Rear Window

1954, PG, 114 min. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr.

REVIEWED By Marjorie Baumgarten, Sun., July 23, 2000

One of Hitchcock's most accessible films is also one of his most gleefully deviant, dealing as it does with such fun urban pastimes as voyeurism and spousal mayhem. As wheelchair-bound maverick photographer L.B. Jeffries, Stewart is top notch, idling away his convalescence by peeping on the neighbors in his Manhattan courtyard flat. Along with socialite love interest Lisa Fremont (Kelly, looking positively diaphanous) and take-no-prisoners nursemaid Stella (Ritter), Jeffries spies what appears to be a murder committed by a gruff, pre-Perry Mason Burr. Based on a Cornell Woolrich short story, this is one of Hitchcock's finest moments, full of subtle humor and nasty black turns, not to mention a wonderful score by Franz Waxman and gorgeous cinematography from longtime Hitchcock director of photography Robert Burks.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

Support the Chronicle

More Alfred Hitchcock