In today’s Everything But Bone, we are going to be examining for the first time a film by none other than the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. Rear Window (1954) is one of the tensest thrillers out there and it scared the hell out of me when I watched it at the tender age of eleven. Starring Hitchcock regulars Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, Rear Window has a fantastic set, great characterization, making it one of Hitchcock’s best.
For the unaware, Rear Window is about a photographer, L.B. Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart), who has badly broken his leg during a photo shoot at a car race. Laid up for weeks with nothing to do, Jeff has taken up people-watching his neighbors out the rear window of his apartment to the annoyance and amusement of his nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter) and girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly). One night, however, Jeff sees some twilight activities that lead him to believe that his salesman neighbor, Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr), has murdered his wife.
While you can’t technically call it a horror movie, Rear Window is definitely horrific. What Thorwald does to his wife is largely left up to the audience’s imagination, and it’s really gruesome when you think about it. Like Gwyneth Paltrow’s head in the box at the end of Se7en (1995), your mind fills in the blanks.
Besides its mystery, Rear Window is famous for its set. At first glance, the courtyard of Jeff’s apartment complex looks like it is outdoors in the real world. It’s not. All of filming took place indoors on this giant set. The film’s set designers Hal Pereira and Joseph MacMillian spent six weeks building it in the studios at Paramount. What I didn’t know, was that the set also had a massive drainage system so the set wouldn’t over flow during the rain scenes. Talk about being prepared!
The set was so large that Hitchcock had to give directions over the radio to the actors. In the end, all the behind the scenes efforts paid off. When audiences watch the film, it feels like you could just walk around the different apartments and play in the courtyard. The feeling of realism helps immerse the viewers within this world.
What the insular world of Jeff’s apartment complex needs are people to live in it. Since the film, save for one moment, takes place inside his apartment, we don’t get to hear much of the neighbors talking. They are half characterized by Jeff talking about them, to either Stella or Lisa, but primarily we learn about them like Jeff does: by watching.
Jeff’s investigation into Thorwald is interesting, but it would lack depth without the supporting cast. The shocking nature of the crime stands out against the seemingly normal urban environment. The minutia of daily existence gives the story life. Miss Torso is a flirty dancer dealing with unwanted male attention as she grows her career. Miss Lonelyhearts wants to fall in love. The Musician is struggling to find meaning in his music. All of this is shown to the audience, and often verbally confirmed by Jeff. And I don’t know about you but I was just as invested in the side plots as the main one!
One scene that stands out to me is the characterization of the Thorwalds. Early in the story, the audience sees Thorwald taking care of his invalid wife from Jeff’s perspective. Jeff is worried about what will happen if he marries his girlfriend. He gives a big monologue on his negative view to Stella. But it’s the Thorwalds that illustrate his opinions. It’s a clever double meaning that acts as foreshadowing for Anna Thorwald’s murder.
As for Thorwald himself, I find him to be one of Hitchcock’s scarier villains. He’s a quiet, average man, capable of great brutality. He could honestly be anyone’s next door neighbor. It’s almost near the end of the film before the audience even hears him speak, and it’s over the phone. He is an untouchable and silent menace, and Jeff’s fight with him at the end in the dark is still terrifying today.
For a movie that’s over 60 years old, Rear Window has stood the test of time, as it remains a watchable thriller. Next to Psycho (1960), it’s the Hitchcock film that’s most ingrained into the pop cultural lexicon. It even has a Tv Trope named after it, “Rear Window” Homage. Besides the similarly plotted 2007 film, Distrubia, Rear Window was remade in 1998 as a made for tv film starring a post-accident Christopher Reeve. So above all, Rear Window endures.
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