The Master Of Suspense In Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window

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An man who lives his life through the camera lens discovers something truly unique of his surroundings. L.B Jefferies, played by James Steward, is a famous photographer in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 suspense film “Rear Window”. Jeff is wrapped foot-to-hip in a cast after a photographing a racetrack accident. Confined to a wheelchair in his apartment, he begins to watch the daily activities of his neighbors. He has several different tenants in his view. One is a dancer he nicknames "Miss Torso", who entertains several gentleman callers at her apartment from time to time. Another tenant a few windows down is quite the opposite, a lonely woman he nicknames "Miss Lonelyhearts" who hosts dinners for imaginary dates. One tenant is songwriter…show more content…
The layout of the courtyard in which the tenant’s apartments are displayed worked well in this film to maintain several storylines together as one. Each night as Jefferies peeked out through his window he was able to stay current with what was happening in their lives by just glancing across the courtyard. I appreciated the creative angle that Hitchcock took in displaying the storyline. It gives you more than what you would typically get in other movies. Through this movie you get to experience a variety of stories that are tied together with a centralized theme. I enjoyed the fact that the romance of the 50’s is still very true to romance of today although we have fallen far from the class and well-spoken poise that is Grace Kelly. The story then is still the same story now; the girl always wants the boy who doesn’t want her. In this case, the well-established socialite model wants the dirty photographer. It is the classic tale of “you want what you can’t have”. I love that the movie has a romance among the mystery but it’s bothersome to see such a wonderful woman throw herself helplessly at someone who is blind to what he has. It almost makes you hate Jefferies a little, from a girl’s perspective

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