BEFORE: And Grace Kelly carries over from "Dial M For Murder" - I swear, it's almost like Hitchcock knew that someday an obsessive movie fan would need to link from one film to the next over successive nights...
THE PLOT: A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
AFTER: You know, even though I'm more than 2/3 of the way through Hitchcock's filmography, I still manage to second guess my scheduling. Should I have saved this chain for the fall, so "Psycho" could be closer to Halloween? Well, forget that, because this film is takes place during a hot NYC summer, so the timing is ideal. It's just starting to get hot in NY without being oppressive.
Bear in mind, this was made back before everyone in town had an air conditioner - so as things got hotter, people in the 1950's probably got more and more annoyed, and probably closer to killing each other. People also didn't mind being stabbed so much, provided that the killer's arm also provided something like a cooling breeze. And if someone shot at you, the bullet holes at least stood a chance of providing ventilation for your apartment.
From my office, I can see several apartment buildings and a hotel, so I can verify that people treat their fire escapes like balconies, and their balconies like little slices of heaven. It doesn't matter if that balcony is about 2 square feet and barely big enough for one lawn chair, they're going to get their tanning time in. And as for that hotel, well, you just never know what you're going to see with the aid of a pair of binoculars...
Our lead character tonight is a professional photographer with a leg in a cast, and nothing but free time to watch his neighbors as he recovers. There's the lonely lady who pretends to be on dates, the frustrated songwriter, the wannabe artist, and the woman who exercises in her undies. (and even still, our photographer manages to notice a man who may have killed his wife).
This neighbor is another one of those Hitchcock characters who thinks he's planned the perfect murder - even creating a cover story about his wife going out of town and then sending him a telegram. But it's not the perfect murder if someone's watching...
Again, the police take the most convincing, even though our photographer has a friend who's a detective. That's because most rational people would not resort to killing their spouses unless they'd at least considered divorce first - after all, you can't go to jail for divorce. I thought of that last night as Ray Milland was explaining his elaborate murder plan - at some point, the hired killer should have said, "And exactly HOW is this easier than serving her with divorce paperwork?"
At the same time he's trying to prove a murder, our hero's got relationship issues - his stunning girlfriend is too perfect (as if that's possible), and brings him catered meals. Dude, put a ring on it! But he's got inadequacy issues, apparently, and doesn't think she'll fit in with his world of traveling and danger. Plus then he'd have to stop watching his neighbors get it on...
I wonder if other people, especially critics, had the same problem I did with Hitch's last two films, with the killer being so long-winded. Perhaps this film was his response to that - after all, if you put the killer all the way across the courtyard, you can't listen to him ramble on.
But what's the take-away here? Out of every ten people on an average block in New York City, one is a murderer and another is his victim? Actually, for all I know that could be accurate.
Also starring James Stewart (last seen in "Rope"), Raymond Burr (last seen in "Delirious"), Thelma Ritter (last seen in "Call Northside-777"), Wendell Corey, with a cameo from Ross Bagdasarian (aka David Seville from "Alvin & The Chipmunks").
RATING: 7 out of 10 flash bulbs
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