Hitchcock Retrospective – Rear Window Review

Hello nurses and friends and nurses. Yakko Warner

here and you're listening to a podcast on the

GeekCast Radio Network. Lucky you. Hello and

welcome to episode 210 of The Cinema Geeks. I

am one of your Cinema Geeks Optimus Solo and

joining me today The use is Come the comic concierge

Dan. How are we doing today? I'm doing great.

How about yourself? Doing good. We're back from

a little bit of a I had to do like a brief week

hiatus here because I was out of the country

and doing some work things and There's a blur

the last week and then I have some family in

town for two weeks. So Was not able to watch

rewatch the film that we're covering today in

time. So I asked for an audible and Dan was Good

enough to comply with that. So now we're back

to continue our Alfred Hitchcock retrospective,

I guess you could call it. We've covered a handful

of his movies so far. I think we're right about

the halfway point here with the 10 films we're

going to be covering. And today we are moving

on to probably one of his most well -known films,

the 1954 mystery thriller, Rear Window. So as

we talked about briefly at the end of the last

episode, we have both seen this one. This is

one of two, I think that we have both seen prior

to this, but give me what your experience is

with rear window. How long had it been since

you'd watched it? How many times have you seen

it and kind of what was the set the stage for

going into this rewatch? It's been about a I

would say about a decade or so since I watched

last well over a decade since the last watch

rear window Oddly enough. I watched it the first

time when I was recovering for surgery and I

had nothing, you know so I was just watching

movies and it was one that You know, I was trying

to Go through like, you know, the best movies

of all time and of course this is on it So yes,

but it's been about ten years or so since I've

last seen it. So Kind of remembered a good amount

of it, but there's a lot I'd still that I didn't

remember So it was fun revisiting it because

it's definitely I think I'm a different movie

Go or now than I was a decade ago Yeah, I was

interested to revisit this one as well. It's

probably been even more than ten years for me

since I had seen this one Amanda saw this one

in either high school or college and I actually

had to like do I think in college and they might

have had to like analyze it and do some like

so she remembered it like the back of her hand

but for myself it had been I want to say closer

to 15 years maybe if not 20. My mom and I once

upon a time were trying to go through some of

the AFI top 100 list just as a thing to do and

we had watched maybe I don't know I think we

only got through like six or ten of the ones

that were blind spots but this was one of them.

So I was very interested to revisit this one

now given the fact of you know, how many movies

you and I have probably seen in the last decades,

you know, doing these podcasts and things of

that nature. So it's kind of coming at it, like

you said, as a different movie goer. And then

on top of that, doing it in the series that we're

doing it now, where we've just watched a number

of Hitchcock films, I was interested to see kind

of how that would impact this viewing. So I was

definitely very interested in this rewatching.

I thought it added to like the fun of being able

to rewatch this because there was definitely

things. Like vague things or structure things

that I remembered and knew were coming or this

that and the other but a lot of the details I

didn't a hundred percent remember going into

it So it was just as effective this time as it

was the first time for me as far as like the

guessing game and keeping me like, you know not

100 % sure on how everything was gonna Go to

the detail. So I'm getting into this one a little

bit. This is written by John Michael Hayes Like

a lot of the Alfred Hitchcock films, it's based

off of something else, whether it be a play,

a novel, short story, et cetera. So this one's

based on a 1942 short story and title that had

to be murder. And then obviously Hitchcock does

his stuff to it and adjusted and changed it as

did John Michael Hayes, I'm sure in the screenplay

development writing, et cetera. So this one's

going to star a couple of people that we have

seen already. So Jimmy Stewart, which obviously

we saw in Rope. And Grace Kelly, which we saw

in Dial M for Murder, which we've covered during

this series. And then a few other main characters,

Wendell Corey obviously is playing the detective

or the police officer in this one, Lieutenant

Tom Doyle. And then Thelma Ritter is playing

Stella, the nurse. So those are like the four

characters that we see the most in Jeffrey's

apartment. And then we'll get into some of the

other characters that we see that are not in

his apartment that we're watching throughout

this time so what was your initial reaction on

this rewatch so did it work for you as much or

what was your take. Yeah you know i was going

into movie that grew window that is like a mention

we saw before it's noted as one of the greatest

movies of all time it's like you know is it good

or bad feels like. You always like there's a

different kind of conversation because it's like

Why is this looked at as such a good movie? Is

it deserving all that? and it's interesting going

through all these movies that we've gone through

so far and Kind of comparing it to what we've

seen because it's it's interesting the way that

Hitchcock is able to like create suspense because

in this like watching it this time I kind of

remembered elements of the plot. I thought there

was more of a twist at the end Like I couldn't

remember like was there I kept thinking there

was more of a twist not that that's a bad thing

but watching it a second time I just marveled

at like the creation of it in a way in the sense

of just like this set and Like being a mate made

at its Design because that's all in that is what

makes this movie really, you know, it's it's

such a weird movie to be A lot of the way it

is because Reality not a lot happens here. It's

it's not it's really a guy looking out his window

and you know seeing one of the lives of individuals

in ways people aren't used to but I just found

that part fascinating and I do think it's interesting

in a way that it speaks to this like universal

truth that's still You know an issue today where?

there is, you know, people have, or are very

meticulous in how they present themselves to

people outside of their comfort zone. Like people

can be a very different person when they don't

think anyone's watching. And you see that here,

obviously, you know, where people are acting

certain ways that clearly they wouldn't do it.

Sometimes it's obviously criminal, sometimes

it's simply just kind of awkward. But I just

thought, Even all this time ago all this time

later that and then of course you do have the

suspense part Like that was like what I was least

interested in not that it was That you know all

these other movies that has been kind of the

focal point But I just found what it was saying

the creation of it. I'll even like all the music

is within The set like there's no score here

outside of what you hear the music playing besides

the beginning of it like all in the way It's

all put together is so fascinating to me And

I think all that still maintains All this time

later, so I I just I was thwarted by it I probably

all the movies we watched so far. I liked it

the first time I saw it but the second time I

think I saw for Why it was and why it has been

allotted? far more seeing it again than they

did the first time. Yeah, you brought up a lot

of good points here. I feel like you're reading

my notes. I've jotted down here a little bit,

but I am like, as I've said before, probably

in some of these episodes, I'm a different type

of film goer than others, like especially like

critics. Like I don't necessarily, I guess, consider

myself a film critic like that because Film critics

know a lot more about the making of film and

like everything that goes into it and i'm more

of someone that just I guess i'm dumbed down

or whatever, but I like the I like the dialogue.

I like the performances I like the story of the

plot the twists the all of that type of stuff

and i'm never someone that's like overly concerned

or even like cognizant of the making of the film

in a way like a lot of times the set design and

the The musical aspects of it, the score, like

that's like the last thing that I will notice

in a film. Like traditionally, I guess. And I

found myself like you just marveling at the making

of this film. And that's something that's really

weird for me to say, I guess, but like what you're

talking about, like this set, the creation of

it. And obviously there's been a lot written

and there's been a lot of documentaries and specials

and stuff about this film that you can go. I

actually did watch this on a masterpiece collection

and it did have a couple of different bonus features

that go into some of the making and there's a

different things that you can watch. Well, I

watched a few of them. I didn't watch all of

them. I didn't have time to do the whole movie

again with commentary on it or stuff like that,

but some of the making of it. And it is just

like a Marvel, like the fact that they were trying

to create this setting that was not possible

on any type of studio. they had to kind of think

outside the box and basically the story that

was on one of these special features was like

the one guy was trying to and I'm not gonna have

the names or what position they were but somebody

involved in the production was basically communicating

with somebody else and trying to figure out how

they were gonna pull this off and the one of

the guys basically says like well what if we

like use the basement the floor you know beneath

the floor in the studio that's usually used you

know for whatever storage or whatever else it

was. And like, they're like, well, they're never

going to go for it. Like, but let's ask them.

And then they went for it. So they basically

use like the basement of this plane, open it

up so that they could have, and they like went

all the way up into like the, the lighting, the

rafters of the lighting and stuff like this to

create this whole scale. And like just the way

that that's done. And the way that like, you

know, you're looking at a set, right? Like a

lot of Hitchcock films, it has the feeling of

watching a play, right? We've mentioned that

a number of different times where it's something

that you can tell is a very constrained set,

like a one or a lot of his films don't have a

lot of extra locations, right? Or like, we're

just watching it in a room, like with a rope,

or we're just watching it mainly in one room,

like dial in for murder. So there's not, you

know, he does this a lot and you have that feeling

like, Oh, I could be watching this on a stage

in a way. And so it does that. But then like

just the way he does the different moves of the

camera, the way he's filming this, like the perspective

that he's using, you know, the lighting that

they had set up, like they basically had this

whole thing set up with four different settings

for their lights. Almost like think of it almost

like it was a modern thing where you had four

different switches on your light and you can

do daytime afternoon evening and nighttime without

any you know relighting or re -rigging so it

made it a lot different for them to like film

it in that way and a lot easier and I guess all

of the apartments that are in here are livable

like it even said that I believe the The dancer

miss torso like was said to quote -unquote live

in that apartment the whole month that they were

shooting And like they said that most of the

apartments were livable. They had running water,

they had electricity, they had different stuff.

So like I just every all of the meticulous detail

that went into this is just amazing. And I feel

like you could watch it a number of different

times and just keep picking up on some of the

other type of stuff that goes along with not

only the camera movements and the lighting, but

like you said, the score where basically the

score is like the intro song and the outro song,

which is kind of in conjunction with the Lisa

song is that what the name of the song is at

the end? Yeah, Lisa other than that. It's all

like you said, it's all it's all diegetic. It's

all People talking it's all the sounds that you

would hear in this courtyard. It's music that's

playing in some of the apartments in the clever

way that they kind of build all that in like

it's just a it's it's a marvel like I Really

like this the first time borderline love this

the first time and I came out of this one this

rewatch like Somehow loving it even more like

it's to me deserves all of the stuff like you

were talking about like you said obviously it's

Talked about as one of the best films like, you

know It's I think it's been on the AFI top 100

list every time that's come out. It usually ranks

somewhere and I think the 40s Metacritic it's

one of those rare films that has a hundred out

of a hundred for some reason on Rotten Tomatoes

It only has a ninety eight percent We won't call

out those two people that said something bad

about it, but it'd be shocking to me to rank

this film. Under isn't it to Rotten Tomatoes

percent like as long as it's above like a 50

it counts as a positive 60 % 60 like so somebody's

there's a couple of people out here that rank

this lower than six. Oh yeah, I don't. I think

it's whatever if I don't think it depends upon

whatever the person's ranking is, cause like

if it's got you know five stars or something.

Yeah. Yeah, for it to be fresh it has to be 60

% which is to me weird because if it's whatever

Rotten Tomatoes is weird, but anyway, so obviously

it's very well appreciated it has been over the

years so like I did read a couple of the reviews.

I know that's kind of jumping ahead We'll get

back into the story and some of the characters

and stuff like that But just kind of since we've

been talking about how it was received I did

read a couple of the initial reviews some of

it's on Wikipedia some of it's on IMDB and you

can seek them out elsewhere as well, but Two

different things that are somewhat interesting

that I caught my eye like time for example said

it's and this was at the time It was released

just possibly the second most entertaining picture

ever made by Hitchcock Did you see or read this

to see what they were saying was the first? Yeah,

I saw some reviews, but I didn't see this one

So it said just possibly the second most entertaining

picture ever made by Hitchcock and then in parentheses

had the 39 steps Really interesting. Yeah So

that's an interesting take back in the 50s. And

then the other there's another guy that was writing

for the New York Times. And I'm going to disagree

with this 100 percent. But he said this film

is not significant. What it has to say about

people and human nature is superficial and glib.

Yeah, I think I think I could see where that's

coming from. If you're not really, I think, looking

at. I think you're you're. the It is exactly

what you're saying. Like the image people put

out in public is similar to like the image that

they put on Facebook, right? Or social media.

Like they post the good stuff, right? They post

the highlights. It's like a highlight reel. They're

not posting the arguments they have. They're

not posting the fights they have or when they're

down and out or that type of stuff. So it's like

very similar to how people live life through

the Internet and through social media. And then

this is pulling back the curtain on that. But

I think, too, like the speech that the owner

of the dog gives. Yeah. After. I don't think

we can spoil rear window, can we? Yeah, I don't

think so. I think it's OK. So obviously, after

something happens to her dog, like the speech

she gives about not knowing each other, not knowing

your neighbors, not, you know, loving the neighbor

by themselves or all of that type of stuff is

like. hearing that coming from a film in 1954

and thinking about how society is today where

we've got we just keep getting further and further

from where people even know their neighbors or

Feel comfortable being outside or things like

that. I was like my goodness this film is timeless,

but yeah, yeah, I also think of yeah, that's

a good point too and it's interesting too because

you think about like you really couldn't do this

movie today because One, people don't have their

windows open. At a far, if you were just to look

at it, you'd be like, oh, wow, look at how friendly

that neighborhood is. Because everyone's out

and seemingly connected, but you kind of see

that's not the case. But yeah, and especially

to me, the scene that set a lot was Miss Lonely

Hearts. I think there's a lot with her character

where you have that. really sad sequence where

you know she's getting ready for this dinner

going through these all this motion and you realize

that it's not for anyone she's just playing a

game for herself which is like oh and then obviously

um you know you see she finally of course is

able to have someone over and that doesn't go

well i also i do think like the way that they

were so slow to react to what she was doing and

potentially you know Taking her own life. I'm

like you like you could act a little bit. You

can walk over there. You like emergency here

people Yeah, i'm like, you know, it's like they're

just like let's play it out. Let's see how this

goes Uh, which again, I think speaks to those

individuals which I think you know that reviewer

is right It is glib, but I think in a way there

is honesty there and maybe that was part of you

know that Maybe that is the way a lot of people

are unfortunately I thought too it was interesting

like i'd have to do some deeper dives and like

some more analysis, but I feel like it very,

very carefully. And I don't know if every one

of these neighbors, I haven't done the like research

to find out like from the short story, which

ones of these neighbors existed in the short

story, which ones were made out for the film

or in the screenplay, et cetera. So I'm sure

some existed, some didn't, whatever. But like,

I feel like whether it was credit to the short

story or whether it's credit to the screenwriter

or Hitchcock himself, but the way that they pick

out where each of these I guess apartments, for

lack of a better term, because some are couples

and some are single people. But like how each

one represents a different time or a different

segment of like the development of relationships,

because you have like the newlyweds, right? So

you have that going. You have Couple that is

in that stage not that all couples go through

this but you have a couple that's in a stage

where they're obviously Not getting along with

each other for whatever the case may be whether

there's infidelity whether there's Nagging or

arguments or stuff like that. Like you have that

right you have like the bachelor that hasn't

even met anybody yet From what it seems like

with the piano Player and the musician right

you have the Miss Lonely Heart who seems like

she's probably already Either never had that

relationship or had a relationship that is no

longer in existence Whether it be through divorce

or death or whatever like it seems like every

one of these groups is like another part of this

like another stage of life and I feel like it's

interesting how they all kind of It could be

that it could almost be the same character and

all of these things just at different moments

in their life I mean not a hundred percent, but

like it gave me that feeling too where you're

like Oh, these people are in different stages

of the development, the natural evolution of

relationships in a way. And I thought that was

kind of interesting or just different types of

relationships and how they depict all that. Like,

I think there's so much you can take away and

analyze on this that it's something that comes

across as way more than superficial. I guess

that would not be the word that I would necessarily

use not to go too much into that review. But

getting back into like the different groups of

people in the different Characters slash actors

or actresses one thing we've commented in a couple

of these other films that we said it in the 39

steps right like how we liked like all of the

different side characters and the different things

that come across from that we've had different,

you know similar sentiments to a number of Hitchcock

films how do you feel like this worked from a

Supporting cast standpoints like did you find

each one of them just as interesting as the other

do you think it? Helped with the pace of the

film as far as like how we're navigating the

story because I know you said you know Not a

lot happens, but we're we are going from like

window to window to door to to apartment etc

Like how do you think that all works in this

film? Yeah, and I guess maybe not a lot happens

is the wrong phrase not a lot of plot happens

a lot of things happen I I do like you know,

this is obviously Jimmy Stewart show for the

most part these Pretty much, and I think he's

in every scene or at least in some ways. I think

he's obviously fantastic. He's an all -time actor,

but I really was impressed with Grace Kelly once

again. She was great in the last film we covered,

but even better here, I thought she had, she

was given much more room to be like a character.

And her relationship with Jimmy Stewart, I thought

was fascinating and oddly modern. You know, they're,

you know, they're, you know. have this weird

relationship where obviously she wants to go

further than him in the sense of getting married

but like they're able to kind of still come to

Some sort of agreement in a way and I was kind

of glad like it didn't have that Classic Hollywood

ending, you know, you know where it's not like

they're at. This is ending with them getting

married Maybe that's where it's heading but I

found their relationship and also thought Thelma

Redder who was Stella she was that good comic

relief, you know She brought a lot, you know,

she was a good foil, you know kind of just telling

him how it is and then her getting into it and

like her To getting invested in this, you know

potential murder. I think even sold it even more

like I think Seeing these characters get so enthralled

in this mystery and I at a point to was thinking

like this is also somewhat speaking to Like the

conspiracy theory mindset that exists so much

how individuals will take like a piece of information,

you know construct something around it even with

like even when they're given counter information

that shows that potentially wrong they still

then those are just so the The conspiracy so

great that they don't want to give it up then

ends up actually being true So like maybe that's

not the best way of bringing it but I do think

it I like I like the characters here even some

of the characters that I like the little snippets

we get of people even like the newlywed couple

they walk in they put the sheets down and It's

just all these little small pieces of this world

like another idea of world -building We so overuse

but this does a lot of that and most of it just

through, you know watching people live their

lives Yeah, no, I totally agree. I I have like

a special place in my heart for I guess some

of these supporting cast because it's I think

it's just fantastic casting first of all, like

obviously they don't know they don't know that

some of this is gonna happen later, but like

having the musician be Ross Bagdazarian the the

senior not junior like he he goes on to create

Alvin and the Chipmunks like and and he is the

the person that writes that like creates those

characters obviously his son is the one that

like does the series that we're familiar with

in the 80s yeah but like just having him be like

that character and then seeing how his life ends

up like almost mimicking some of the stuff that

he's doing in that respect like i feel like that's

awesome and i am a huge Perry Mason fan and Ironside

fan so like Raymond Burr being in this uh even

if he's the quote unquote villain like I love

that because this is before he's Perry Mason

like he he does a lot of stuff obviously before

this as well but like he's not that character

until a few years after this so like I loved

seeing some of those like snippets of like oh

like I know what these two folks are gonna go

on to do and be and he does play I think Raymond

Berto like is a he fits that character well like

he's got the right body size and shape like to

just come across as intimidating and menacing,

whether you're buying into what's being alleged

or not. Like you're like, well, I can, I can

buy it. Like you wouldn't have been so quick

to buy into it, I guess, if it was just like,

I don't know, a tiny little person, you know,

or someone like that, or someone that didn't

have that like menacing appearance. So I thought

that was well done. And I just think each one

like really was getting in and having fun with

what their role was. I think I 100 % agree with

you. I haven't seen all of Grace Kelly's work.

I know she has done a ton of stuff, and I know

she was one of the most famous people in Hollywood,

and I've only seen a handful of films of hers,

but I can hardly picture her being better than

what she is in this. I'm not saying it's not

out there, but this is incredible. She's fantastic

in this. Jimmy Stewart is obviously a fantastic

actor, but even if we just compare it to Jimmy

Stewart in this, Jimmy Stewart in Rope. Like

that's maybe not fair, but like he's just phenomenal

in this compared. And I think he's the right

person to cast for this because you buy the fact

that he's not wooed by this, you know, at the

time, probably one of the most sought after or

like the, the prototypical, like this is the

movie. star like grace kelly like this is like

the people that makes all the guys heads turn

when she walks in a room and he does a good job

pulling off this guy that's like yeah i appreciate

that but about this thing that i'm obsessed with

or about my work or about whatever it is like

so i i just think they it was perfect casting

like all all across the board yeah and i think

that was important too because you you saw he

did have this obsessive personality because he

was so obsessed with his work that Even like

he wouldn't give it up even for someone like

Grace Kelly and I think that gave you but then

also made you wonder Is is he actually just is

he becoming obsessed with this now like this

potential mystery? So and obviously obsession

is big big piece of this But you see him too.

He gets super excited when he reels in I don't

remember which order it is, but he basically

reels in grace kelly's lisa character into being

a part of this right like at one point she yeah

and then she's like i'm 100 on board i'm helping

you with this i'm supporting you with this and

then he does the same thing with stella like

you mentioned so i one at a time or almost simultaneously

i guess he gets both of them on board and the

the close -ups that they show of him and some

of the facial expressions that you see from him

when he's not in it on his own anymore and he's

got one of these or two of these folks like in

it like he's just like a kid in a candy store

And it's kind of interesting to watch and you

know, and of course the use of the camera certainly

says a lot because I get you know the idea of

watching individuals and You can certainly expound

upon that like what's it saying regarding that

as you're watching a movie of someone watching

something and you know looking for those and

hoping you know, even commenting on like the

way that they were becoming so fascinated or

almost like disappointed when Maybe there wasn't

a killer and they were all they were sad about

it. But then at the same time you're watching

a movie and if there wasn't someone that was

ended up being the killer or there's some sort

of murder mystery would you also be disappointed

though I think it's it's I think his cock certainly

loves to play with the audience in a lot of different

ways and this might be the The most you know

meta before meta was a thing way of kind of approaching

it the Decide to or not subconsciously or whatever

like you are doing everything that Jeffries is

doing you're watching everything that he's watching

you're Getting invested in these different characters

and wanting to know more about their stories

or trying to put two and two together with this

Is this a murder or not? So it's like he's he's

tricked you into being This character which number

one makes it harder for you to judge Jeffries

because you're doing it along with him and and

number two it just like from the suspense standpoint,

you're there because of how he's filmed this

and without changing to another apartment or

giving you other perspectives or point of views,

you have no choice almost but to follow along.

And the craziest thing for me is that I know

we somewhat knew what was going to happen and

probably had a little bit of a framework going

into the re -watch. I was, and this is not hyperbole

because I hate it when people say this, And and

I don't find it always 100 % truthful, but like

I was like literally on edge watching this in

the last third because I was trying to my hardest

number one to remember because I'm like why can't

I remember everything that's about to happen?

I know like this and this but like how does it

all come together and like I was actually like

literally 100 % invested and like not on the

edge of my seat necessary because I was in a

sitting in a bed but but I was like a very like

tense I was definitely tense and like wanting

to see exactly how this resolved itself even

though I've already seen the movie and I was

like wow how did he do that to me like I've already

seen this and I was still like I was feeling

the suspense so it worked for me from that standpoint

definitely especially when you know they go over

to the The room and at least you know, she gets

stuck it is because there's that helplessness

of being so far away and Just like oh, no, you

know, it's like there's that that is so suspenseful

and part of me too It's like I thought I was

like, did he do it? Like I kept in my mind thinking

there was an additional twist and it wasn't him

It was someone else but I maybe you know, clearly

I was yeah, so I kept like playing this game

in my mind where Like, even though I watched

it before, I kept questioning myself, which made

it even more enjoyable, oddly enough. Yeah. And

the only thing I could remember is I know Raymond

Burr goes over to Jeffrey's apartment. Like,

I know Raymond Burr ends up in his apartment.

And I was like, but I can't remember if he actually

had done it or what he does when he gets there

or how that all happens. And it's interesting

how Hitchcock, first of all, if Hitchcock would

have made it so that there was no murder, that

would have been the biggest twist in Like he

could have possibly pulled off because we know

how much he loves murder and having it in all

of his films. Like that would have been like

the switcheroo of all switcheroo is to have this

whole thing and then be no murder. Um, that w

that would have flabbergasted me, but like there's

a couple of things that like just really build

that suspense because one by one, number one,

he, he takes all of the people out of Jeffrey's

apartment, right? Before Thorwald goes over there.

So you have the suspense that now you have somebody

that's crippled at that moment with his broken

leg. By himself in this apartment and we know

nothing in this movie like there's no doors that

are locked basically so so you know like that

door somebody can just walk in so you have that

suspense of like I Know he's there and he's helpless

for the most part You also have the fact that

there's a very cool sequence where they show

Lisa standing in the window on Whatever level

floor that is. I think that's the second floor

and then you have miss lonely heart standing

in the window on the bottom floor Yeah. And they're

almost in the exact same pose. So you also have

the suspense of not only is Lisa over in that

apartment and potentially at risk, but you have

the fact that you also know what's going on in

the bottom floor if somebody doesn't get to her

quickly. And it's just an interesting way that

they kind of like do all of that. Like it, it

goes from, I don't, I don't know if I'd say it's

from zero to 60, but it definitely ramps up there

in that last, like however many minutes that

is. It had me hook line and sinker. I guess again,

maybe if I watch it again in five years It won't

have that same effect on me But it I guess 20

years off was enough for me to forget enough

to to be tense during that whole time Yeah, it

also it's a credible how much patience there's

this is honestly like a lot of Hitchcock movies

there's a lot of patients maybe it's just a different

style years later, but really like That you know

the pieces we're talking about are like the last

15 minutes of the movie. Yeah, it it's It's a

lot of just the questioning and like, you know,

just seeing what's happening and it doesn't really

get into the actual true suspense climax. It's

like the last 15 minutes or so. And it makes

it all worth it. Cause at that point, you know,

it, it feels almost cathartic because you're

finally getting there. But also even when you

were there, you're still wondering like, is there

going to be another twist or something like right

where it's going and like, flashlight kid or

like a flash You know be your ultimate weapon,

but yeah works saved by your craft I guess it

was it was I felt like it was I guess as much

as zero to sixty as that merry -go -round is

in Maybe not quite that crazy, but another thing

that I think they do very well is using the character

of lieutenant Doyle in a way that really like

solidly dispells most of the stuff they're coming

up with, right? Like it goes back to that thing

that you're talking about, like when you have

a conspiracy theory or it's like the same as

like when people try to use statistics to support

a position, which can almost always be done,

right? Like we can twist the numbers around to

make it like fit our thing. Or if you're looking

for something that supports an outcome versus

looking at the data to then form your outcome.

Like, so you, you have that thing going on where

they're Obsessed like we talked about it and

he's gonna find a way to make it so it's still

real So it's still and I think the way that they

have it where the lieutenant pretty Substantially

like refutes a lot of the stuff It's not just

like he's you don't it's not like a police officer

comes in or a detective comes in That's just

like I don't have time for this. I'm just blowing

this off. Like I don't believe you It's like

we checked this. This is this like A connects

to B, B connects to C, like you guys are crazy.

And it's very believable the way that that is

written and the way that the dialogue is delivered

and like how that all goes. Like it doesn't,

like I'm thinking of Dial M for Murder where

the detective in that one, you're questioning,

even if there was other, even if he was playing

like a longer game, I guess, like you're, you're

watching him and saying like, wait, what? Like,

How are you not seeing this or why are you acting

in this way and in this situation? It was like

he's got some points like I think you all might

be some crazy folks So I think that that player

or that character without the lieutenant is played

very well in the storytelling of this and the

plot development of this to like make you Question

not only Jimmy Stewart's character, but like

yourself too and like but like what you're talking

about Is there really a murder is there really

something that we're gonna find out? Yeah, it

wasn't a movie that made you mad because the

police weren't doing that job was like he actually

went above beyond he did what right, you know,

so But it also Then the way Jimmy Stewart's able

to kind of pick it apart But it does feel like

it becomes more and more desperate and the way

that back and forth works throughout Those is

really great. So yeah, I I agree and the way

that they use the I don't know I guess there

is some conveniences as far as like the the phone

calls and how fast everybody can get to the different

people's apartments and whatnot. But I didn't

really, I was neither here nor there. I was interested

though, to ask you a couple of things so that

I know for a fact, I haven't read the short story,

but I know for a fact that they changed two things

and I'm interested in your take on it. So obviously

Grace Kelly's character does not exist in the

short story. How much do you think that character

and the performance adds to, obviously it adds

a lot because we get to see her Grace Kelly perform

in a fantastic way. Like I get that. But from

a story in a plot standpoint, how much do you

think her character adds to this story versus

the short story who doesn't have the love interest

for Jeffreys? I think it adds a lot. Like you

mentioned, it shows this is obsessive nature

because for many people, like you have an opportunity

to marry Grace Kelly, you do it. But for him,

he's so enthralled with being a photographer

and the life he can bring him and that excitement.

That it makes all the more sense that he'd be

desperate to find it again when the issue presents

itself if that wasn't there. Then it's like where

it would feel like all that was happening. A

bit of like less inorganic way yeah but here

it gives you so much insight to who he is as

a character that makes you also question like

again is he just leading into it because of his

his need for that. Exciting opportunity to witness

something that's crazy and something that is

you know Earth -shattering or right is there

something there? So without that piece without

her being there without like having that relationship

I think that you lose a lot there and then like

I said, I think this their interaction was And

we what do you lose? Also one of the most exciting

scenes in the movie when she's so I think you

would lose a great deal with her without I agree

that as well I think there is to like some analyzing

where that's another facet of a relationship

that's not represented by any of the people that

are watching where you have the two people that

clearly are interested in each other but like

whether it be their jobs or some type of something's

holding them back maybe the fear of commitment

maybe the I just don't want to give up my my

my lifestyle or my job but like that's something

that we don't necessarily see from any of the

couples that we're watching um that I can think

of another thing that they change in the short

so I don't know. Again, I don't think this would

work either because I think it adds a lot of

suspense to the film rear window. But in the

short story, it's not revealed that Jeffreys

has a broken leg until the last line of the book.

And I find that intriguing, like I find it intriguing

to be like a wow moment at the end. To like make

you think back of everything that you've read,

but I can't imagine it as suspenseful if you

know that he. Doesn't you know what I mean? If

you know that he has that broken leg I don't

know how they I don't know how they deal with

the sequence I don't even know if there is a

sequence where the guy comes over any of that

type of stuff But I did find that an interesting

thing that you wouldn't know about that until

the end. I guess it could help Justify something

that you're wondering why he's just watching

them out the window for everybody and like yeah

It would have a different experience if you know

that he's not laid up like that. But what do

you think about that? Yeah, I I guess I had to

really obviously read the story to understand

the context of What it was going for compared

to this maybe it was just going for something

different, but I don't see how you could do that

In this movie in the movie at all And I feel

like if you was just revealed at the end I think

throughout the movie you just be more frustrated

with them. Like why like why you just like do

something like, you know, right so Yeah, I think

you'd lose a lot without that piece But again,

like it could be just that the short story was

going for a different might be a hundred percent

So obviously we get some Hitchcock things in

this film, right we have the Hitchcock blonde

and Grace Kelly we have the use of the Camera

work like we've said like he likes to be very

creative and how he constructs that and does

that we don't have any moms in this one So there's

nothing with that we It's a different we don't

have somebody that's guilty that we're following

or that's not guilty that's being accused of

something But we do we are still following something

that someone that's trying to get away with something

in a way But I don't know if I've pulled as many

of the I guess the Hitchcock Ian Things that

were supposed to be seen here and there and some

of his films as much as I've seen and some of

the other ones Is there anything that you picked

up on that you had a connective tissue to some

of the other films we've watched? Well, you'll

be of course get his camera now where he shows

up Like fixing the clock, you know, yeah, I was

watching this wondering like is he gonna be able

to you know get himself in the movie and he does

so and I think one thing we have seen in a couple

of you know rope and even Down to murder which

was a lot of movies that just take place in a

limited location. Maybe that's true And this

of course it's obviously not just one room, but

it is like one specific location So I think that

is something we're seeing and then there's other

movies that do that too that we're not covering

like lifeboat so I think that is like him controlling

a location or using location to benefit the story

is is Clearly clearly something that he is like

a master at and this is probably another magnum

opus when it comes to that feature Yeah, and

we've also seen this is not necessarily what

we're just talking about but like i'm thinking

of like the legacy of this film and like what

it did for the future of cinema and like different

things and how they would play with that and

like and just from a story standpoint like how

many times has another movie tried to do this

in a way yeah like they've done the the voyeuristic

like person like there was literally one just

a year or two ago where the um i'm blanking out

i think it's zoe cravitz's in it maybe or somebody

where she's like, it's a little bit more futuristic

where technology plays a lot bigger thing and

whatnot, but like where you're seeing somebody

from across an apartment room or from whatever.

And you're, you know, you see something bad,

like obviously you're going to see something

bad happen or you're suspecting something's bad

happening. And like, how do you do that? So like

we see it over and over again in, in the film

world, which is interesting. I don't know how

many times it was done before this one, but obviously

this one like seems like it's like the one that

like set that trend off of like, Hey, you can

really. build some auto like you have built in

suspense if you set it up with this type of like

voyeuristic setting, I guess, which is interesting.

I don't know. Did any any other films come to

your mind that like are a take on this that you

recognize over the last 10, 20 years? There is

that was it suburbia that. Yeah. Is that what's

his name? I can't think of his name. Shia LaBeouf

movie where he's like he's stuck at home. because

of like house arrest or whatever uh and has one

of the creepiest things in the world where i

think was it megan fox i kind of remember it

was megan fox yeah i think you might be right

it sounds right um but she like he says it's

just something that i've been staring and watching

you and she was like that is the greatest thing

ever it's like that is a weird way but honestly

the first thing my mind goes to is the simpsons

episode bark of darkness part of darkness i think

it's called where he's you know his lane his

Like it's broken and he's going through a similar

thing because Horace Simpsons did it. So that's

honestly where my mind goes first is of the Simpsons

pair. There's another one with, uh, I don't remember

if it's Amy Adams or if it's somebody who's got

like a condition where they can't like a, they

can't leave the apartment or something of that

nature because of some type of like a fear of

the outside world. And then. Trying to deal with

what she sees and helping in a way, but she's

afraid to go outside of her apartment. So yeah,

it's obviously been done in a number of different

ways. Was there any other little tidbits that

you noticed in rear window trivia bits or anything

that you haven't been able to point out yet that

you wanted to share? No, that was pretty much

it. You mentioned that didactic music that's

mentioned that that that I found that when I

first watched it, I never noticed it, but knowing

it. second time it's like it becomes so obvious

and so and it is so keen on Creating that atmosphere,

but I had nothing else The only other a little

bit of trivia that I thought was somewhat interesting

which came out in this special feature on the

DVD It was the they do some interviews with the

character that plays Miss torso Georgine Darcy

and she was commenting on the fact that the couple

that sleeps outside On the mattress on the balcony.

Oh, yeah on one of the upper floors how she said

basically Hitchcock intentionally. I'm sure did

this some people claim it was like a little prank

But I feel like he was doing it for like authenticity,

but basically he filmed everything from he was

in Jeffrey's apartment apparently like the whole

time like I don't know if it was a hundred percent

of the time but basically the whole time and

then he had people that were like In the other

places that he could talk to like on an earpiece

or whatever To relay directions to the different

actors or different things that were happening

in each of the apartment windows rooms or whatever

and So apparently he had given one of the couple

the earpiece to give directions to Gave his directions

to how he wanted the sequence to go when they're

getting rained on and they have to move the mattress

inside and then after he gave all the directions

to the guy let's say he told the guy to give

the earpiece to the girl so he could give her

the directions and then gave her a completely

different set of directions so that they would

like really be struggling with like which way

to go and how to get that inside to the point

where when he falls through the window that's

not even in the script that's just because like

they were so discombobulated at that point so

I give him kudos for like thinking of doing stuff

like that where it's gonna like build some like

actual authentic struggle with those two. Yeah.

So I think it's not like that's just like chef's

kiss, I guess. But like it's it's why Hitchcock

is who he is. So well, it makes me wonder like

how they even did the whole brain sequence, because

like they said that they had to build like one

of the most intricate or complex drainage tunneling

in the set to make sure that like all the water

would flow out. During that rain sequence. I

didn't like get a lot of details But apparently

that was another part of the the crazy set that

they build was to accommodate for that rain sequence

Yeah, cuz I can imagine Right and then just the

only other tidbit. This was a budget of 1 million

dollars and box office was 37 .9 which in today's

world would be about 316 million if we adjusted

for inflation, so Guess that would be quite the

success when you make 38 times your budget so

yeah Go Hitchcock and and go everybody involved

in in 1954. So any last words or final thoughts

on a rear window, Dan? I got nothing. I would

say you know if you're looking to watch one hitchcock

film I think you couldn't go wrong with this

and I you know always worry when you get a movie

like this, that's Get you know, are you going

to do set up so many different expectations that

it's gonna just disappoint and maybe it will

for some but I think Thank you. Like I said,

if we just look at it's it's just creation. It's

hard to You know just not agree just how amazing

this is as a movie Yeah, no, I agree like I came

out of this appreciate it even more than I thought

I'm hoping that's gonna be the same for our next

episode where we're gonna go four years later

into 1958 we're gonna talk about One of the other

most lauded and appreciated Hitchcock films,

which is, of course, Vertigo and also will see

Jimmy Stewart one more time. So just before we

close, Dan, I know you've seen Vertigo before.

How long has it been and what are you looking

forward to with this rewatch? That was it was

less than that. I think it was like eight or

so years ago. And to be honest, I remember watching

when I watched it the first time I. I don't remember

much of it, but I remember not being as impressed

with it compared to, you know, Rear Window or

some of the other films I've enjoyed more. So

I'm interested in going back and say, well, I

like it more. Like, you know, I know with a movie

like Rope, which disappointed me, will Vertigo,

because I think a lot of people put Vertigo above

Rear Window, above North by Northwest. I remember

when I saw it, I didn't feel that way. So. And

I had the exact same feeling. So I'm very intrigued

with as we're going through this series, how

it's going to resonate and if it resonates more

than it did the first time it's been about the

same time period for me, my mom and I watched

both of these somewhat not back to back, but

in the same time period. And I had a similar

reaction where I was like, okay, I get it with

a rear window. Like I understand why people say

the things that they do. And then I watched vertigo

and I was like, did I miss something? Not that

it's bad in any way, but I was like to me it

was clear that rear window was the better film

for me personally when I watch the first time

and I'm interested to see if that holds true

or if vertigo will surprise me and And jump up

on my list here after the rewatch. Yeah, and

I hate heights, too So I'm like, it's got me

that way. So see how it goes the second time

Yeah, all right. So that does it for this episode

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episode of the Cinema Geeks. Tune in next time

for another chance to listen to us talk more

about Hitchcock with the classic Vertigo.