Just 15 years after Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Jimmy Stewart starred in what is arguably Hitchcock’s best film as an invalid adventurer confined to a studio apartment with only the view from his rear window to entertain him. By 1954 Alfred Hitchcock was the anointed master of suspense and Rear Window serves to reinforce that proclamation, delving into the thrills found in ones own back yard, and enhanced by the imagination of a restless mind – or is it imagination?

A cult favorite, Psycho is an undeniably brilliant thriller that focuses on the internal isolation of an individual and the realities that may or may not exist within the confines of his small life. The stylish North By Northwest is about a successful capitalist thrown into the frightening world of espionage where the common abilities of the Corporate Man are useless tools indeed. Window surpasses these two Hitchcock favorites with its ability to merge both concepts neatly into one film, combining the growing paranoia of a man cut off from society with the overwhelming helplessness felt by one with the inability to control the events that have been thrust upon him. There’s all this and the talents of Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter and Raymond Burr.

Although Vertigo is the preferred Hitchcock by many a film snob and critic, it really doesn’t hold up to these three superior films. For all its fanfare and hoopla over style and finesse, it’s just way too overrated for its own good: the pacing is too slow, it’s impossible to believe that Stewart could ever be such a gullible character, and Kim Novak is simply annoying as the tortured love interest. If you really want a good Hitchcock film, dealing in secret identities and complex subterfuge, I suggest Family Plot, the master’s last, but certainly not least suspenseful thriller. And while you’re at it, give Rear Window another look. You’ll be reminded how satisfying a scary story about neighbors can be. And don’t forget to close the curtains.         

(click on names for IMDB.com listings)