Lecture: Auteur Theory-Alfred Hitchcock and Rear Window

Credits
Year: 1954
Studio: Paramount
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay: John Michael Hayes
*Adapted from the short story, "It Had To Be Murder," by
Cornell Woolrich
Cast: James Stewart (L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies)
Grace Kelly (Lisa Fremont)
Thelma Ritter (Stella)
Raymond Burr (Lars Thorwald)
Wendell Corey (Tom Doyle)

A Little About Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was born Alfred Joseph Hitchcock in England in 1899. A gifted artist, his
cinema career began in 1919 with sketching set ideas and intertitle cards for a London
studio's silent films. While there, he learned screenwriting, editing, and art direction, and rose
to assistant director in 1922. Hitchcock also noticed a particular woman working there-Alma
Reville, who would become his wife five years later. His first assignment to direct a film from
start to finish occurred in 1925-The Pleasure Garden. After directing 24 motion pictures in
England, Hitchcock left for Hollywood in 1939; and, his first project, Rebecca (1940), won the
Academy Award for Best Picture (the only film of his that ever did). He made a total of 30
films in the U.S., the last being Family Plot in 1976. During his quarter century of direction in
America, Hitchcock made some of the most suspenseful, mysterious, and thrilling films of all
time. However, despite being nominated for Best Director 5 times by the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences, and 6 times by the Directors Guild of America, he never won-an
injustice that surprises fans and film historians to this day. The Academy did give him the
Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1967. His acceptance speech was the shortest in history,
"Thank you." When he won the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award in 1979,
he was much more talkative:

"I beg permission to mention by name only four people who have given me the
most affection, appreciation, and encouragement, and constant collaboration. The
first of the four is a film editor, the second is a scriptwriter, the third is the mother
of my daughter Pat, and the fourth is as fine a cook as ever performed miracles in
a domestic kitchen and their names are Alma Reville."

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A partner professionally as well as personally, he trusted her explicitly; and, sought her
opinions on projects. He joked that he'd probably die soon after winning the AFI award. He
did a year later, in 1980, at the age of 80.

As an Auteur
Like Wilder and Welles, Alfred Hitchcock has a distinctive style. He was heavily influenced by
two great silent film auteurs: F.W. Murnau, known for his experimentation with camera angles
and camera movement; and Sergei Eisenstein, remembered for the colliding-and-contrasting­
images style of editing he called "montage" that would cause audiences to feel unsettled.
Hitchcock's direction is a fascinating blend of the two. He co-authored every film he directed;
but, unlike Wilder, without official credit. He preferred to work with only one writer at a time
(usually a novelist specializing in mystery or horror) so they could stimulate each other's
imaginations. He'd involve them with the direction by explaining how he planned to shoot a
scene or sequence, what size the images would be, and so on. By the time the screenplay
was finished, Hitchcock knew every detail by heart and rarely consulted it during filming. He
once said that he considered the actual shooting of the film anti-climactic. When asked why
he didn't just let someone else direct his pictures, he replied, "They might screw it up."
Creating the shooting script was the most enjoyable aspect of filmmaking for Hitchcock.
Different from the screenplay, this script arranges numbered scenes in the order in which
the'd be filmed, identifies locations, includes camera angles and shots, supplies instructions
for the cinematographer regarding camera set-ups, and anything else necessary for that day's
filming. With respect to the use of a limited number of themes, we'll examine the three that he
focused on the most:

1) cinematic counterpoint-when something bad happens in a normally safe

environment
2) voyeurism-the viewing of others without their permission for
sexually-gratifying purposes
3) circular design-the introduction of an item circular (or nearly circular) in
its appearance that furthers the plot (events that follow must be influenced
by it); also, when a part of the story comes "full circle"

Hitchcock was known as the "Master of Suspense." In comparison, few directors have moved
their camera so daringly, framed their action so expertly, or knew so well the precise moment
to cut from action to reaction. He had the rare ability to create a sense of reality caught by
chance; and, it was essential in his films to first establish a feeling of normality to later
emphasize the shock of the abnormality lurking and then striking later. Cinematic
counterpoint goes well with this line of reasoning. The audience tends to withdraw
emotionally from the set-up of a dark alley in a bad part of town late at night in which a murder
is eventually committed. It's not an unexpected occurrence there. However, if the same
crime takes place, after a period of movie time with fairly ordinary

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events in a crowded mall at say, 3 PM on a Sunday, that's a different story for the now jolted,
terrified, stunned audience. Hitchcock's direction is particularly effective due to his extensive
use of the subjective camera, or point-of-view (POV) shot. The viewer sees the action
through the eyes of the character and is, therefore, personally involved with the action. With
the objective camera, the audience watches events unfold from a "safe" distance. It's
impossible for the impact on the audience to be the same. So, planning on watching a
Hitchcock film? Be prepared.

Hitch, as he was known to his friends, had the ability to edit a movie together in his mind. He
knew exactly how it would look before shooting a single second of film.
The reason? No other pre-digital effects era director has worked from such
precisely-detailed plans and images (often drawn by him). Storyboards, series of
drawings (with or without dialogue) representing the shots planned for a scene, were critically
important to the process. Hitchcock comments on their use in the following:

"Sometimes I plan as many as 600 sketches of camera set-ups. If I ever tried to

improvise on the set, I could not get the effects or reactions I want to get. My
interest is in how to pluck the emotion from people by juxtaposition of images on
the screen."

To underscore the importance he placed on storyboarding, he goes on to say:

"I would prefer to write all of the action down, however tiny and however short the
pieces of film are. They should be written down in just the same way a composer
writes down those little black dots from which we get beautiful sound."

Hitchcock viewed his job like any skilled craftsman. It's, therefore, easy to understand why
he's also known as the "Supreme Technician of the American Cinema."

He became know for his "cameos, " or brief appearances in his films; however, he only did so
in 38 of the 54 films he directed. He always claimed that the idea came from the early days
when there weren't enough "extras" for scenes, so he participated in helping to fill the
background (actually not true, just a huge ego). As he became more and more famous, some
people would go to his films with the intent of finding him as their primary goal. This behavior
was defeating what Hitchcock was trying to accomplish... namely, terrorizing the entire
audience; so, he announced that IF a film was to have a cameo, it would happen in the first
30 minutes or so. After the first half hour, attention could return to the camerawork and plot,
and Hitchcock's total control would resume.

Rear LMndow is a truly remarkable motion picture in that it takes place on one set-almost
entirely from the view of L.B. Jefferies 2nd-story apartment. This is not the first
time Hitchcock has made a film on a single set. The two movies are-Lifeboat ( 1943), the
story of survivors from a WW II attack, and Rope ( 1948), about a killing and the

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attempt to hide the body in an apartment. The difference is that Rear IMndow is larger and
more complex, with each apartment across the courtyard acting as a mini-set with its own
plot. Their windows act as the frames of the movies-within-the-movie. The stories from these
apartments (other than that of the salesman) were added by Hayes and Hitchcock to the
screenplay. Also, Hitchcock did not want an orchestral musical score added to the soundtrack
for the motion picture. Instead, he preferred only "actual" sounds from the "neighborhood, "
which were recorded from the physical location of L.B. Jefferies' apartment to increase
realism. This is not to say that there wasn't any composing of music going on. Franz
Waxman created all of the "location" music that originated from the composer's record player,
a radio, and elsewhere.

Synopsis
Rear IMndow belongs to the suspense/thriller genre (sadly not discussed extensively in the
Dick text); and, is the story of a professional photographer, L.B. "Jeff'' Jefferies (James
Stewart), who's confined to a wheelchair as he recovers from a broken leg suffered in a
racetrack accident. In his, hot, steamy New York apartment, his large, second-story window
just happens to look out upon a courtyard shared by other buildings. He passes much of the
time by spying on his neighbors with binoculars; or, to get really up close and personal, Jeff
takes advantage of the telephoto lenses he has in his possession. This "Peeping Tom"
syndrome was ridiculed by critics; but, Hitchcock explains that "there's a little voyeur in all of
us, " referring to Jeff's fascination with watching the ballet dancer, for example, for sexually­
gratifying purposes. This obsession is rather confusing because in walks one of the most
beautiful actresses ever to "grace" the big screen, Grace Kelly, in the role of Lisa Fremont
(Jeff's girlfriend). Lisa, a sophisticated, woman with an influential position in the fashion
industry, does her best to get him to give up the risky, free-lance version of his profession for
more traditional, local, studio employment. Jeff won't even entertain the idea, and their
relationship suffers because of it. Now almost at the end of his recovery, we also meet Stella
(Thelma Ritter), the insurance company nurse. Stella, as you will discover, has opinions
about everything, including the couple's relationship and Jeff's "viewing" habits. One night,
Jeff wakes up in the middle of a rainstorm and notices the costume jewelry salesman, Lars
Thorwald (Raymond Burr), making repeated trips out of his place and down the street
carrying a large suitcase. The next day, Jeff noticed that Thorwald's wife, confined to the
apartment due to health issues, is not in her bedroom anymore. Jeff becomes convinced that
Thorwald has killed his wife. Lisa, Stella, and a detective friend, Tom Doyle (Wendell Corey)
are skeptical... at first. The evidence begins to mount that Jeff may actually be right, including
something about a wedding ring; and, since the ring furthers the plot, it's considered an
example of the theme, circular design. What happens from here on I leave to Mr. Hitchcock.
Rear IMndow won O Academy Awards.

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During the Screening and Afterward
Look for other examples of Hitchcock's themes, evidence of cinematic techniques, and the
fascinating facts mentioned in this lecture and other reading. In particular, pay attention to the
frequent use of the subjective camera, or POV shot. You may not even realize how often you
see the action through the eyes of the characters. Again, themes and their examples are
likely short answer type essay questions. Also, does Hitchcock make a cameo appearance
in Rear Window? What brings about a positive change in Jeff's and Lisa's relationship?

Some of my favorite Hitchcock quotes include:

"Films are made to be seen at least twice."

"I used to envy Walt Disney. If he didn't like an actor, he could tear him up."
"Some films are slices of life. Mine are slices of cake."
"Sex never interested me much. I don't understand how people can waste so much time on
it. Sex is for kids... for movies, it's a great bore."
"The length of a film should be directly related to the human bladder."
"Always make an audience suffer as much as possible."

Copyrighted Material-Subject to Fair Use Exception, Steven Anderson 1988

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