REVIEW: Rear Window: The Making of a Hitchcock Masterpiece in the Hollywood Golden Age by Jennifer O’Callaghan
The definitive, in-depth look inside the making of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window—the all-time classic of voyeurism, paranoia, and murder that became one of Hollywood’s greatest achievements and turned generations of viewers into “a race of Peeping Toms.” . . .
Before the internet and social media offered voyeuristic glimpses into the lives of others, the acclaimed Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, exposed the dangers and delights of looking—and knowing—too much in his 1954 masterpiece Rear Window. Widely hailed as one of the greatest films ever made, it stars James Stewart and Grace Kelly at the top of their game but, in an unusual gamble, is shot entirely from within a Greenwich Village apartment . . .
Using this limited point of view, Hitchcock forces his audience to participate in his protagonist’s voyeuristic impulses and darkest obsessions—a bold move in the era of the Hollywood Blacklist and restrictive Hays Code. But the gamble paid off, and Rear Window became a timeless classic.
This eye-opening book goes straight to the source of Rear Window’s genius by mining the original papers of Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart, and Thelma Ritter, revealing little-known facts behind the scenes: Why taking the role of Lisa Fremont was one of the toughest decisions Grace Kelly ever made; How Hitchcock intertwined suspense and romance with inspiration from Ingrid Bergman; How he used a topless scene to distract the censors from other scenes to which they may have objected; and how Hitchcock crafted the film’s unforgettable villain, Lars Thorwald, by modeling him on a producer he loathed—the infamous David O. Selznick.
Filled with eye-catching photographs, outrageous anecdotes, and delicious details, this exciting book pulls back the curtain on a classic thriller that’s as relevant today as ever—and every bit as thrilling.
Review
Just a Little Neighborhood Murder
I love this movie. It’s an amazing and legendary masterpiece with fabulous actors, a great set, a wonderful story, clothes that make me drool for them, and shows Hitchcock at the top of his game. It has filming issues that would usually have been restrictions but instead are turned into opportunities. When I saw this book I immediately asked to be allowed to read it.
How exactly do you promote bloody murder, voyeurism, and a peep show without ruffling executive or public feathers?
Jennifer O’Callaghan dives deep into how the movie came into being, the challenges those making it overcame, the stars and secondary actors who brought it to life, how it turned the 50s gender politics on its head with a young working woman heroine and a hero stuck at home, and how it was initially received on release. But there’s a lot more to the book. Some of it makes sense such as the overview of Hollywood in the 50s, the backgrounds of Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, Edith Head’s glamorous creations for Kelly to wear, and the Oscars that snubbed the film. So far, so good.
Stella: Nobody ever invented a polite word for killin’ yet.
Then I checked my page count and realized that 1/3 of the book was left. From this point on, there’s a lot of tangential extras and “reaches.” Grace Kelly’s courtship and marriage, Hitchcock’s attempts to find a new “Hitchcock Blonde” and his creepy and toxic relationship with Tippi Hedron, a chancer’s smart legal move that tied up the rights to the story on which the movie is based, and the change in Hollywood over the 60s-80s are among the many things discussed. Okay, some of these are interesting but they are in many cases only loosely related to “Rear Window.”
No one is completely innocent and therefore, no one ever fully escapes their fate. Villains have moments of sympathy and heroes are partial to poor decisions.
In the middle of this later section, I went back and reread the blurb to see if I had completely missed the fact that the book would be about more than the actual production, shooting, and legacy of the film only to see that no, this isn’t mentioned. So I’m letting readers know what else they can expect. The book is well written and keeps to a fairly serious non-fiction tone rather than a gossipy one. I ate up the details about “Rear Window” but could have done without the “shove in every last detail even distantly related to it” ( for instance the actor who played the composer was also behind “Alvin and the Chipmunks) stuff. B-
~Jayne
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I’m with you, Jayne. One of my favorite movies that, as a kid, scared the stuffing out of me. So well done, so much showing without telling. I will definitely look for this book. Thanks for the review.
@Darlynne: I hope you enjoy it. I remember a discussion about this movie (can’t recall when or where) during which some people said they don’t like it much. I was a little shocked. But then recalled that I don’t really care for “North by Northwest” so there you go.
I like Rear Window but it’s not my favorite Hitchcock (that would be Rebecca). It’s a masterpiece but a slow one. The first time I saw it the passivity wore on me.
It’s a hard call whether I like this or North by Northwest better, Jayne, but I think Rear Window is the better movie from an art perspective.
It’s interesting how tastes differ with Hitchcock, but most people like at least one. The only Hitchock I truly dislike is Notorious, but so many people adore it. There have been two romance genre adaptations of it that I know of, and I think it’s as unromantic (and infuriating) as can be.
As for Rear Window, Patricia Ryan wrote a medieval historical romance that was an homage to it, called Silken Threads. It was good.
@Janine: I haven’t watched too many of his late 60s ones (Topaz, Torn Curtain) but one that I like a lot is Family Plot. I think I’m in the tiny minority with this one but I like that the two everyday, slightly goofy characters manage to bring down the villains.