Calgary Herald (27/Jan/1991) - A nail-biter

Details

• article: A nail-biter
• author(s): Sharon Sontag
• newspaper: Calgary Herald (27/Jan/1991)
• keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Grace Kelly, James Stewart, Rear Window (1954)

Article

A nail-biter

REAR WINDOW (1954) James Stewart, Grace Kelly

When photojournalist L.B. Jeffries breaks his leg and is confined to his apartment, he begins to pass the time by watching his neighbors.

Through his bachelor pad's rear window, Jeffries becomes accustomed to the comings and goings of the entire block: the frustrated composer, the lonely old maid, the resident floozy and the heavy-set salesman who constantly argues with his nagging, invalid wife.

Though his visiting nurse and his society girlfriend warn him that he's peering into people's private world's, Jeffries continues his voyeurism, even hauling out a powerful telephoto lens with which to catch all the goings on.

It's just a harmless hobby, he tells them — that is until the salesman's wife mysteriously disappears and Jeffries must convince the police that it was murder.

This Alfred Hitchcock thriller is somewhat confining since all the action takes place either in Jeffries' apartment or within easy viewing distance from his window.

The lack of elaborate sets or location shots is more than made up for, however, by the gripping nail-biter of a story.