his best! **** out of ****