Rear Window (1954)

A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

John Michael Hayes (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich (short story)

Stars:

James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey

Top 250 #28 | Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
James Stewart	...	L.B. 'Jeff' Jefferies
Grace Kelly	...	Lisa Carol Fremont
Wendell Corey	...	Det. Lt. Thomas J. Doyle
Thelma Ritter	...	Stella
Raymond Burr	...	Lars Thorwald
Judith Evelyn	...	Miss Lonelyhearts
Ross Bagdasarian	...	Songwriter
Georgine Darcy	...	Miss Torso
Sara Berner	...	Woman on Fire Escape
Frank Cady	...	Man on Fire Escape
Jesslyn Fax	...	Miss Hearing Aid
Rand Harper	...	Newlywed
Irene Winston	...	Mrs. Emma Thorwald
Havis Davenport	...	Newlywed

Storyline

Professional photographer L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries breaks his leg while getting an action shot at an auto race. Confined to his New York apartment, he spends his time looking out of the rear window observing the neighbors. He begins to suspect that a man across the courtyard may have murdered his wife. Jeff enlists the help of his high society fashion-consultant girlfriend Lisa Freemont and his visiting nurse Stella to investigate.

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Plot Keywords:

apartment | neighbor | salesman | photographer | nurse | 

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Taglines:

The Essential Hitchcock

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 1955 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$15,172 (USA) (21 January 2000)

Gross:

$1,559,601 (USA) (14 April 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Patron Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (negative) Color (Technicolor) (prints)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One thousand arc lights were used to simulate sunlight. Thanks to extensive pre-lighting of the set, the crew could make the changeover from day to night in under forty-five minutes.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 18 mins) When Lisa and Jeff are discussing "rear window ethics", Grace Kelly noticeably stumbles her line "Jeff, you know if someone came in here they wouldn't believe what they'd s...see"

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Quotes

[first lines]
Voice on radio: Men, are you over 40? When you wake up in the morning, do you feel tired and rundown? Do you have that listless feeling...
[the camera pans around the courtyard; cut to later in the day]
Jeff: [answering phone] Jefferies.
L.B. Jefferies' Editor: Congratulations, Jeff!
Jeff: For what?
L.B. Jefferies' Editor: For getting rid of that cast!
Jeff: Who said I was getting rid of it?
L.B. Jefferies' Editor: This is Wednesday; seven weeks from the day you broke your leg. Yes or no?
Jeff: Gunnison, how did you ever get to be such a big editor with such a small memory?
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Clarissa Explains It All: A Little Romance (1993)

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Soundtracks

"Many Dreams Ago"
(1954) (uncredited)
Music by Franz Waxman
Lyrics by Mack David
Played when Miss Lonelyhearts goes out to the restaurant across the street

User Reviews

Reading from Top to Bottom...Hitchcock's Sophisticated Masterpiece

Not only does REAR WINDOW (RW) have Alfred Hitchcock's trademark wit, suspense, and romance (with a touch of friction) in spades, but it's one of his most well-crafted, cleverly-staged movies; in fact, even though RW is based on a Cornell Woolrich story, I can't imagine this story being told as effectively in any medium other than cinema. However, the technical accomplishments (explained most entertainingly in the DVD's documentaries) would be nothing without the engaging characters. James Stewart's neighbors are interesting enough to warrant their own movies, and in addition to providing a wry microcosm of New York City life (the only dated thing about it is the lack of air conditioning), they all reflect possible outcomes for the somewhat stormy romance between laid-up shutterbug Stewart and the luminous Grace Kelly as his upscale fashion maven inamorata. As Brent Spiner said while hosting a showing of RW on TNT, the real perversion of the film is Stewart's reluctance to commit to the irresistible Kelly! In fact, one of the things I like about the movie is the way it shows these two very different people gradually learning to compromise and work together. The piquant final shot shows that a woman can have a happy relationship with a man without submerging her own personality -- refreshing for the 1950s! Great supporting cast, too, including Wendell Corey, Raymond Burr in one of his last bad-guy roles before PERRY MASON, and the scene-stealing Thelma Ritter. Incidentally, the restored special edition RW DVD was put together just in time to include Georgine Darcy ("Miss Torso"), then one of the last surviving cast members. Darcy died earlier this year; she will be missed.