"A Race of Peeping Toms"

Yesterday Dial M For Murder (1954), the movie I thought was the most suspenseful in the Hitchcock catalogue was looked at. Today the movie critics consider to be his most suspenseful will be examined. Since it was remade in 2007 as Disturbia, Rear Window (1954) has come into favor with theorists and critics. It has always been popular with these people. It has also erroneously been called Hitchcock’s best suspense picture.

The major reason why this isn’t Hitchcock’s most suspenseful movie is because it is not as good as the story it was taken from. Cornell Woolrich wrote the short story, "It Had to Be Murder", which would later be changed to "Rear Window" after the success of the movie. Like in the movie we see everything from the apartment of Mr. Jefferies. Except in the book, he is left alone to fend off the attacking murderous salesman. Instead of using flashbulbs, he uses a bust of Ludwig Van Beethoven, more on him tomorrow.

In the movie Hitchcock added a girlfriend for Jefferies in the form of Grace Kelly as the model Lisa. Besides acting as the romantic interest, she acts as the legs for Jefferies in his investigation of unusual things occurring across the way in another apartment building. She steals the show as far as suspense goes when she breaks into the salesman’s apartment and ends up being confronted by the salesman, played by Raymond Burr. Of course she finds Burr’s wife’s weeding ring and points it out to Jefferies. Both proving to Jefferies that the wife is gone and hinting to him that he should marry Lisa. This is a nice Hitchcock touch, but adds nothing to the suspense of the picture.

As was standard with Hitchcock, the basic literary story is kept intact, but changes were made to suit his own style of storytelling. Unfortunately, this isn’t an improvement on the original story. Sometimes, like in the case of The 39 Steps (1935), the improvement is so great that it is hard to distinguish which is better the literary source or the movie. In Rear Window this isn’t the case. The audience feels for Jefferies, played by everyman James Stewart, and for Lisa, but a sense of foreboding isn’t always around like it is in the story. Woolrich makes sure the audience focuses on the investigation Jefferies is conducting from the comfort of his wheelchair. There is no Lisa to be his legs. The wheelchair bound man must fight for himself in such a way that is only hinted at in the movie.

Rear Window isn’t a bad movie at all. It is a tremendous technical achievement as the whole setting was built indoors. That is one complete apartment building, the Jefferies apartment and a courtyard. Even some of the apartments in Raymond Burr’s building were complete. Not the standard building procedure for Hollywood, but for Hitchcock the extra expenses were made. Of course there has been a tremendous return on the investment.

For those looking for a superior version of Disturbia with the always great Hitchcock touches, Rear Window is a must watch.