Alfred Hitchcock has proven himself to be one of the best directors of all time and that there never has been or never will be a director who can create films like this for however cinema lasts. It is unique how well a film can be written, filmed and as hugely successful especially when the film is based on either a very short story (which Rear Window is), loosely based on a poem or riddle or just a novel in general and Hitchcock is the one director who demonstrates that perfectly. I mean, the fact that the film involves murder and some possible murder attempts as you will see watching it, Hitchcock totally fits the PG rating of Rear Window perfectly.
In New York, the daring photographer L. B. Jefferies has been confined to his small apartment for five weeks in a wheelchair with one broken leg. He snoops his neighbors from his rear window to kill time and he is aware of the personal dramas of some of them. His fancy girlfriend Lisa Carol Fremont is pressing him to marry her but he believes she will not fit and feel comfortable with his brash lifestyle. When the invalid wife of the salesman Lars Thorwald vanishes, Jeff believes the man might have killed his wife. He tells his concerns to Lisa and to his nurse Stella and the women agree with his observations, but his friend Detective Thomas J. Doyle finds reasonable explanation for each remark. However, Lisa decides to go further in her investigation, getting closer to the suspect.
James Stewart already was a legendary actor before he starred in Rear Window and now after working alongside the great Alfred Hitchcock, he certainly delivers once again that he was and still is a legendary actor. After Stewart's first film Rope alongside Hitchcock was an extremely underrated motion picture and Rear Window was the one they did together that caught the audience's attention the most and at the very highest. Some perhaps prefer their work together in Vertigo but here's the punch line: if they failed in Rear Window, would we have a very successful Vertigo with? Hmmm… I think not. Jimmy Stewart is more or less an actor who will and did portray almost any kind of character you can think of and you can certainly find that out by reading his filmography or better yet, watch his films. He had a great career and I honestly think that his performance in Rear Window is definitely his most underrated performance ever.
You know what else made the film not only more interesting but made it hotter and more pleasurable to watch? Seeing the gorgeous and extremely talented Grace Kelly on the screen! She already made her famous mark alongside Alfred Hitchcock in the exact same year with her role in Dial M For Murder so her performance in Rear Window clearly wasn't going to be a disappointment. Seeing as Hitchcock had already worked with both Stewart and Kelly previously, he automatically knew that they were going to work perfectly alongside each other. Hitchcock normally tends to cast actors who has worked with before and, quite frankly, most directors are like that. Anyway, Grace Kelly's performance on-screen with Jimmy Stewart wasn't only cute, heartfelt, quite humorous on occasions but it was also quite arousing so that goes to show how much of a sex symbol she really was back in the 50s and became like a real opponent for Marilyn Monroe.
Thelma Ritter's performance was pretty good too as nurse and carer of Jeffries: Stella. As for Raymond Burr's performance as Lars Thorwald, it is definitely an underrated performance despite that we don't really see him talk during the film but his performance and from some actors that we have seen in the past, it goes to show that acting isn't just words. He bought out a great message to the Lars Thorwald. Well, great as in, like a good point in terms of a warning. As we saw at the start of the film, we analyzed the neighbours in the neighbourhood and observed that it does look a very peaceful area but when Jeffries begins to get suspicious, we don't see that innocence. That is exactly what Rear Window does show and unfortunately, not that many people who are selective enough to watch and read into it, notice it. So, basically it tells you that nowhere in the world is safe and you can't ever tell who is innocent and who isn't so it is sad but true.
Overall, Rear Window is another great accomplishment from Hitchcock that perhaps is in some people's opinions, the most overrated film he has ever done. As for me, a Hitchcock film underrated? There's no such thing! He does what he does best perfectly and has never failed throughout his entire career. I perhaps prefer Psycho and Rebecca over Rear Window but despite that, it still is a masterpiece that truly does show what thrillers are all about by the perfect man to show you.
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