Rear Window

Plot

While recuperating after breaking his leg, a professional photographer, L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies, is confined to a wheelchair in his apartment in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. His rear window looks out onto a courtyard and other apartments. During an intense heat wave, he watches his neighbors, who keep their windows open to stay cool. They include a lonely woman, whom Jeff nicknames "Miss Lonelyhearts"; a newlywed couple; a composing pianist; a pretty dancer, nicknamed "Miss Torso"; a middle-aged couple, whose small dog likes digging in the flower garden; and Lars Thorwald, a traveling costume-jewelry salesman with a bedridden wife.

James Stewart as L. B. Jefferies

Jeff is visited regularly by Lisa Fremont, his socialite girlfriend, and by a nurse, Stella. One night, after an argument with Lisa, Jeff is alone in his apartment and hears a woman scream "Don't!" and the sound of breaking glass. Later that night, during a thunderstorm, he observes Thorwald making repeated excursions carrying a suitcase. Later, after Jeff dozes off, Thorwald leaves his apartment along with a woman. The next morning, Jeff notices that Thorwald's wife is gone, and sees him cleaning a large knife and handsaw. Thorwald also has moving-men haul away a large trunk. Jeff becomes convinced that Thorwald has murdered his wife, and tells Lisa and Stella, who believe him when they notice that Thorwald's wife isn't in bed anymore. Jeff calls his friend and war buddy Tom Doyle, a New York City Police detective, and asks him to investigate Thorwald. Doyle finds nothing suspect: apparently Mrs. Thorwald is upstate.

Soon after, the neighbor's dog is found dead. The distraught owner yells and all the neighbors runs to their windows to see what the yelling is about—except Thorwald, who sits quietly in his dark apartment, smoking a cigar. Certain that Thorwald killed the dog, Jeff telephones him to lure him away so that Stella and Lisa can investigate. He believes that Thorwald buried something in the flower bed and killed the dog because it was digging there. When Thorwald leaves, Lisa and Stella dig up the flowers, only to find nothing there.

Much to Jeff's amazement and admiration, Lisa climbs up the fire escape to Thorwald's apartment and clambers in through an open window. Jeff and Stella get distracted when they see Miss Lonelyhearts take out some pills and write a note, apparently about to commit suicide. They call the police; but, before they can report the suicide attempt, Miss Lonelyhearts stops, opening the window to listen to the pianist's music. Thorwald returns and confronts Lisa, and Jeff realizes that Thorwald is going to kill her. He calls the police and reports an assault in progress. The police arrive and arrest Lisa when Thorwald indicates that she broke in to his apartment. Jeff sees Lisa coyly pointing to her finger with Mrs. Thorwald's wedding ring on it. Thorwald sees this also and, realizing that she is signaling someone, spots Jeff across the courtyard.

Jeff phones Doyle and leaves an urgent message while Stella goes to bail Lisa out of jail. When his phone rings, Jeff assumes it is Doyle, and blurts out that the suspect has left. When no one responds, he suspects that it was Thorwald calling. Thorwald enters Jeff's dark apartment and Jeff fires a series of camera flashbulbs to temporarily blind him. Thorwald pushes Jeff out the window and Jeff, hanging on, yells for help. Police enter the apartment, Jeff falls, and officers on the ground break his fall. Thorwald confesses to the police that he murdered his wife.

A few days later, normality returns to the neighborhood. The couple whose dog was killed have a new puppy, the newlyweds are having their first argument, Miss Torso's boyfriend comes back from the army, Miss Lonelyhearts starts seeing the pianist, and Thorwald's apartment is being refurbished. Jeff rests in his wheelchair, now with casts on both legs. Beside him, Lisa reads a book, Beyond the High Himalayas. After seeing that Jeff is sleeping, Lisa happily opens a fashion magazine.


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