The Window (1949)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Ted Tetzlaff

Writers:

Cornell Woolrich (story)
Mel Dinelli (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 November 1949 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

Tagline:

It never lets you go!

Plot:

At the age of 9, Tommy Woodry has a reputation for telling tall tales -- the latest one being that his...

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Police | Parent | Summer | Witness

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Barbara Hale	...	Mrs. Mary Woodry
Arthur Kennedy	...	Mr. Ed Woodry
Paul Stewart	...	Joe Kellerson
Ruth Roman	...	Mrs. Jean Kellerson
Bobby Driscoll	...	Tommy Woodry

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A | Finland:(Banned) (1949) | Finland:K-16 (1950) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #12861)

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Quotes:

Joe Kellerson: Hello, Tommy. Now you be quiet if you don't wanna get hurt. What's the matter, have I ever done anything to you?
Tommy Woodry: [shakes his head]
Joe Kellerson: What are you runnin' around tellin' stories for?
Tommy Woodry: They're not stories!
Joe Kellerson: No? Well, maybe if you tell me what they are, I can explain. I don't want you thinkin' these terrible things. What is it you think I did?
Tommy Woodry: You know what you did!
Joe Kellerson: But I don't. I don't know what you're talkin' about. Now, c'mon, Tommy, let's be fair. You can't accuse me of something and not tell me what it is.
Tommy Woodry: You killed somebody!
Joe Kellerson: Oh, come on, Tommy. You don't really believe that, do ya?
Tommy Woodry: I was on the fire escape! I saw ya!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Remade as Eyewitness (1970)

Exceptional little thriller of a child's worst nightmare...

The theme of a murder being witnessed by someone who no one believes, is based on the familiar concept of "cry wolf once too often and no one will believe you when you're telling the truth".

Here it's played to the nth degree by an excellent cast--Bobby Driscoll, Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Ruth Roman and Paul Stewart--and directed in realistic, gritty style by Ted Tetzlaff (who did 'The Postman Always Rings Twice'). The New York tenement setting is an absorbing environment for this chilling tale of a boy who is in danger when the murderers know they have been seen--and must come to grips with his situation without the aid of his parents or police. Based on a Cornell Woolrich story, it's so tight and suspenseful for the length of its running time that it effectively projects the dark, nightmare world where one's worst childhood fears can come true.

With the dark ambience of lower East Side tenaments as its setting, danger and death seem to entrap the boy in every lurking shadow until his ultimate pursuit by the killers. This is a modest thriller that achieves a maximum of suspense thanks to the skillful performance by child star Bobby Driscoll and bears a resemblance to other Woolrich stories, as for example 'Rear Window'.

Barbara Hale and Arthur Kennedy register strongly as the parents. Ruth Roman and Paul Stewart are a chilly pair as the neighbors from hell.