‘Master of suspense’ made ‘best thriller ever’ based on little-known short story | Books | Entertainment

A legendary director at the height of his powers joined forces with two of cinema’s most iconic stars to create what is widely regarded as one of the finest films ever produced – and it’s streaming now on BBC iPlayer.

The 1954 psychological thriller Rear Window, adapted from Cornell Woolrich’s short story “It Had to Be Murder,” features James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Raymond Burr, and secured four Academy Award nominations, including Best Director for Alfred Hitchcock.

It Had to Be Murder featured in Woolrich’s collection of six short stories, titled After Dinner Story, and was released in 1944 before being adapted for the big screen a decade later.

It is viewed by many filmgoers, critics and scholars as one of the British maestro’s finest works, as well as one of the greatest films in cinema history.

It was placed at number 42 on AFI’s ‘100 Years…100 Movies’ list and number 48 on the 10th anniversary edition.

In 1997, it was inducted into the United States National Film Registry in the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

The film is shot almost exclusively from within a single room as a restless photographer, recuperating from a broken leg, occupies himself by watching his neighbours and starts to suspect one of them of murder.

Rear Window was an enormous critical success upon release, with The New York Times describing it as a “tense and exciting exercise” and Hitchcock as a director whose work has a “maximum of build-up to the punch, a maximum of carefully tricked deception and incidents to divert and amuse”.

Variety described the film as “one of Alfred Hitchcock’s better thrillers” which “combines technical and artistic skills in a manner that makes this an unusually good piece of murder mystery entertainment”, while three decades on, Roger Ebert remarked that the film “develops such a clean, uncluttered line from beginning to end that we’re drawn through it (and into it) effortlessly.

The experience is not so much like watching a movie, as like… well, like spying on your neighbours”.

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 99% based on 134 reviews, with the critics’ consensus being that “Hitchcock exerted the full potential of suspense in this masterpiece”.

Film fans are equally near-unanimous in their admiration. One viewer wrote: “This stands the test of time. It really is what cinema should be. Entertaining, contemplative, gripping, and beautiful. Highly recommend.”

Another said: “One of the master of suspense’s most iconic movies for a reason. An almost 2-hour-long thriller that has great writing, fantastic cinematography and an incredible performance by James Stewart.”

A third wrote: “The immortal master of suspense strikes again and hits a home run. Rear Window is a unique masterwork of pure thrill and profound intrigue. Every shot is perfectly placed and is geniusly moved about the apartment complex. The use of sound in this movie is incomparable; brilliant and effortlessly effective.”

A small number of viewers did find the film too slow-paced, with one remarking: “Boring, slow and don’t know why people call it a thriller. Buddy just sits and watches out a window all day.”

Rear Window is streaming on iPlayer now.