Rear Window (1954)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

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

Release Date:

14 January 1955 (Japan)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Essential Hitchcock

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Neighbor | Salesman | Photographer | Nurse

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 6 nominations

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jerry Antes	...	Dancer with Miss Torso (uncredited)
Barbara Bailey	...	Choreographer with Miss Torso (uncredited)
Benny Bartlett	...	Man with Miss Torso (uncredited)
Nick Borgani	...	(uncredited)
Sue Casey	...	Sunbather (uncredited)
Iphigenie Castiglioni	...	Woman with Bird (uncredited)
James Cornell	...	(uncredited)
Don Dunning	...	Detective (uncredited)
Marla English	...	Girl at Songwriter's Party (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Songwriter's Party Guest with Poodle (uncredited)
Art Gilmore	...	Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Fred Graham	...	Detective (uncredited)
Kathryn Grant	...	Girl at Songwriter's Party (uncredited)
Charles Harvey	...	(uncredited)
Len Hendry	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Clock-Winder in Songwriter's Apartment (uncredited)
Harry Landers	...	Man with Miss Lonelyhearts (uncredited)
Alan Lee	...	Newlyweds' Landlord (uncredited)
Mike Mahoney	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Jonni Paris	...	Sunbather (uncredited)
Eddie Parker	...	Detective (uncredited)
Robert Sherman	...	(uncredited)
Dick Simmons	...	Man with Miss Torso (uncredited)
Ralph Smiley	...	Carl (uncredited)
Jack Stoney	...	Ice Man (uncredited)
Anthony Warde	...	Detective (uncredited)
Gig Young	...	Jeff's Editor (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
John Michael Hayes		(screenplay)
Cornell Woolrich		(short story)

Produced by
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Franz Waxman

Cinematography by
Robert Burks		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George Tomasini

Art Direction by
J. McMillan Johnson		(as Joseph MacMillan Johnson)
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Ray Moyer

Costume Design by
Edith Head		(costumes)

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
C.O. Erickson	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herbert Coleman	....	assistant director
Lloyd Allen	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Dorothea Holt	....	illustrator (uncredited)
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Cope	....	sound recordist
Harry Lindgren	....	sound recordist
Howard Beals	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Loren L. Ryder	....	sound recording mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special photographic effects
Irmin Roberts	....	special visual effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Fred Graham	....	stunt detective (uncredited)
Ted Mapes	....	stunts (uncredited)
Eddie Parker	....	stunt detective (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
William Schurr	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Leonard J. South	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Steve Johnson	....	colorist (uncredited)

Music Department
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Gus Levene	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leo Shuken	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Van Cleave	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Bob Landry	....	technical advisor
Richard Mueller	....	color consultant: Technicolor
Irene Ives	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures
• Patron Inc.

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical)
• Les Films Paramount (1955) (France) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures International (1955) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Paramount (1955) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1962) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1966) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Universal Pictures (1983-2000) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Cinema International Corporation (C.I.C.) (1984) (Japan) (theatrical)
• MCA Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• USA Films (2000) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD) (2 DVD's)
• Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Victor Entertainment (2001) (Japan) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2002) (Japan) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Seven Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical) (reissue)
• Paramount (1955) (Austria) (theatrical)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• MCA Home Video (video)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Archive, The  special thanks (1998 restoration) (as The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Film Archive)
• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library  special thanks (1998 restoration) (as The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Margaret Herrick Library)
• Cinesite  'THE KISS' digitally restored at (1998 restoration) (as Cinesite, an Eastman Kodak Company)
• Pacific Title/Mirage  additional score digitally restored at (1998 restoration) (as Pacific Title/Mirage Digital)
• Pacific Title/Mirage  optical internegative (1998 restoration)
• Superior Film Service  negative cutting (1998 restoration) (as Superior Film Service, Inc.)
• Technicolor  dye transfer prints by (1998 restoration)
• Universal Studios Sound Facilities  sound editing and re-recording at (1998 restoration) (as Universal Studios Sound Facility)
• Universal Studios Sound Restoration Department  special thanks (1998 restoration) (as Universal Studios Restoration Department)
• YCM Laboratories  master interpositives (1998 restoration)

Also Known As:

"Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window" - UK (complete title), USA (complete title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-8 | France:U (2000 re-release) | Netherlands:AL | Norway:16 | South Korea:15 | UK:PG | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG (re-rating) (1983) (cerfiticate no. 27069) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (1983) | Canada:G (Quebec) (1983) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #16938) | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Iceland:L | Germany:12 | West Germany:16 (f) | Brazil:12 | Sweden:11 (re-rating) (1984) | Sweden:15 (original rating) (1955) | New Zealand:PG | Italy:T | Japan:G (2009) | Australia:M (TV rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #27069: 1998 restoration) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

2007: The American Film Institute ranked this as the #48 Greatest Movie of All Time.

Goofs:

Continuity: The location and angle of the shadows of the "sun" are in the same place in the morning and at night.

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?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Clarissa Explains It All: A Little Romance (#4.8)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

To See You (Is to Love You)

Another Hitchcock masterpiece

Alfred Hitchcock is considered by most to be the master of suspense. I believe he was also a master of understanding human nature. He intuitively understood that human beings are voyeurs by nature, not in the perverted sense, but in the curious sense. We are a species that slows down to look at accident scenes and steals furtive glances at lovers in the park who are oblivious to everything but each other. A major appeal of cinema and television is that they offer us an opportunity for guilt free voyeurism. When we watch a film, aren't we in essence looking through a window and watching people who behave as if they don't realize we are there?

Hitchcock realized this and took voyeurism to the next level, allowing us to watch a voyeur as he watched others. While `Rear Window' as a whole is probably not quite at a level with `Vertigo' (which was far more suspenseful and mysterious with a powerful musical score) as a cinematic accomplishment, it is more seductive because it strikes closer to our human obsessions. Hitchcock's mastery is most evident in his subtle use of reaction scenes by the various characters. We watch an event that Jeff (James Stewart) is watching and then Hitchcock immediately cuts to his reaction. This is done repeatedly in various layers even with the other tenants as they interact with one another. For instance, in the scene with Miss Lonelyheart (Judith Evelyn), we see her throw out the man who made a pass at her and then we see her reaction after she slams the door, followed by the reaction of Jeff and Lisa (Grace Kelly). In another scene, Detective Doyle (Wendell Corey) sees Lisa's nightclothes and presumes she will be staying the night. Hitchcock shows the suitcase, then Doyle's reaction, and then he goes to Jeff who points his finger at him and says `Be Careful, Tom'. This elegant scene takes a few seconds and speaks volumes with little dialogue. Such technique gets the viewer fully involved, because if we were there this is exactly what we would be doing, watching the unfolding events and then seeing how others around us responded. In essence, it puts us in the room with them.

Hitchcock was a stickler for detail. For instance, he aimed the open windows so they would show subtle reflections of places in the apartment we couldn't see directly. However, there were certain details included or excluded that were inexplicable. Would Thorwold really be scrubbing the walls with the blinds open? Would Lisa be conspicuously waving at Jeff while Stella (Thelma Ritter) was digging up the garden? Moreover, wouldn't Lisa have taken off her high heels before climbing a wall and then a fire escape? This film had numerous small incongruities that are normally absent from Hitchcock films. Though these are picayune criticisms, they are painfully obvious in the film of a director known to be a compulsive perfectionist.

The acting is superb in this film. Jimmy Stewart is unabashedly obsessed as the lead character. Photographers have an innate visual perceptiveness and the ability to tell a story with an image and Stewart adopts this mindset perfectly. Grace Kelly has often been accused of being the `Ice Maiden' in her films, yet in this film she is assertive and even reckless. Though cool at times, she is often playful and rambunctious. I always enjoy Thelma Ritter's performances for their honesty and earthiness and this is another example of a character actor at her best. Raymond Burr often doesn't get the recognition he deserves for this role, which is mostly shot at a distance with very few lines. Yet, he imbues Thurwold with a looming nefariousness using predominantly physical acting.

This film was rated number 42 on AFI's top 100 of the century sandwiched between `Psycho' (#18) and `Vertigo' (#61). I personally think more highly of `Vertigo' but it is a minor distinction, because I rated them both 10/10. `Rear Window' is a classic, a masterpiece of filmmaking technique from a director who was a true pioneer of suspense.