A Hitchcock Weekend
I redeemed some of my credit card points for some Hitchcock CDs at i-mint to watch over the weekend. I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy them as many famous movies don’t age so well, imho. But thankfully, my apprehensions were unfounded as I had a thoroughly good time. What surprised me the most was how original the movies seemed even today! That, if nothing else must be the surest sign of a classic. Here is a short note on one of them.
James Stewart plays a wheelchair bound photographer who is biding his recovery time by spying on his neighbors through his rear window. He is visited regularly by Thelma Ritter who plays a nurse, and by his lover, the ravishing Grace Kelly. The strange disappearance of one his neighbors leads James to believe that she has been murdered and that starts off a chain of events which make up this thriller.
The action in the movie is completely encompassed by the happenings in Stewarts’s abode or by his POV via the Rear Window. By doing this Hitchcock binds us to Stewart’s situation until the very end. This is definitely a very gutsy move as many times in the movie, the more interesting action happens far away from Stewart’s earshot and we along with Stewart have only a limited access.
The movie starts off pretty slowly as we are introduced to James Stewart who has nothing better to do than spy on his many interesting neighbors. We share his boring life where the high point is when he manages to scratch an itch under his bandaged leg successfully. I almost dozed off during this phase as there was not much happening. The characters are introduced and that forms the basis for their delightful exchanges for the rest of the movie. While the practical Stewart is not sure if the posh Kelly can adjust to his lifestyle as a journeyman photographer, Ritter is a romantic who urges Stewart to take the plunge. Kelly does not understand why Stewart wouldn’t work in the US for fashion magazines instead of travelling around the world. What they all share though is affection for each other. Now that the characters have been introduced, Hitchcock decides to move the story forward.
A sequence of events convinces Stewart that one of his neighbors is guilty of murdering his wife. The next few scenes show us how his audience including a detective friend, played by Wendell Corey remains skeptical of his convictions. Through more spying, he finally manages to convince Kelly and Ritter. Hitchcock’s keen eye shows us how different men and women are and how they differently interpret events. While Stewart finds the nocturnal visits suspicious, Kelly believes that no woman would leave behind her handbag if she were to go on a trip. But once all three of them believe that something terrible has happened, Stewart suddenly finds that he is no longer in control of the future course of action as the spunky Kelly now starts taking charge of events causing Stewart much worry for her well-being. As Kelly finds herself in trouble near the end, in probably the most dramatic scene of the movie, Hitchcock refuses to take us to the center of the action, instead keeping us with Stewart who is watching the events unfold in front of his eyes. We share his frustration and inaction as he has nothing but his wits to save his lover as she cries out for his help.
Stewart’s final confrontation with the murderer happens in his own home and his attempts to save himself seem a bit, well, ‘old fashioned’! The movies ends on a delightful note where we are shown Stewart now, still in his wheelchair with more injuries than he started the movie with while Kelly who pretends to read a travel magazine, switches to a fashion one as soon as he dozes off. In the age of writers obsessed with character arcs, Hitchcock winks at us and seems to suggest that notwithstanding the dramatic events that unfolded before us, some things never change.
Tags: Grace Kelly, Hitchcock, JAMES STEWART, REAR WINDOW
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‘I almost dozed off during this phase as there was not much happening. ‘
Am surprised because in my view that’s the most interesting part of the movie.
Di you notice the scene where there’s only one light of a cigarette which glows on a pitch black screen?
Wear Window is a classic. Hope you have The man who knew too much, 39 steps, Vertigo, N x NW etc. Me too have some points on I-mint, will check out the redemption options. Thanks.
This is a cool movie, however, it is not much of a thriller as thought to be. There are some very finely grained elements in the story. And Grace Kelly!!!
I also have a collection of old Hitchcock movies! May be someday I will find some time to sit down and actually watch them..
uh- This was just after a heavy lunch…so maybe there’s another reason for that statement as well!
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Tejas- If you’re not gonna watch ‘em, send ‘em to me!
Also check out Strangers on a Train and Lady Vanishes, two of my fav Hitch movies.
i almost choked at ‘i almost dozed off…’.
what was most exciting to me was the way stewart manipulates kelly into doing the deed for him. his chauvinist character sends Kelly into danger and her agreeing to go enamours him to her. of course in the end stewart, and we, pay the price for meddling in other peoples affairs.
i think it was the heavy lunch:)…do watch it again and looking forward to a perceptive note on this gem. thank you
Nice article, i think Hitchcock is one of the greatest storyteller.
the movie mentioned by Ratnakar and uh are must watch.
The Introduction scene of Rear Window is the one of the scene where location and charachters and mood is established quickly and effectively.
Check out Rebecca,murder and ring,bird and rope.
If you want i will send you my dvd collection to you.
Defintetly check out rope..where nothing much happens..and the end is obvious..but it really is a very interesting movie.
Vertigo and North by Northwest are by far the most exciting ones..
and dont miss Rebacca.. it was my favorite novel and this was a wonderful adapatation
The greatest filmmaker who not only captured the thrill in the actors but also the thrill of the viewers. I am surprised to see 7 comments and not even a single mention of Psycho. The voyeuristic pleasure that he derives by just shooting the film is so evident.
@cinemausher
do u have the entire collection? i don’t.
I watched Read WIndow in Class 12. At that point in life, mny life had only one goal: To watch all of IMDB’s top 250 movies. So, I saw Hitchcock’s Rear WIndow at 15, and decided to watch it. I mean concept of voyeur, calm n composed Stewart, tension escalating slowly and all that I get it. But, I would still not rate it that ‘high’. Then, I read someone’s comment on PFC that movie is not only about screenplay and performances, but, also about the whole experience. If, it is really that, it didn’t touch me on that account too. Can someone tell me, what is really so profound about the Rear Window? Is it about the time it is set in? Or, one of the few movies that touches on the concept of a voyeur?
Same about Strangers on a Train. I think it Hitchcock’s worst. The concept is novel, but, the execution is yawningly linear!
Hitchcock creates a lot of suspense in very little space…as in most of his movies.
Dude. I loved this movie and yes it takes its own time to seep in but yet it is a classic the way the entire thing was done… try DIAL M FOR MURDER too (the similarity is that both movies are shot in the complete indoors with a couple of shot exceptions) and both are masterpieces as per me. Hope you like that too
@ all those who dont understand the ‘hype’ around hitchcock…
watch his movies a second time. dont give up. as it is, its strange that u guys didnt understand him. read about the movies u watch (not from imdb pls).
and finally discuss them.
http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/05/hitchcock.html
watch the last scene of Psycho, see Norman smile at u and then u will hopefully realize how insignificant we as audiences are to Hitchcock’s manipulations.
Guys- thanks for all your responses and reccos.
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Vinay- I disagree with your assessment of Stewart’s character as manipulative and chauvinistic. And whether her actions endeared her to him any more is never disclosed in the movie.
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cinemausher- Thanks for the generous offer! You can expect an email from me very shortly!
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Tanul- For me the delight in the movie was wrt to the excellent characterisations of the three main players involved and their interactions with one another as the dramatic events unfold. Whether such a script will get greenlighted today is definitely a moot question since visually it’s not much of an experience, like say, Birds.
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Kashan- thanks for the link.
@Kashan,
surely i can give you the dvds to.
@kashan-lol…Psycho is so obvious that we all missed it !
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@ Ratna: There was a Hindi remake of Strangers on the Train by Anand Rai- I would say one of the slick adaptations, it’s beautifully dark, sombre and powerful performance by the actors.
@ all Hitchcock fans
Watch Luis Bunuel’s movies. He was one of the favourite directors of Hitchcock and Hitchcock has even been accused of lifting stuff off of Bunuel’s films.
Bunuel is considered the master of surrealist cinema. Just google him or check out his profile in sensesofcinema.
forgot to mention, even Dev D’s poster (the one with the big lips) was inspired by one of Bunuel’s movie’s poster…i think it is “the discreet charm of the bourgeois”
I watched “I Confess” some days back. Though not a vintage Hitchcock, the movie is definitely worth watching. First the story.
A man who does odd-jobs at a local Church in Quebec robs and murders a lawyer. Wracked by guilt he confesses to his priest, Father Logan, the priest in the very same church where this man is employed.
The entire drama of the film revolves around the priest being bound by the confession. By Christian law/doctrines he cannot share the guilty man’s confession with the police. Ironically the police start suspecting the priest because witnesses saw a priest leaving the murdered man’s house, late at night. That was in fact the murderer Otto Kellar, dressed in a priest’s robes.
You know right at the beginning who is the guilty person. So the suspense of the movie is quite obviously not a whodunit, but a moral, psychological issue – what do you do if you know who the murderer is but are bound by oath to keep silent about it, even if it means being hanged for the other man’s crime.
The movie can be called a psychological thriller. Multiple characters are wracked by their own demons and transformed during the course of the movie, from seemingly innocuous persons to sly, downright wicked people and others who redeem themselves by rising above personal passions.
There is Otto Kellar, the murderer. At the beginning he is a scared, simple man. Poor, desperate to grab a few dollars. Guilty and scared. But gradually, he gains power over the priest as he comes to realize that bound by his Christian vows, the priest can never give him up to the police. So at first Kellar pleads with the priest, begging him to maintain the sanctity of his confession. Then over the days, as he realises that the priest is too honourable to betray his trust, he starts taunting him, challenging him to reveal the murderer’s identity to the police.
Even when he realizes that the priest himself was being suspsected for the murder and might even be convincted for it, he feels no guilt. By that time he has become completely ruthless. He takes a gun with him to court, determined that if the priest at any time breaks down and reveals who the true murderer is, he will shoot him.
Agatha Christie always says in her novels that once a murderer has killed once, killing becomes a game/even a habit. His conscience is killed by the first crime. The crimes that follow do not mean anything to him, just something that’s necessary to save himself.
Towards the end of the movie Kellar too does not hesitate to kill. Not just the priest, but innocent bystanders who are in his way.
The other main characters who are caught in a “tangle web” of emotional compulsions are the priest, Logan, his ex-girlfriend, and her husband.
Logan, a hot-blooded, upright young man, volunteers for the army and comes back transformed. He decides to become a Catholic priest. While he cares deeply for Ruth, he will not let her distract him from his higher calling. His dilemma is – honouring the confession, protecting Ruth’s reputation at the risk of being suspected of being the murderer, and being a silent spectator to Ruth’s anguish, as she longs to be with him, forever.
Ruth loved Logn passionately, and waited for months, years…for him to return from the war. Then she got tired of waiting and married her sympathetic boss. But when Logan does return, she realises she still loves him and arranges to meet him clandestinely (Logan does not know she is married). She is unable to supress her mad passion for Logan and confesses to her husband.
Her husband loves her dearly, even though he is painfully aware that she does not love him. He accompanies her to the police station and bravely sits through her confession – that she had been with Logan on the night of the murder.
The movie is in black and white and captures the beauty of Quebec wonderfully.
The hero, Father Logan, is Montgomery Clift. An extremely handsom man! I haven’t seen any of his other movies. Has anyone else?
The heroine, Ruth is Anne Baxter, beautiful, winsome!
Otto Keller has been enacted by OE Hasse – a deft handling of a needy, weak man, turning into an unscruplous rogue. His wife is Dolly Hass – who portrays the scared, helpless good wife, extremely well.
And…don’t miss Hitchcock in the first scene, as the credits roll by!
I think here Hitchcock explores the voyeuristic nature in all of us. Combined is the natural curiosity on things that surround us. This is very natural and sensible for James Stewart who is a photographer by profession. Also Grace Kelly lights us the screen and Hitchcock explores the concept of Feminism, which Kelly seems to expand, even though she is aware and uses her sexuality very much. Found it surprising that somebody almost fell asleep. Hitchcock is very much like Alistair McLean who elaborately build the setting for the events to unfold. In some books McLean spends as many as 5-6 pages to make the reader familiar with the territory. So is the case with Hitchcock.
I am a big fan of Hitchcock and urge all the guys here to not miss his Vertigo which I think is one of his best.