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ThrillerCrimeDrama

The Woman in the Window

- It was the look in her eyes that made him think of murder.

A seductive woman gets an innocent professor mixed up in murder.

Release Date : 1944-10-25

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : International PicturesChristie CorporationRKO Radio Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Edward G. Robinson

Character Name : Professor Richard Wanley

Original Name : Edward G. Robinson

Gender : Male

Joan Bennett

Character Name : Alice Reed

Original Name : Joan Bennett

Gender : Female

Raymond Massey

Character Name : Dist. Attorney Frank Lalor

Original Name : Raymond Massey

Gender : Male

Edmund Breon

Character Name : Dr. Michael Barkstane

Original Name : Edmund Breon

Gender : Male

Dan Duryea

Character Name : Heidt / Tim, the Doorman

Original Name : Dan Duryea

Gender : Male

Thomas E. Jackson

Character Name : Inspector Jackson

Original Name : Thomas E. Jackson

Gender : Male

Dorothy Peterson

Character Name : Mrs. Wanley

Original Name : Dorothy Peterson

Gender : Female

George McFarland

Character Name : Boy Scout who finds Mazard's Body

Original Name : George McFarland

Gender : Male

Robert Blake

Character Name : Dickie Wanley

Original Name : Robert Blake

Gender : Male

Arthur Loft

Character Name : Claude Mazard / Frank Howard / Charlie the Hatcheck Man

Original Name : Arthur Loft

Gender : Male

Frank Dawson

Character Name : Collins, the Steward

Original Name : Frank Dawson

Gender : Male

Frances Morris

Character Name : Stenographer (uncredited)

Original Name : Frances Morris

Gender : Female

Iris Adrian

Character Name : Streetwalker (uncredited)

Original Name : Iris Adrian

Gender : Female

Brandon Beach

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Brandon Beach

Gender : Male

Paul Bradley

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Paul Bradley

Gender : Male

James Carlisle

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : James Carlisle

Gender : Male

Fred Hueston

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Fred Hueston

Gender : Male

Sheldon Jett

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Sheldon Jett

Gender : Male

Jack W. Johnston

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack W. Johnston

Gender : Male

Charles Meakin

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Charles Meakin

Gender : Male

Harold Minjir

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Harold Minjir

Gender : Male

Wedgwood Nowell

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Wedgwood Nowell

Gender : Male

Louis Payne

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Louis Payne

Gender : Male

Scott Seaton

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Scott Seaton

Gender : Male

Wyndham Standing

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Wyndham Standing

Gender : Male

Larry Steers

Character Name : Man at Club (uncredited)

Original Name : Larry Steers

Gender : Male

Don Brodie

Character Name : Onlooker at Gallery (uncredited)

Original Name : Don Brodie

Gender : Male

Frank Melton

Character Name : Onlooker at Gallery (uncredited)

Original Name : Frank Melton

Gender : Male

Claire Carleton

Character Name : Blonde (uncredited)

Original Name : Claire Carleton

Gender : Female

Eddy Chandler

Character Name : Police Driver (uncredited)

Original Name : Eddy Chandler

Gender : Male

Tom Dillon

Character Name : Police Officer Dillon (uncredited)

Original Name : Tom Dillon

Gender : Male

Freddie Chapman

Character Name : Boy with Mother (uncredited)

Original Name : Freddie Chapman

Gender : Male

Alec Craig

Character Name : Garage Man (uncredited)

Original Name : Alec Craig

Gender : Male

Hal Craig

Character Name : News Vendor (uncredited)

Original Name : Hal Craig

Gender : Male

Joe Devlin

Character Name : Toll Collector on Henry Hudson Parkway (uncredited)

Original Name : Joe Devlin

Gender : Male

Ralph Dunn

Character Name : Traffic Cop (uncredited)

Original Name : Ralph Dunn

Gender : Male

Bess Flowers

Character Name : Bar Patron (uncredited)

Original Name : Bess Flowers

Gender : Female

Jack Gardner

Character Name : Fred, the District Attorney's Chauffeur (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack Gardner

Gender : Male

Jack Gargan

Character Name : Club Steward (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack Gargan

Gender : Male

James Harrison

Character Name : Club Steward (uncredited)

Original Name : James Harrison

Gender : Male

Fred Graham

Character Name : Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)

Original Name : Fred Graham

Gender : Male

Tom Hanlon

Character Name : Radio Announcer (uncredited)

Original Name : Tom Hanlon

Gender : Male

Harry Hayden

Character Name : Pharmacist (uncredited)

Original Name : Harry Hayden

Gender : Male

Donald Kerr

Character Name : First Elevator Operator (uncredited)

Original Name : Donald Kerr

Gender : Male

Frank McLure

Character Name : Elevator Operator (uncredited)

Original Name : Frank McLure

Gender : Male

Frank Mills

Character Name : Charlie the Garage Helper (uncredited)

Original Name : Frank Mills

Gender : Male

Anne O'Neal

Character Name : Mother by Elevator (uncredited)

Original Name : Anne O'Neal

Gender : Female

Dave Pepper

Character Name : Club Member (uncredited)

Original Name : Dave Pepper

Gender : Male

Fred Rapport

Character Name : Club Manager (uncredited)

Original Name : Fred Rapport

Gender : Male

Alexander Pollard

Character Name : William the Headwaiter (uncredited)

Original Name : Alexander Pollard

Gender : Male

Arthur Space

Character Name : Captain Kennedy (uncredited)

Original Name : Arthur Space

Gender : Male

Anne Loos

Character Name : Stenographer

Original Name : Anne Loos

Gender : Female

Reviews

J

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

I was warned of the siren call of adventure. The Woman in the Window is directed by Fritz Lang and adapted by Nunnally Johnson from the novel "Once off Guard" written by J.H. Wallis. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey & Dan Duryea. Music is by Arthur Lange and Milton R. Krasner is the cinematographer. After admiring a portrait of Alice Reed (Bennett) in the storefront window of the shop next to his Gentleman's Club, Professor Richard Wanley (Robinson) is shocked to actually meet her in person on the street. It's a meeting that leads to a killing, recrimination and blackmail. Time has shown The Woman in the Window to be one of the most significant movies in the film noir cycle. It was part of the original group identified by Cahiers du Cinéma that formed the cornerstone of film noir (the others were The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, Laura and Murder My Sweet). Its reputation set in stone, it's a film that boasts many of the key noir ingredients: man meets woman and finds his life flipped upside down, shifty characters, a killing, shadows and low lights, and of course an atmosphere thick with suspense. Yet the ending to this day is divisive and, depending what side of the camp you side with, it makes the film either a high rank classic noir or a nearly high rank classic noir. Personally it bothers me does the finale, it comes off as something that Rod Serling could have used on The Twilight Zone but decided to discard. No doubt to my mind that had Lang put in the ending from the source, this would be a 10/10 movie, for everything else in it is top draw stuff. At its core the film is about the dangers of stepping out of the normal, a peril of wish fulfilment in middle age, with Lang gleefully smothering the themes with the onset of a devilish fate and the stark warning that being caught just "once off guard" can doom you to the unthinkable. There's even the odd Freudian interpretation to sample. All of which is aided by the excellent work of Krasner, who along with his director paints a shadowy world consisting of mirrors, clocks and Venetian blinds. The cast are very strong, strong enough in fact for Robinson, Bennett and Duryea to re-team with Lang the following year for the similar, but better, Scarlet Street, while Lang's direction doesn't miss a beat. A great film regardless of the Production Code appeasing ending, with its importance in the pantheon of film noir well deserved. But you sense that watching it as a companion piece to Scarlet Street, that Lang finally made the film that this sort of story deserved. The Woman in the Window: essential but not essentially the best of its type. 8/10

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-06-30

Fritz Lang is at his mischievous best in this cracking noir murder mystery. Genteel professor Edward G. Robinson ("Wanley") retires most evenings to his club with two close friends then as he heads home, passes a gallery which has a women's portrait in the window. On one such evening, whilst admiring it, he meets the lady (Joan Bennett) herself and after a brief chat, ends up back in her apartment where he is discovered by her boyfriend. A fracas ensues and the boyfriend is accidentally killed. Rather stupidly, he agrees with the woman to dispose of the corpse and try to cover it all up. Of course that doesn't work - soon, the cops are getting very close to the truth and she is being blackmailed. He is helplessly trapped between his own basic integrity and the innate charms of this unscrupulous woman. We are never quite sure which way he will turn - and the suspense is delightfully maintained right til the end. Great contributions from an on-form Raymond Massey; a really rather ghastly Dan Duryea and some great, tight photography all help this to be amongst the best of this genre made during the War.