In one of the most magnificent careers in cinema history, Alfred Hitchcock outdid himself with a run from 1951 to 1960 that encapsulated not only some of the best Hollywood films of the decade, but of all time. In the middle of this impressive flex is Hitch’s complex ode to gender roles, gender relationships, and expectations. Hitchcock, who already had gone everywhere and done everything for film, challenged himself by limiting everything except his imagination. Rear Window was shot on one set with minimal actors, and included his lead actor not just staying in one room, but staying in one chair for the entire film. Casting Jimmy Stewart, America’s all town boy, against type as a voyeur, Hitchcock uses a high form of the Kuleshov Effect to tell an insidious tale of murder in the big city. Join Dave Anderson and I as we muse scene by scene through the Master’s use of light, incredible technicolor camera panning, and do I need to mention Grace Kelly, to create a subtext describing the phases, levels, and intricacies of being in love and being human. Along the way we discuss Stewart’s role as the first Redditor, De Palma’s aping of the master, and how even Die Hard rips off Hitchcock.  

You can find the Super 70 Podcast wherever you find podcasts, and most recently on YouTube! You can find me, my books, and my blog at www.thatdylandavis.com I’m @thatdylandavis on Threads, Letterbxd, and Blu Sky. I’m Dylan Davis and we’ll meet next time probably in L.A. 

Works Cited 

Belton, John. Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Limelight. 2004 

Fawell, John. Hitchcock's Rear Window: The Well-Made Film The Well-Made Film. Southern University Press. 2001. 

Sharff, Stefan. The Art of Looking in Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Cambridge University Press. 1999.

37 Rear Window (1954)

The Super 70 Podcast is a commentary you play along with the film for scene by scene analysis, or you can just listen in your car. Dylan Davis is the author of "FLYNN!", Dating Virginia, Buffalo Seine, and Threshold. He is a reader, listener, and appreciator of culture. Find him at www.thatdylandavis.com and on Twitter @thatdylandavis #super70podcast