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:

The entire picture was shot on one set, which required months of planning and construction. The apartment-courtyard set measured 98 feet wide, 185 feet long and 40 feet high, and consisted of 31 apartments, eight of which were completely furnished. The courtyard was set 20 to 30 feet below stage level, and some of the buildings were the equivalent of five or six stories high. The film was shot quickly on the heels of Dial M for Murder (1954), November 27 1953-February 26 1954.

Goofs:

Continuity: The amount of brandy in the detective's glass increases between shots.

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 "The Cinema Snob: Water Power (#5.14)" (2013)

Soundtrack:

Martha, oder Der Markt zu Richmond

A Deep & Entertaining Classic

One of Hitchcock's greatest masterpieces, "Rear Window" is a deep and entertaining classic with many strengths, and a little bit of everything. A fine suspense story is combined with romantic tension in the main plot, and there are numerous sub-plots, some humorous and some moving, all with many psychological overtones. The main characters are wonderfully portrayed and full of life. The apparently simple setting in an apartment complex is developed into a world filled with intriguing and sometimes unsettling possibilities, and this apparently average neighborhood comes to life with a wealth of lavish visual detail and interesting minor characters. It is the kind of film-making that (like many of Hitchcock's greatest movies) is very flattering to the viewer. The director assumes that his audience will pay close enough attention to appreciate the many subtleties with which he has filled the movie. It rewards both careful attention and repeated viewings, since there is much more here than merely a suspense plot, as good as that story is in itself.

For the first 30 minutes or so, we simply get to know the characters. Jimmy Stewart gives one of his best performances as a photographer recuperating from an injury, forced to spend several weeks staring out his apartment window at the minor dramas in the lives of his neighbors. Grace Kelly is ideal in the role of his perfect girlfriend, who can never find a way to break down Stewart's reserve. The study of their relationship would have made a good movie by itself. Almost every action and every word between them is filled with meaning, and what they see in the lives of others is an interesting reflection of the tensions and possibilities in their own present and future. Thelma Ritter is wonderful as a colorful, no-nonsense nurse who constantly sheds some light - sometimes unwanted - on what is happening between them. The action and suspense that occur later serves in large part as a catalyst that resolves some of the important issues between the two.

After we get to know the characters and their world, things start to happen, as Stewart becomes engrossed in some of the things he has seen. The ethical and moral concerns of meddling in others' affairs become intertwined with more urgent questions about what may have happened in those other apartments, and from then on the tension builds steadily. It leads up to a riveting climactic sequence filled with suspense, and made even more meaningful by our awareness of its deeper significance to the main characters.

There is much more that could be said, but you should see this for yourself. It is a classic that will be enjoyed not only by thriller fans, but by anyone who appreciates carefully crafted movies with a lot of depth.