» Rear Window

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Rear Window (2)

Published:: 2012.Apr.16 / 12am

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1954
- Runtime: 112 minutes (1 h 52 m)
- Director: Alfred Hitchcock 55 yrs old
- Cast:
  
  L.B. 'Jeff' Jeffries
  
  James Stewart 46
  
  Lisa Carol Fremont
  
  Grace Kelly 25
  
  Det. Lt. Thomas J. Do...
  
  Wendell Corey
  
  Stella
  
  Thelma Ritter
  
  Lars Thorwald
  
  Raymond Burr 37
  
  Miss Lonelyhearts
  
  Judith Evelyn
  
  Songwriter
  
  Ross Bagdasarian
  
  Miss Torso
  
  Georgine Darcy
  
  Woman on Fire Escape
  
  Sara Berner
  
  Man on Fire Escape
  
  Frank Cady
  
  Miss Hearing Aid
  
  Jesslyn Fax
  
  Newlywed
  
  Rand Harper
  
  Mrs. Emma Thorwald
  
  Irene Winston

Rear Window

From Tysto commentaries:

Join me and John Pavlich of Sofa Dogs as we peer fixedly thru Rear Window. It’s a heartbreaking tale of an impotent old man and his ravishing young girlfriend, who can’t help but stare into the lives of a lonely woman, a pair of newlyweds, an older married couple, a frustrated composer, an oddball sculptor, and a wholesale jewelry salesman and his wife.

Thrill to the dinner scene! Cower at the massage scene! Flutter at the Edith Head fashion show! Somehow, Alfred Hitchcock manages to keep us interested and even make us shake with fear without ever showing something so crass and common as a murder. It’s one of our favorites, and we have a great time!

From Sofa Dogs:

Observers: John Pavlich, Tysto

Record Date: March 16, 2012, 09:03 PM

Plot Summary: A broken leg confines a photographer to his apartment, with nothing to do but watch the courtyard and other apartments from his window. All seems fine and mundane at first, until he begins to suspect one of his neighbors of cold-blooded murder.

Note: Taking a look at a beloved classic, Tysto returns to the podcast for a commentary on one of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterworks of suspense, “Rear Window”. We discuss minimalist storytelling, economy of information, relationship politic of the 1950s’ versus today, voyeurism and building a great mystery. Remember to listen for the preemptive countdown before starting the film on your DVD.

Tysto

Sofa Dogs

Recent commentators

David L. 2012.Apr.16 1am

Can’t wait to finish downloading this one. I had Rear Window on my short list for my first commentary. I’d better get cracking before you guys beat me to The Thin Man and/or The Glass Key!

Zarban 2012.Apr.16 5pm

I for one greatly look forward to a fan commentary for The Thin Man!

David L. 2012.Apr.16 11pm

I’ve been rereading the book in preparation. Hammett was the first author that I sought out and read absolutely every published work I could find. That was nearly 30 years ago now. (It’s much easier to find copies of his Black Mask Continental Op short stories today than it was in the early 1980s.) I’ve read The Thin Man many times since then, but it has been quite some time. The Thin Man (1934), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and The Glass Key (1942) are more or less literal adaptions, so I tend to rewatch the movies rather than revisiting the books.

As I mentioned, I am also considering The Glass Key for a follow-up, since both the novel and film versions are so different from the adventures of Nick and Nora.

Anyways, I finished your Rear Window commentary, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My only possible critique would be that there are some interesting tidbits about Judith Evelyn and Wendell Corey that I would have included. For example, Evelyn was a survivor of one of the first U-boat attacks on a commercial passenger liner. All in all, a real nitpick, of course! (Maybe I am just campaigning for a guest slot…)

My next step is getting my equipment set up, etc.

Zarban 2012.Apr.17 12am

I’ll have to get my hands on The Glass Key. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it. I’m sure I’ve seen The Lady in the Lake, and I’m probably mixing them up because of Veronica Lake.

David L. 2012.Apr.17 12am

The Glass Key is both a better film and novel than Chandler’s Lady in the Lake. Veronica Lake was not a top actress (although she was a very competent one for a former model), and The Glass Key does a better job of maximizing her talent. The Lady in the Lake suffers from the same flaws as The Big Sleep: more mood than true murder mystery in the VanDyne/Stout/Gardner tradition.

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Rear Window

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