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IMDb > The Woman in the Window (1944)

The Woman in the Window (1944) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.9/10   2,574 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Fritz Lang
Writers:
Nunnally Johnson (writer)
J.H. Wallis (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Woman in the Window on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
3 November 1944 (USA) more
Tagline:
It was the look in her eyes that made him think of murder. more
Plot:
A middle-aged college professor laments his stodgy life until he spends an evening with a beautiful woman who has a dangerous lover. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. more
User Comments:
What a Dream! more

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Edward G. Robinson ... Professor Richard Wanley
Joan Bennett ... Alice Reed
Raymond Massey ... Dist. Atty. Frank Lalor
Edmund Breon ... Dr. Michael Barkstane
Dan Duryea ... Heidt / Tim, the Doorman
Thomas E. Jackson ... Inspector Jackson, Homicide Bureau
Dorothy Peterson ... Mrs. Wanley
Arthur Loft ... Claude Mazard / Frank Howard / Charlie the Hatcheck Man
Frank Dawson ... Collins, the Steward
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Additional Details

Runtime:
99 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
[first lines]
Richard Wanley: [lecturing] The Biblical injunction "Thou shalt not kill" is one that requires qualification in view of our broader knowledge of impulses behind homicide. The various legal categories such as first and second degree murder, the various degrees of homicide, manslaughter, are civilized recognitions of impulses of various degrees of culpability. The man who kills in self defense, for instance, must not be judged by the same standards applied to the man who kills for gain.
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FAQ

Why is "Scarlet Street" (1945) so much more readily available than this film?
What are the major differences between the film and the book?
A NOTE ABOUT SPOILERS
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7 out of 10 people found the following comment useful:-
What a Dream!, 3 December 2007
9/10
Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

When the family of Gotham College Professor Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) travels, he meets with his close friends Dr. Michael Barkstane (Edmund Breon) and District Attorney Frank Lalor (Raymond Massey) in a club for talking. Wanley is fascinated with the portrait of a young woman in the next door window, and they discuss about affairs and middle-age crisis while drinking. When Wanley leaves the club, he walks to the window to admire the picture once more and he meets Alice Reed (Joan Bennett), who was the model of the painting. She invites him for a drink and they end the night in her apartment for seeing sketches of Alice made by the same artist. While drinking champagne, her temperable lover arrives and misunderstands the presence of Richard, hitting and suffocating him. In self-defense, Richard stabs the man with a pair of scissors on the back and kills him. They decide to get rid off the body, dumping the body in the woods and destroying the evidences, but when they are blackmailed by the scum Heidt (Dan Duryea), Professor Wanley tells Alice that there are only three ways to deal with a blackmailer, all of them with a high price.

"The Woman in the Window" is another fantastic film-noir of the awesome director Fritz Lang. The engaging and original story has a magnificent and unexpected plot point in the very end. This is one of the best performances of Edward G. Robinson that I have seen and the leading trio - Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea – worked on the next year with Fritz Lang in the masterpiece "Scarlet Street". This is the first time that I see this outstanding movie, following the recommendation of a friend of mine that I would like to thank. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Retrato de Mulher" ("Picture of a Woman")

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Meaning of the ending (please answer this) lola-lola
A 'Dream ' Remake FROmo
Joan Bennett's see through top prterry
Notes on THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW JSlack3
DVD release July 10. 2007 Doc_Ostrow
Exceptional "film noir" murder mystery with surprise ending clive-38
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Related Links

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