Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Rear Window has a simple plot, an injured photographer becomes intrigued and enraptured with the comings and goings of his neighbors across the courtyard in his apartment complex and becomes convinced that one neighbor has murdered his wife.  The film takes place exclusively in the photographer's apartment and we merely can see into the neighbor's apartments through their windows.  The photographer, Jeff Jeffries, is played by James Stewart and due his broken leg is confined to his apartment and due to the inherent voyeuristic nature of his trade, he trains his eye on the apartments across the courtyard.  Grace Kelly plays his girlfriend, Lisa, and she is at first disinterested and disapproving of his actions, but she too is soon drawn into the human drama.  Thelma Ritter plays her usual sarcastic role as a visiting nurse who is sucked into Jeff's human drama.  Mr. Hitchcock does a brilliant job of making Jeff's voyeurism at first seem comically, a fun way to kill idle time, then slowly building upon a suspicion that grows and grows until it reaches a scary and thrilling conclusion.  The fact that he only allows the audience to see things from the perspective of Jeff's apartment and never allows into the apartments across the courtyard is a brilliant piece of direction and adds to the tension.  Rear Window was the second of the films that Mr. Hitchcock and Mr. Stewart made together and it was rousing success after the disappointment both felt after their first collaboration, 1948's Rope.
Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Rear Window has a simple plot, an injured photographer becomes intrigued and enraptured with the comings and goings of his neighbors across the courtyard in his apartment complex and becomes convinced that one neighbor has murdered his wife. The film takes place exclusively in the photographer's apartment and we merely can see into the neighbor's apartments through their windows. The photographer, Jeff Jeffries, is played by James Stewart and due his broken leg is confined to his apartment and due to the inherent voyeuristic nature of his trade, he trains his eye on the apartments across the courtyard. Grace Kelly plays his girlfriend, Lisa, and she is at first disinterested and disapproving of his actions, but she too is soon drawn into the human drama. Thelma Ritter plays her usual sarcastic role as a visiting nurse who is sucked into Jeff's human drama. Mr. Hitchcock does a brilliant job of making Jeff's voyeurism at first seem comically, a fun way to kill idle time, then slowly building upon a suspicion that grows and grows until it reaches a scary and thrilling conclusion. The fact that he only allows the audience to see things from the perspective of Jeff's apartment and never allows into the apartments across the courtyard is a brilliant piece of direction and adds to the tension. Rear Window was the second of the films that Mr. Hitchcock and Mr. Stewart made together and it was rousing success after the disappointment both felt after their first collaboration, 1948's Rope.