PRE-SCREENING BACKGROUND QUESTIONS (CONTEXT EXPLORATION)
Briefly describe what your expectations for the film were?
I’ve seen Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 mystery thriller Rear Window countless times, both at home and fortunately on the big screen. Alongside Hitchcock’s 1958 film Vertigo, It’s one of my favourite films, and for my latest screening of Rear Window I was curious as to how the film’s characters in the confines of their small New York City apartments (as voyeuristically observed from the apartment of the film’s protagonist) reflected on the the emptiness, isolation, and loneliness people feel.
What did you already know about the film and from what source?
From watching the opening credits it’s revealed that Hitchcock’s film Rear Window is an adaptation of a short story written by American novelist and short story writer Cornell Woolrich. Literary agent, writer, editor, and general book, film/TV, and pop culture enthusiast Jacklyn Saferstein-Hansen of Renaissance Literary & Talent notes in her introduction to the 2022 collection Woolrich stories published by Villa Romana Books how Woolrich’s 1942 novella was originally published by the pulp magazine Dime Detective under the title It Had to be Murder (Saferstein-Hansen 9). Saferstein-Hansen also explains how the name Rear Window was ultimately chosen when the story was published in the 1944 fiction collection titled After-Dinner Story, and this was the name that stuck for that and all future publications of Woolrich’s tale (9).
What did you know about the country and historical period/style of its origin?
Hitchcock’s feature film adaptation of Rear Window was released in August 1854, whereas Cornell Woolrich’s novella upon which the film was based came out over a decade earlier in 1942.
Saferstein-Hansen described how Woolrich was “…how a master of the crime and suspense genres deals with the psychology of murder from a variety of different perspectives” (8). She continues, explaining how many of his stories took ”…place during the Great Depression…” noting how, “…as Woolrich surely witnessed, the economic struggles of that era only exacerbated people’s worst impulses” (9). Wikipedia notes that the “Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and business failures around the world. The economic contagion began in 1929 in the United States, the largest economy in the world, with the devastating Wall Street stock market crash of October 1929 often considered the beginning of the Depression” (“Great Depression”). The article also describes how the Great Depression had an impact on Global economics, where “Among the countries with the most unemployed were the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Germany” (“Great Depression”).
The kind of prolonged economic downturn Saferstein-Hansen described as influencing Woolrich had a profound impact on individuals, families, and communities - especially in the area of mental health and wellness. Writing for The Times of India in June 2023, Nisha Jha, in her article “When the Wallet Hits the Mind: The Connection Between Economic Instability and Mental Health” describes how: “The Great Depression in the 1930s and the global economic downturn of the late 2000s, known as the Global Recession, both had significant adverse effects on individuals’ mental health. During the Great Depression, widespread unemployment and poverty led to anxiety, depression, and feelings of shame. The Global Recession saw a rise in anxiety, depression, and suicide rates as people grappled with financial hardships and uncertainty. Unemployment, financial strain, and disrupted family dynamics took a toll on mental well-being. Limited access to mental health services exacerbated the challenges faced by individuals during both crises.“
The early 1940s was a time dominated by the impact of World War 2, which was raging at the time Woolrich’s novella was first published in 1942. The United States had abandoned its status as a neutral country and entered the war following attacks on American and British territories in Asia and the Pacific, including Pearl Harbour in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. By shifting into a war economy, new wartime production led to an era of full employment as well as a strong period of consumer confidence which grew following the end of the war. The website for the United Stares District Court of California notes how opportunities were also afforded to those who served as soldiers on the battlefield, including college education (“The 1940s”).
Did you know anything about the director?
I still remember the feel of the thin, tight pile of the grey carpet I sat cross-legged on in the portable classroom me and my classmates were in for our grade ten English class. My head was arched upwards, my eyes fixated on the large, boxy television screen that was playing the 1948 Alfred Hitchcock film Rope. I had always loved watching movies, but I credit Stan Engstrom’s high school English and Drama classes for introducing me to the idea that great films really were produced before I was born, and to technical concepts about filmmaking such as mis-en-scene, as well as auteur theory. Later, in the same course we would watch the Hitchcock masterpiece Psycho, which was the first feature film I ever wrote an academic paper about (I don’t remember what I examined, only that I enthusiastically wrote the piece, scoring an A+ grade on the finished work).
I remember staying up late for several weeks to pour over every page of two film history books I found in my high school’s library. The first was by author Donald Spoto breaking down and analyzing the entire Hitchcock filmography, called The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion Pictures. I loved the touch of memoir Spoto slid into his book, which for me raised each essay above that of bland, boring criticism and into the realm of fascinatingly interesting personal reflection. In short, his personal style grounded the essays in his book. Here was a man sharing with the world his deep passion for the work of one of his favourite artists, Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock, an artist who was quickly becoming a favourite of mine as well. Spoto taught me about story structure, themes, metaphors, mis-en-scene, and the importance of the careful planning that goes into creating any work of art. I even remember later applying what I learned about storyboarding into the planning later did for a grade eleven video art course. The second book I drank up at this impressionable age was the classic by French New Wave film director and critic François Truffaut, which documented a week long discussion of film between himself and the Master of Suspense, aptly called Hitchcock-Truffaut. It was the only in-depth interview Hitchcock ever granted anyone, and it revealed the deep knowledge and love for filmmaking that Hitchcock had.
The work of British filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock reaches back to the silent, black & white era of early filmmaking. His experience making silent films helped shape his strong ability for visual storytelling that utilized compelling visual sequences, revelations about character through action, as well as a carefully crafted mid-en-scene. Rear Window was Hitchcock’s 45th directorial effort, his 34th utilizing sound, and his fourth shot in colour.
5. What was the most important feature of the film you were looking for?
The most important feature of Rear Window that I am looking forward to was ultimately related to how Hitchcock explored how isolation and loneliness impacted the film’s characters.
