Rear Window
In deadly danger...Because they saw too much!
Country
Production
Budget
$2 000 000
Box office
$36 775 433
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Audition
Editing
Short description
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on Cornell Woolrich's short story "Surely, It Was Murder".
- Alfred Hitchcock's cameo – he winds a watch in the musician's apartment.
- The comical episode with the mattress in the rain was provoked by the director: he told the man to pull it towards the left window, and the woman – towards the right. This confused the actors, and the scene made it into the film without additional takes.
- The studio sets used in the film were the largest built at Paramount Pictures at the time of its creation.
- The love relationship between the main character and his girlfriend was modeled after the romance between the famous photographer Robert Capa and the actress Ingrid Bergman.
- The main character uses an Exakta VX camera with a Kilfitt Fern-Kilar f/5.6 400mm lens and wears a Tissot watch.
- This is the only film in which Grace Kelly can be seen with a cigarette.
- The colors on the film faded and bleached as early as the 1960s, and the film stock was damaged. Despite fears that the film was lost forever, experts managed to restore it.
- The entire film was shot on one set, which required months of painstaking work (planning and construction). The set, featuring apartments and a courtyard, was 30 meters wide, 145 meters long, and 12 meters high, and included 31 apartments, 8 of which were fully furnished. The courtyard set was located 6-9 meters below, and some buildings were 5-6 stories high. All apartments were equipped with electricity and water.
- During filming, Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) consistently remained in Jeff's 'apartment,' while actors and actresses in other apartments listened to the director's instructions and directions through an earpiece.
- Alfred Hitchcock allowed Georgine Darcy (1931-2004) to choreograph her own dance independently. The only thing he forbade her was to consult or take lessons from professional dancers, as he wanted her to give the impression of being a non-professional dancer.
- Filming lasted a month, and throughout this time Georgine Darcy 'lived' in her character's apartment, resting there between takes as she would at home.
- The effect of sunlight was created by using a thousand arc lamps. It took about 45 minutes to change the lighting in the frame from day to night, as required by the script.
- All sounds in the film are diegetic, meaning their sources belong to the world constructed within the work on screen. This applies to all music, voices, and other sounds, with the only exception being the orchestral music, which is heard very briefly at the beginning of the film.
- In the original work by Cornell Woolrich (1903-1968), which served as the literary basis for the plot, there was no love story, nor were there additional neighbors that the character played by James Stewart (1908-1997) observed. These plot elements were invented by Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter John Michael Hayes (1919-2008). At Hitchcock’s insistence, Hayes specifically spent his free time with actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982), and some of her character’s traits were incorporated into the image and script as a result of interacting with Kelly.
- Before filming the scene where the protagonist uses a flashbulb against the character played by Raymond Burr (1917-1993), several members of the film crew specifically went into a darkened room where another member of the creative team used a flashbulb on them. Afterwards, they reported seeing bright, rapidly expanding orange circles. To ensure the audience saw a similar effect, Hitchcock enlisted the services of special effects expert John P. Fulton (1902-1966).
- According to Alfred Hitchcock, the film's plot was partially inspired by the 1910 story of Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, who, while living in London, poisoned his wife and dismembered her body, telling the police she had gone to Los Angeles. Crippen was eventually exposed because his secretary, with whom he was having an affair, began appearing in public wearing Mrs. Crippen’s jewelry, and a family friend unsuccessfully searched for her in California. Scotland Yard became involved. Crippen and his lover fled, but were intercepted aboard a liner. Parts of Mrs. Crippen’s body were found concreted into the basement of the Crippen’s home.
- Alfred Hitchcock's cameo — winding a clock in the musician's apartment.
- The romantic relationship between the main character and his girlfriend was modeled after the affair between the famous photographer Robert Capa and actress Ingrid Bergman.
- During filming, Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) remained constantly in Jeff's 'apartment'; actors and actresses in other apartments listened to the director's instructions and orders through an earpiece.
- Alfred Hitchcock allowed Georgine Darcy (1931-2004) to choreograph her own dance. The only thing he forbade her from doing was seeking consultation or help from professional dancers or taking dance lessons, as he wanted her to give the impression of someone who was not a professional dancer.
- Filming lasted for a month, and during this entire time, Georgine Darcy "lived" in her character's apartment, relaxing there between takes just as she would at home.
- In the original work by Cornell Woolrich (1903-1968), which served as the literary basis for the plot, there was no romantic storyline, nor were there additional neighbors for James Stewart's (1908-1997) character to watch. These plot elements were devised by Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter John Michael Hayes (1919-2008). At Hitchcock's insistence, Hayes specifically spent his free time with actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982), and some of her character's traits were written into the image and script as a direct result of his interactions with Kelly.
- Before filming the scene where the protagonist uses a camera flash against the character played by Raymond Burr (1917-1993), several crew members went into a darkened room where another member of the creative team used a flash on them. Afterward, they reported seeing bright orange circles that rapidly increased in diameter. To ensure the audience saw a similar effect, Hitchcock enlisted the services of special effects expert John P. Fulton (1902-1966).
- According to Alfred Hitchcock, the film's plot was partially inspired by the 1910 story of Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, who, while living in London, poisoned his own wife and dismembered the body, telling the police that she had left for Los Angeles. Crippen was eventually exposed because his secretary, with whom he was having an affair, began appearing in public wearing Mrs. Crippen's jewelry, while a family friend searched for her in California without success. Scotland Yard took an interest in the case. Crippen and his mistress fled, but they were intercepted on board a liner. Mrs. Crippen's body parts were found embedded in concrete in the basement of the Crippens' house.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
