A Hitchcock Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (21 March 2015)

L. B. Jeffries (James Stewart) is a professional photographer who travels the world in search of the next conflict or adventure. But he is spending most of his time in a wheelchair, in his apartment, while his leg heals--the result of a photo assignment involving racecars. Outside his windows is an array of neighbors living their lives in their own apartments. Confined as he is, "Jeff" comes to view their activities as entertainment.
He is visited regularly by Stella (Thelma Ritter), the insurance company nurse assigned to care for him. She administers massages and advice, telling Jeff he should ask his girlfriend, Lisa to marry him, and maybe he should spend less time spying on his neighbors, because she smells "trouble".
But Jeff feels that he and Lisa (Grace Kelly) are too different from each other. She comes from the world of high fashion and refinement, whereas he lives his life (usually) on the go in danger and dirt.
Besides wondering if he should break up with Lisa, Jeff's energies are directed mostly toward dealing with the summer heat and insufferable under-cast itching. But then he becomes caught up in the intrigue surrounding one neighbor. His own imagination runs wild, drawing him into the private drama outside his windows.
This Hitchcock masterpiece spends some time wondering about the morality of spying on one's neighbors, but mostly it takes us deeper and deeper into Jeff's world and his suspicions about some curious comings and goings.
Filmed from the point of view of Jeffries, "Rear Window" is a masterful film, filled with character studies and Hitchcock's economy of storytelling. The set is one of the best ever created. The music is wonderful, both in setting mood and in helping to create the world of the apartment complex. The story starts out lazily, then progressively becomes more and more urgent, building to a tense climax. Hitchcock is the master of suspense and this film is one of his best.