Rear Window Overview:

Rear Window (1954) was a Mystery - Romance Film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Alfred Hitchcock.

The film was based on the short story It Had to Be Murder written by Cornell Woolrich published in Dime Detective Magazine in Feb 1942.

SYNOPSIS

This thoroughly enjoyable mystery classic from Hitchcock pokes amiably at the inherent voyeurism of the movie audience. Restless magazine photographer Stewart bides his time while confined to a wheelchair with observing the behavior of his neighbors from the vantage point of his rear window. His only other distractions during the day our visits from his model girlfriend Kelly and nurse Ritter. After waking in the night, Stewart is convinced he sees salesman Burr disposing of evidence that would indicate a hideous murder, with his nagging wife the obvious victim. But when Stewart's story doesn't wash with a policeman pal, he sends Kelly into the apartment to search for more clues. As Stewart watches helplessly, Burr returns to his apartment. Now aware of Stewart's snooping, Burr attacks the wheelchair-bound voyeur. Witty and beautifully produced (Hitchcock constructed the largest set of its time at Paramount?31 full-scale apartments), this is an enduring popular and critical favorite.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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Rear Window was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1997.

Academy Awards 1954 --- Ceremony Number 27 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best CinematographyRobert BurksNominated
Best DirectorAlfred HitchcockNominated
Best WritingJohn Michael HayesNominated
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Rear Window BlogHub Articles:

Roadgames: A Little Bit of Rear Window, a Dash of Duel

By Rick29 on Oct 7, 2024 From Classic Film & TV Cafe

Quid (Stacy Keach) with his harmonica.Directed by Hitchcock admirer Richard Franklin, Roadgames (1981) follows truck driver Patrick Quid (Stacy Keach) as he traverses the desolate highways of rural Australia after witnessing what may have been the aftermath of a murder. You see, there's a serial kil... Read full article


James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Thelma Ritter debate “Rear Window” ethics

By Stephen Reginald on Dec 5, 2023 From Classic Movie Man

James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Thelma Ritter debate “Rear Window” ethics Rear Window (1954) is an American mystery thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, and Thelma Ritter. The script was by John Michael Hayes, the cinematograp... Read full article


4K UHD Blu-ray Review: Rear Window

By Devon Powell on Sep 2, 2021 From Hitchcock Master

Distributor: Universal Pictures Release Date: September 07, 2021 Region ? 4K UHD: Region Free BLU-RAY: Region A Length: 01:52:27 Video ? 4K UHD: 2160P (HEVC, H.265) BLU-RAY: 1080P (MPEG-4, AVC) Audio (4K UHD & Blu-ray): 2.0 Mono English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono Spanish (Latin American) DTS ... Read full article


Rear Window: In the Heat of the Night

By Devon Powell on Sep 13, 2020 From Hitchcock Master

Exclusive Guest Article By: Robert Jones This article is the first in a series of four guest articles to appear on this page in celebration of Universal’s release of ‘The Alfred Hitchcock Classics Collection.’ ??How do you know what the world is like? Do you know the world is a f... Read full article


The Directors’ Chair: Rear Window

By Theresa Brown on Aug 25, 2020 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

The Directors’ Chair: Rear Window (Hitchcock, 1954) ?REAR WINDOW? (1954) – CURIOSITY KILLED THE… James Stewart, Rear Window Holed up in his apartment with a broken leg, a photo journalist played by James Stewart, whiles away his recuperative time watching his neighbor... Read full article


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Quotes from Rear Window

Stella: When two people love each other, they come together - WHAM - like two taxis on Broadway.


Stella: You'd think the rain would've cooled things down. All it did was make the heat wet.


Lisa: I'm not much on rear window ethics.


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Facts about Rear Window

The entire picture was shot on one set, which required months of planning and construction. The apartment-courtyard set measured 98 feet wide, 185 feet long and 40 feet high, and consisted of 31 apartments, eight of which were completely furnished. The courtyard was set 20 to 30 feet below stage level, and some of the buildings were the equivalent of five or six stories high. The film was shot quickly on the heels of Dial M for Murder, November 27 1953-February 26 1954.
The film was inspired in part by the real-life murder case of Patrick Mahon. In 1924, in Sussex, England, Mahon murdered his pregnant mistress, Emily Kaye, and dismembered her body. In the modern interview, Alfred Hitchcock claimed that Mahon threw the body parts out of a train window piece by piece and burned the head in his fireplace. Another modern source, however, states that Mahon quartered the body and stored it in a large trunk, then removed internal organs, putting some in biscuit tins and a hatbox and boiling others on the stove.
While shooting, Alfred Hitchcock worked only in Jeff's "apartment." The actors in other apartments wore flesh-colored earpieces so that he could radio his directions to them.
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Best Director Oscar 1954






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National Film Registry

Rear Window

Released 1954
Inducted 1997
(Sound)




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Also directed by Alfred Hitchcock




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