One of Alfred Hitchcock's very best films

Rating: 9/10 (6 December 2012)

"Rear Window" is a very good suspense thriller, and one of Alfred Hitchcock's best films. Based on a story by noir writer Cornell Woolrich, it appeals to the voyeur in all of us. Human beings are naturally nosy and inquisitive. And that is the premise on which the film is based.
L.B. Jeffries, known as "Jeff", (James Stewart) is a photo journalist who works for a magazine. He is wheelchair-confined in his small, seemingly cramped apartment, recovering from a leg injury sustained while on an assignment. Because he is bored, he spends a great deal of time looking at the goings-on in the block of flats opposite. As a result of what he sees, he begins to suspect that one of the residents of that block may have murdered his bed-ridden wife. He involves his fiancée, Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly), his carer, Stella (Thelma Ritter) and an old friend from war service, serving police detective Thomas Doyle (Wendell Corey) in his suspicions. But are those suspicions the product of an overactive imagination or is there some substance to them?
"Rear Window" keeps the viewer on tenterhooks right up until its excellent conclusion. It is a riveting and entertaining film with superb performances from its principal actors. It is proof positive that a film does not need high-octane action sequences, expensive special effects, a cast of thousands or breathtaking scenery to keep the viewer's interest. This is a film that is claustrophobic, almost theatrical in nature ("Dial M for Murder" was apparently based on a stage play; and I can envisage "Rear Window" making a successful theatrical transfer, if it hasn't already done so). The direction by Hitchcock is, of course, excellent.
Hitchcock makes his trademark cameo appearance in the film (about 30-40 minutes in), as a guest in one of the apartments opposite Jeff's. Incidentally, Stewart and Kelly each make a very minor error when delivering their lines in two separate scenes (they hesitate slightly and stumble over their words). These are barely noticeable but I am nonetheless surprised that both scenes were not re-shot or, if they were, that the unblemished versions were not inserted into the final version of the film.
"Rear Window" is a great film. 9/10.