As Hollywood looks set to collapse in the wake of the Warner Bros./Netflix deal, we can at least still look back at a Golden Age of movie-making. Before the internet, social media, and the age of superfandoms, films used to hold a uniquely powerful aura merely by virtue of being beamed from a strange and wondrous planet called Hollywood. There’s no better example than “Rear Window,” Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 masterpiece, and if you want to distract from the current state of affairs and revisit the golden age by way of one of the best thrillers ever made, you can now do so over on Prime Video.
There’s an acting secret that links Jack Nicholson, James Stewart, and Leonardo DiCaprio, and it has to do with doing absolutely nothing. That is, all these performers understood a basic principle of movie stardom which has since been mostly lost. As Alfred Hitchcock put it, Stewart’s job in 1954’s “Rear Window” was “to do nothing well,” and what better way to demonstrate that particularly elusive skill than by putting the actor in a wheelchair and confining him to a single set for an entire feature?
Later, Nicholson, DiCaprio, and even Alec Guinness would talk about being able to simply stand there on-screen and exude a certain charisma, gravitas, or even just a sense that there was an internal process unfolding within. But Stewart came before all of them, and was the master of “doing nothing well.” If you want to see the master at work, “Rear Window” is streaming right now on Prime Video at no extra cost for subscribers. But you’d better be quick, as the movie is leaving the service in 2026, after which it will no doubt become lost in the endlessly maddening vortex of streaming services and licensing deals.
Rear Window is a classic for so many reasons
“Rear Window” was written by John Michael Hayes, who based his script on Cornell Woolrich’s 1942 short story “It Had to Be Murder.” Alfred Hitchcock then took that blueprint and produced one of the best detective movies ever, one of the best suspense movies ever, and heck, just one of the best movies ever made, period. The 1954 psychological thriller was, in the estimation of many, Hitchcock’s best work — a masterclass in staging and editing that also showcased its star at his very best.
For those yet to experience this Hitchcock triumph, James Stewart plays L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies, a photographer who’s confined to his Manhattan apartment after suffering a broken leg. The only thing Jeff can see from his window is the building’s courtyard and the inward-facing windows of the other apartments. Being a photographer, Jeff has a naturally curious nature and spends much of his time observing the daily routines of his neighbors and the events that unfold in the courtyard. From time to time, he’s visited by his socialite girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly), whose cosmopolitan lifestyle provides a stark contrast to Jeff’s confinement. After Jeff becomes convinced that one of his neighbors has murdered his wife, paranoia and obsession set in as Jeff, Lisa, and nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) try to solve the case.
Aside from Hitchcock’s typically expert use of suspense and the general filmmaking mastery on display in “Rear Window,” there’s an allegory about moviemaking and the act of consuming films that provides more than enough for serious film fans to contemplate. So, if you’re not all that thrilled at the prospect of watching Dwayne Johnson’s Christmas flop on Prime Video this festive season, give Hitchcock a go instead.
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