Chapter 2: Elaborate Rear Window Dressing
”You really have to keep your eye open in the film, because it’s a complicated thing. And the audience was really with it, I thought that was just amazing. It just bears out the feeling that so many of us had about Hitch and his way of doing things.”
-James Stewart on ‘Rear Window’ from interview with Janet Maslin in The New York Times from October 9, 1983 following a re-release of ‘Rear Window’, one of the illustrious “Hitchcock 5”.
Good Evening…
There’s an inherent risk in bringing up a point that undoubtedly brings to mind an old man yelling at the clouds, but here it goes: It seems like no one takes time to notice the little things. This notion is generational and keeps popping up within every iteration of a go-go society. However as of the last 20 years, there’s been a boom in pointing out every detail in every film or TV show you see. It’s one of the few benefits the internet still provides so long as it is not followed by a rant that veers off course (by the way, there’s no guarantee that will never happen here, but fingers crossed) . That devotion to watching a film over and over and over again to notice every intricate detail is now an essential business tool in how films are made.
It is arguable to say that Hitchcock was at the very least one of the founding fathers of this trade, if not the origin point (Yes, I’m sure I’m blanking on a director before him who does it. I know, I’m horrible).
Almost from the moment Hitchcock came to directing, he has laced every film he touched with meticulous attention to detail in order to ensure maximum enjoyment in his films. Many times these details are never really noticed the first go around. If you enjoyed the film the first time and then go back and study it, it can help you understand the tricks that are done in order to ensure the enjoyment. In the storied career of ‘The Master of Suspense’, each of his films present a level of care and meticulousness that enhances the viewers experience.
His 1954 picture ‘Rear Window’ may be the epitome of this thought. And if the great Peter Bogdanovich is correct, “‘Rear Window’ is sorta Hitchcock’s testament film… meaning that in ‘Rear Window’, perhaps you see the best example of what Hitchcock’s cinema at its best stood for, which is essentially the subjective point of view.”
That statement is essential to understanding how Hitchcock was compelled and thrilled to lay in those details. The nature of how we have always operated in day to day lives is inherently steeped in noticing things big and small that can potentially dictate our reactions and understanding of any situation. Now we may not notice every single thing in the bustle of life, but we arguably notice enough to then emotionally connect to the same thing happening before our eyes on a silver screen. The subjective point of view is a constant in Hitchcock’s work, always at play. In ‘Rear Window’ , it is the point of the film thematically. The story of a wheelchair bound James Stewart peeping in on the lives of others automatically requires for those details that enhance a film to become focal points. If ‘North By Northwest’ is the ‘Ultimate Hitchcock Film’ from a story perspective, then ‘Rear Window’ is the ‘Ultimate Hitchcock Film’ from a filmmaking craft standpoint.
It’s best to start with the tool that is most identified with filmmaking: the camera. In the hands of the director and cinematographer it is a tool to bring the viewer into the world of the film and the mind of the director. Hitchcock’s camera was the king and the actors its subjects. That world where the camera is king is a detail that, if the job is done correctly, is unnoticed by the viewer. In ‘Rear Window’, the camera tells the story inherently by the design of what it wants you to see. In any other iteration of the story, ‘Rear Window’ would be solely focused on anything pertaining to the murder across the way. But Raymond Burr’s apartment is not the only one we peer into, therefore the camera is telling us that the murder across the way is not the focus of the story. Screenwriter John Michael Hayes weaves a tale that involves a mystery, but at its core is about how L. B. Jefferies’ (James Stewart) impressions of his neighbors dictate his attitude toward his relationship with socialite Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly). It’s a film about the fear of commitment and primarily through the camera work does it become the central theme and not a side story to the murder. Hitchcock and cinematographer Robert Burks revel in shooting only what is essential to getting those thematic elements across while providing the mystery of Thornwald’s (Raymond Burr) missing wife, which also essentially contributes to Jefferies thoughts on tying the knot with Kelly. The camera becomes the audience and we become voyeurs ourselves. As Thelma Ritter says in the film, “We’ve become a race of peeping toms.” The camera also lays into the “Pure Cinema” practices that Hitchcock lived by. Telling the story primarily through imagery and not dialogue. The opening of the film, in one panning shot, tells the whole story of why Jefferies is in his wheelchair and stuck in his apartment without having a block of dialogue that numbs the mind. There is also the way Hitchcock’s camera gives the audience information that Stewart does not receive while maintaining the voyeuristic nature. The moment when Thornwald walks out of his apartment with another woman after the scream before happens in a single pan that ends on Stewart fast asleep. It’s a detailed shot that never breaks the momentum or throws implausibility into the story. Then of course there is the final shot of the movie, which shows Jefferies laying in his chair with now two casts sleeping peacefully and the panning to Lisa reading a world travel book before picking up Harpers Bazzar. It’s a detail in the camera work that settles their arcs without relying on the dialogue. That ‘Pure Cinema’ technique is an ever important detail that functions as philosophy for Hitchcock, even if to the viewer it is just a cool thing they notice and then forget about.
Clip: Opening scene of ‘Rear Window’.
Though “Pure Cinema” is often achieved, sound does play a substantial role in how we enjoy and experience the film. Surely if it were up to Hitchcock, he would not need sound period, but as this is a film post 1927, of course it will possess it. A frequent tool of Hitchcock though is to limit it severely. In a Hitchcock film, the sound is used at the directors discretion when it comes to the final mix. There are moments laden throughout his films where any vital sound effect is used softly and just enough to not break the tension flowing through the audience’s mind. In ‘Rear Window’, you see key examples of that. The final confrontation between Jeffries and Thornwald does not possess a score, nor any additional sound effects like footsteps or a wheelchair squeaking as it moves. The only sound effects you hear in that scene are the flash of a camera light going off and the sounds of the bulbs being replaced as Jefferies tries to ward off Thornwald. Hitchcock keeps it basic and bare bones which can put you on edge. There is also the matter of how he uses sound to enhance the voyeuristic theme of the film. Every sound outside of Jefferies apartment is recorded as such that it sounds as if it is coming from an appropriate distance. It sort of reverses his selective use of sound effects and grounds you into the reality of Jefferies world from that apartment. Songs playing in the bar across the street or even in the Songwriter’s (Ross Bagdasarian, creator of ‘Alvin and The Chipmunks’) apartment are coming through with appropriate distance and sound barriers accounted for. It further enhances our experience being only in Jefferies world and nowhere else. It also provides a level of intrigue, as that distance provides the characters in the other apartments to have elaborate conversations with us only grasping the basics through the notion of “Pure Cinema”, like watching a dialogue scene in a silent film with no cue cards. Hitchcock finds a way for “Pure Cinema’ and sound to coexist in those scenes that further elevates his artistry.
Clip: Neighborhood Observations by Jefferies (James Stewart) in ‘Rear Window’.
With the camera as a king in the court, the actors are the subjects. Those actors are bound to the frame and part of the reason why the acting in Hitchcock’s movies is highly regarded can be associated in part with how they must work within those guidelines. In the case of Stewart and Kelly, they are given much more of the lines to deliver that can be driven by both their interpretation and Hitchcocks guidance. The most fascinating details in the acting and Hitchcock’s direction come from everything outside Jefferies’ apartment. There is a whole world outside that room and each and every person Stewart peep in on is full of a full story to tell in even more detail than just what we see. Starting with Miss Torso (Georgine Darcy), we are looking into the world of an aspiring dancer who entertains various persons with the assumed hopes of advancing her career in dance. A detail in Miss Torsos story lies in a trivia fact: Hitchcock instructed Darcy not to take any dance lessons or learn any ballet of any kind. Hitchcock wanted her to find her own interpretation of what her character would dance like. That simple instruction blossoms into the detail that fully explains Miss Torso as a character without having to hear her speak. We get the notion through her dance and subsequent actions with others in her apartment that she is either an amateur or just good enough to maybe have a shot at dancing professionally in bigger places. It’s a small detail that blossoms into a full character from the moment you understand that is what’s going on. There is also a bit of direction that involves a prank on Hitchcock’s part. During production, the actors in the other apartments had one-way earpieces for Hitchcock to give direction to those actors. In one scene, the couple sleeping on the fire escape are trying to get their mattress and themselves inside from the rain. Hitchcock had instructed the husband to pull the mattress one way and told the wife to pull the mattress the other way, without either of them knowing they had each received opposing directions. This results in a tussle that leads the husband to then literally fall through the window back into the apartment. That was the one and only take of that scene and it is a scene that helps define those characters and (combined with cross cutting to Stewart) provides further thematic reinforcement of Stewart’s marriage anxieties by watching a couple struggling in the rain.
Hitchcock’s precision with the details of the actors is automatically enhanced by the genius of frequent Costume Design collaborator, Edith Head. Hitchcock always relied on Edith’s brilliance in what a character should wear in order to make that character distinct. In ‘Rear Window’ it is put through the best test. For the main characters, Head puts Jefferies in simple pajamas and helps indicate a vulnerability for Jefferies both physically and mentally as he goes through the film in panic and terror trying to solve the mystery and to ward off the serious discussion of marriage with Kelly. It’s a long shot to suggest that this immediately explains his defensive attitude, but it does give the sense that he must because he’s more stripped of power than if he were wearing something officious or anything that identified confidence and calm in the 1950’s. Kelly is dressed elegantly in beautiful gowns, primarily appearing in green or emerald. It provides a contrast when by the climax of the film she is going through feats of heroism that contradict the practicality of the gown (at least by 1950’s standards). Her gowns and suits in green also relate to Miss Lonelyhearts, another character Jefferies has been observing. Miss Lonelyhearts (Judith Evelyn) is a character who is going through the ringer of romance that ends up in terrible heartbreak and crippling loneliness. Miss Lonelyhearts dons green through many key moments where Lisa and Jefferies are peeking in on her and it provides an astute reflection to Lisa (in green also) and her problems in the relationship with Jefferies. It’s one character out of the many that reside in the apartment complex where each are given distinct looks to help the viewer identify them and keep track of their individual narratives in conjunction to the whole of the piece.
The most fascinating from the actors perspective may be in the restraint of explanation and the reliance only on the details. The Thornwald character who gets rid of his wife is perceived by the audience as a murderous monster, however we do only see this from Stewart’s perspective. The detail here is that Stewart is only seeing some of the details, and points to only a small understanding of how everything functions on Stewart’s end. When Thornwald finally enters Jefferies apartment and confronts him, Thornwald is a man in desperation, with Raymond Burr injecting a sense of panic and true fear in his delivery. Peter Bogdanovich pointed out in an interview with Hitchcock that there is a level of sympathy to Thornwald and Hitchcock concurs by pointing to the confrontation scene where Jefferies remains silent while Thornwald is essentially pleading for reprieve. “During that moment,” Hitchcock replied in the interview “it makes one think, ‘you know, he’s [Jeffries] really kind of a bastard.” So by taking away that detail from Jefferies and giving one to Thornwald, Hitchcock is able to play with our perceptions of events in the final ten minutes of the film. It may not reshape the way we view it from a broad standpoint, but it is a thought inherent to the voyeuristic tone of the piece. It is a detail that makes revisiting the film a delight and ties into Hitchcocks meticulous and methodical planning early on in pre-production, where these story details and character traits and plot executions are thoroughly pre planned with all left to do in production but turn on the machine and maybe tweak it as it goes along to ensure the machine runs smoothly.
Clip: Thornwald (Raymond Burr) confronts Jefferies (James Stewart) in ‘Rear Window’
With ‘Rear Window’, one is treated to a feast of the style of Hitchcock. The film is, in many ways, the best way to start watching Hitchcock so that you can then go further and see how elements like these and many more make their way into each of his films. As the series continues, there will surely be discussions on how these are achieved and how they even surpass this film. But as far as a prime example and starting point, ‘Rear Window’ is a clear example on how to at least start understanding Hitchcock and why he was a master at his craft.
And this is only scratching the surface. The further you go into his technique combined with his repeated thematic elements, the more intriguing it gets.
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Till the next article… Good Night.