Fun Film of Murderous Fair

Rating: 6/10 (12 January 2008)

Hitchcock's preoccupation with the average guy committing the extraordinary murder continues in this single set movie about an adventurous photographer who finds himself laid up at his New York apartment with a broken leg after a daring photo shoot at a race track. Totally frustrated with the boredom, he resorts to spying on his courtyard neighbours for entertainment (about six other flats). Soon he begins to suspect one of his neighbours of foul play when the man's wife suddenly disappears and unexplainable things begin to happen. Both his girlfriend and his nurse think he's paranoid at first, but before long they too believe that something is truly amiss.
"Rear Window" never becomes one of the master's all time classics, although some would argue that all of his works are worthy of that term. It does remain quite entertaining due to the enjoyable performances from Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly and Thelma Ritter (who gets all the best lines), and the clever plot is well handled by Hitchcock (adapted from the short story by Cornell Woolrich).
A fun film of murderous fair that just goes to show that spying on your neighbours can land you in a lot of trouble because you might see what you're not supposed to!
Sunday, July 24, 1994 - Video