Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr, Wendell Corey
The view in the picture is seen throughout Rear Window by L.B. Jeffries (Stewart), who is temporarily wheelchair-bound with a broken left leg and bored out of his skull. Jeffries, or Jeff as he called by his friends, is a magazine photographer who hasn't been doing much photographing lately. The cast, which runs all the way up to his waist, is due to come off in a week, but until then he mostly stares out his window observing his neighbors who helpfully keep their own windows open for the world to peer into their lives. Then again, the temperatures have climbed into the 90's and the apartments likely don't have air conditioning, which is likely why everyone keeps their windows open. One couple even sleeps out on the fire escape to keep cool.
One of Jeff's more peculiar neighbors lives across the courtyard. He is Lars Thorvald (Burr), whose wife spends her days in bed. One night, Jeff hears a scream and Lars is ducking out into the alley at 2am with a suitcase in hand. Why such odd behavior in the middle of the night? Lars' wife is soon seen walking out of the apartment with Lars and shoved off into a taxi. The wife is never seen again. A highly suspicious Jeff contacts a detective friend named Doyle (Corey) to investigate the disappearance. Doyle is unable to uncover anything unusual. Lars pays his rent on time. His wife was put on a train bound for upstate and no sign of foul play exists. No matter. Jeff insists a crime has been committed. Is his imagination running away with him, or is he on to something?
Caught in the middle is Jeff's gorgeous model fiancee Lisa (Kelly), who visits Jeff nightly and despairs that he is unwilling to commit to her. She clearly loves him and he may love her, although he keeps her at arm's length. It becomes evident that the goings-on at the Thorvald residence takes precedence over Lisa's feelings. Soon, Lisa grows interested in Jeff's obsession. Does she really want to know, as Jeff does, what happened to Thorvald's wife? Or is this her way to grow closer to Jeff? At one point, Lisa puts herself in danger to assist Jeff and discover the truth. We also have convoluted feelings about Jeff for allowing this to happen. Then again, if an intelligent, loving beauty like Lisa isn't good enough for Jeff, then no one is.
Jeff finds something enthralling about peering through binoculars at Thorvald, who has no idea he is being spied on. When it appears Thorvald has done nothing wrong, both Lisa and Jeff seem disappointed rather than relieved. It's as if the two will have to finally confront their own feelings about each other instead of being distracted by Thorvald. What to do? Keep digging at Thorvald. A dog belonging to one of the other neighbors is soon found with its neck broken, so Jeff now has another piece of the puzzle to solve.
Because Jeff is played by Jimmy Stewart, we find ourselves sucked into his story more quickly than we might another actor. Jeff is not heroic or ethical (he even questions the ethics of spying on Thorvald). He can be downright salty at times and we just want to shake him into the realization that Lisa loves him and he should love her back. Rear Window's main point of view is through Jeff and we find ourselves conforming to his vision. Rear Window works wonderfully as a thriller and a mystery, but I found the mystery of Jeff and Lisa just as engrossing.
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