REAR WINDOW

REVIEWED BY BETH FEAKER

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: sensuality, violence, thematic elements

Rated:

Wheelchair-bound and recovering from an injury, Jeff Jeffries (Jimmy Stewart) is the least likely candidate to discover an adventure. His days consist of therapeutic massages and dodging the prospect of marriage... and his nights are composed of spying on his neighbors, a habit his nurse highly disapproves of and he is in no hurry to break. In fact, his new hobby is so interesting that he hardly notices his injuries. But when he becomes more careless in his espionage, and takes to snooping at all hours of the day, things are bound to get heated.

He observes a neighbor and his invalid wife in a steamy argument, and suddenly without warning the wife disappears, and the man escapes from the house several times each night. Horrified, Jeff is convinced that he has just become the sole witness of a murder, and must report it immediately. The only problem is, no one believes him! The police think there is not enough evidence to search the man's house, and Jeff's own girlfriend, society model Lisa (Grace Kelly), suggests he's been watching people too much and was bound to imagine something like this. Jeff desperately tries to prove the man's guilt, and when a clue unexpectedly opens, Lisa begins to believe him. Now with the two of them struggling to find evidence, warnings and signs start to flash like red lights, and they find themselves pitted against a deadly, unseen foe. 

It's an all out war to avenge the wife's murder, as Lisa and Jeff create a snare for the murderer to walk right into, with Lisa persuading the detectives at the police station and Jeff alone in his house making victory phone calls. But what they don't know is that they over sighted an obvious fact, and they themselves are running headlong into the trap that has been carefully prepared for them. Will Jeff and Lisa catch their unseen foe, before it gets them? Or are their imaginations playing the most deadly tricks of all?

Rear Window is said to be Alfred Hitchcock's last masterpiece and one of his personal favorites of all his movies. And I can see why...its simple, everyday setting and the theme of spying on your neighbors -- something many of us intentionally do -- adds a chilling, menacing air to the atmosphere of suspense that the actors so skillfully create. The action is like that of a play, where it almost all takes place in one room, but the aura of uncertainty and insecurity steals you worlds away from that room. The actors of a movie like this could either bore you or thrill you -- and these have you sitting upright on the edge of your seat, anticipating their next move.

There are some slight concerns to be wary of, however. Jimmy Stewart is perfect as the spying invalid, but as he's looking in his neighbors' windows, you do catch far-off glimpses of a young woman in what looks like her bra and underwear, ballet dancing. And in one of the very first scenes we see the back of her from very far away, putting on her bra. This woman, whom we learn is married toward the end, engages lots of male callers. Also, Lisa acts somewhat sensual towards Jeff at the beginning of the movie (she puts on a night dress for him), and there are a few light innuendos. A young man attempts to kiss a woman in her apartment, but she slaps him and he leaves. Overall, objectionable content is mild.

Hitchcock made a true "people thriller" with this one. He lets us observe Jeff's various neighbors in all their walks of life -- and we're bound to end up identifying with at least one of them. There's Miss Loneyheart, who is so lonely that she sets the table for an invisible guest each night and pretends to have dinner with him; the piano-banging musician, who tries in vain to compose a masterpiece and unintentionally does so, the sunbathing sculptress, the ballet-dancing society girl, and the newlyweds who always have their window-shade pulled down.

Although only five actors have any lines, the numerous supporting cast contributes hugely to the action, miming their parts and drawing us ever into their stories too. And the finale is perfectly brilliant, summing up all those supporting roles with satisfying endings for everyone. From the humorous beginning to the horrifying climax, Rear Window is a classic thriller that promises to steal you away on a heart-pounding ride of suspense and amazement.

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