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Rear Window

It's almost Halloween. May I recommend "Rear Window"?

Critics say "Vertigo" is better. But I find "Vertigo" a bit slow in parts. The convolutions of the plot get to be a bit much.

Here are things to cherish, in "Window":

*The maid. James Stewart's helper is a real asset, especially when she speaks up in favor of Grace Kelly: "Good sense belongs wherever it finds itself." In other words: It doesn't matter if you're fancy. If you're sensible, you can adjust to any circumstances.

*The final image. When Grace Kelly and James Stewart seem to have reached a truce, Grace Kelly indicates her new status with her choice of reading material. We see her scanning "Beyond the High Himalayas": She is going to rough it. She is going to leave her fancy life and be an adventurer, like her future husband. But as soon as Stewart falls asleep, Kelly drops her book. And she picks up a copy of "Vogue." The NYT said at the time the movie came out that Hitchcock's sense of psychology was "glib," but I do love that shot of "Vogue." That's more than glib, if you ask me.

*The killer. If the movie were made today, the killer might be sort of glamorous and sinister. But the guy Hitchcock chose is utterly average. He has a paunch. He looks like an accountant I once worked with. Stewart partly can't believe this guy is in on a plot--because who would attempt something so blatant, with the shades up? But Hitchcock seems to say: Look, people can be foolish. And if you listen to true crime stories, you know that people really *can* be foolish. Both criminals and cops. I like that very much.

"Rear Window"--even if it's not ranked as Hitchcock's number-one best movie--is nevertheless ranked, consistently, among the greatest movies of all time. So nothing I'm saying is news. But I'll say it anyway. Magnifique!

P.S. It's clear what the NYT was thinking of when the reviewer complained about glib psychology. A murder solution hinges on a character knowing "a woman would never travel anywhere without her jewelry" --! And you can make a good stock-market decision when you notice that a certain CEO is taking antacids and using the bathroom too many times per day. Fair, fair. But I like that stuff.
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