Rear Window

I was biting my nails the whole time I was watching this movie!!

Rear Window is an Alfred Hitchcock thriller starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Stewart plays Jeff, a photographer who is temporarily wheelchair-bound after breaking his leg. Not being able to do much else, he spends his time looking out his window, at his neighbors who live in apartments surrounding a small courtyard. He looks into the windows of their apartments, and in essence, into their lives. His nurse Stella, played by Thelma Ritter, comes in every day to check in on him and take care of him. His girlfriend, Lisa (Kelly), also visits him regularly.

I knew the premise of the movie was that he witnesses a murder as he looks out his window. So the whole time I was watching, I was waiting for it to take place. But, wow - Hitchcock really strung out the suspense. Jeff looked from window to window, and the whole time I was watching wide -eyed, not wanting to miss a thing. Who would it be? Would it be "Miss Torso", the beautiful dancer with no shortage of gentlemen callers? Or the couple that is always fighting? Or perhaps the frustrated musician at the piano? The lonely woman? Or wait, how shocking it would be if it turned out to be the newlyweds? Or what about the sculptor? Jeff just watches to pass the time, and out of curiosity, but WE are waiting to see who will be the ill-fated neighbor! I was on the edge of my seat. And even when I found out who it was....there was a point where I began to wonder...did he really see it? Or has he made a mistake?


Grace Kelly plays his girlfriend Lisa, and they are a beautifully matched pair in this. I watched Grace Kelly in High Noon, and mentioned in my review that there was absolutely no chemistry between her and Gary Cooper. In this film, there was chemistry abounding between her and James Stewart!


Hitchcock usually makes a cameo in his movies, and this one is no exception. I recognized him instantly when I saw him - casually winding a clock in one of the apartments!

If you love suspense thrillers - this movie is a definite must-see!