1950s American cinema saw the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, change the landscape of the thriller genre. In doing so, Hitchcock pioneered his own technical and storytelling style through his literary film grammar. A prime example of Hitchcock utilising his film language is in his voyeuristic thriller, Rear Window (1954). Rear Window - a film inspired by a short detective story of the same name (originally entitled “It had to be Murder”, which was written by Cornell Woolrich and published in 1942 by Dime Detective Magazine, a pulp fiction magazine that began in 1921 to serve as a source of entertainment during the Great Depression) - is a key film within the cinema art form, teaching us about the American cinema itself. The film is a commentary on cinema, as it plays with cinematic forms through visual language and cinematographic techniques. The literary camera movement, intricate narrative, atmospheric lighting, mise-en-scène, and scoring simultaneously work together to examine psychological despair, the human condition, morality, and class. Each filmic element is utilised competently to involve the audience in the “rear window ethics” within the apartment complex where the protagonist, L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies (played by James Stewart), lives. Thus, as with any Hitchcock film, the themes are not only fundamental but also placed at the epicentre of his work, and in the case of Rear Window, the theme of voyeurism is prominently put into question.

To begin the examination of Rear Window, it is important to put Jeff’s life under a microscope, as the film is conveyed through his perspective. Jeff, a travelling photographer, is confined to his New York City apartment due to suffering a broken leg as a result of an automobile crash. As a photographer, Jeff is provided with assignments from his editor, Gunnison (voiced by Gig Young). Seven weeks prior, on the day of his accident, Jeff attempted to capture “dramatically different” photographs for the magazine he works for, as he stood in the middle of a race track, shooting highlights of an event. In turn, he was collateral damage from a crash. With the inability to walk, temporarily, Jeff is presented with an opportunity to examine his ethics, morals, and desires. He uses the time he has to psycho-analyse the lives of his neighbours through the rear window in his apartment, indicating that Jeff’s life is tethered to his neighbours. Hitchcock enforces the idea that the window is symbolic of a cinema screen, through the opening sequence, as the film begins with a wide shot of the curtains sliding up the window, revealing the apartments belonging to Jeff’s neighbours as well as the complex courtyard. This sequence demonstrates that Jeff is the audience, and the world outside of his apartment is the film. For Jeff and the audience, his apartment is representative of a place to actively and critically think about what is occurring through the window (the screen). It is a place to internalise, reflect, and investigate. Inside the apartment is where Hitchcock wants us to look inward at ourselves, while using the exterior as a juxtaposition for the commentary on voyeurism and looking outward at others, which is why the theme of voyeurism drives the narrative and character development forward.

As the opening sequence progresses, the camera pushes in – with the use of the continuous wide shot – towards the open window before capturing Jeff's neighbours beginning their morning routine. The camera acts as the audience's gaze as it pans through the courtyard. Hitchcock cuts to a high-angle wide shot of a cat climbing a staircase, which leads to the camera panning up further to reveal a working-class family standing on their balcony, accompanying the father as he prepares for work. The camera pans left to capture a married couple (played by Frank Cady and Sara Berner) sleeping on their fire escape, as well as capturing a ballet dancer, Miss Torso (played by Georgine Darcy), brushing her hair in her apartment. There is a common denominator relating to why Jeff and his neighbours have their apartment windows wide open – they are overheated, as it is 92 degrees Fahrenheit. This scene reaffirms that Hitchcock immediately forces the audience to become voyeurs before Jeff does. When Jeff becomes a voyeur, the audience has already been subjected to being “peeping toms” by watching his neighbours conduct their daily routines. Therefore, the audience has already looked inside the apartments of Jeff’s neighbours and has become aware of how they begin their day. This sequence also conveys that being forced to look inside people’s apartments is not a regular occurrence. It is something that should not be acted upon, yet Hitchcock does not allow the audience to do anything but that. Similarly, Jacques Tati’s Playtime (1967) explores the theme of voyeurism with the filmmaker embodying the film’s protagonist, Monsieur Hulot, as Hulot peers through the windows of individuals' homes, watching them live their lives. The camera remains outside of the apartment building in this case, while the individuals navigate around their homes and converse with one another, as Tati forces the audience to watch them through their living room windows.

Rear Window’s opening sequence continues to explore voyeurism, as the camera pans inside Jeff’s rear window, framing him through the use of an extreme close-up as he sleeps, with sweat dripping from his forehead, once again conveying the effect of the current temperature. This shot solidifies that the audience is not only voyeurs for intruding on the lives of Jeff’s neighbours, but also by watching Jeff sleep. Hitchcock brings the audience's attention back to Jeff’s neighbours, as the camera captures a songwriter (played by Ross S. Bagdasarian) shaving and listening to the radio. An alarm clock, situated next to the married couple sleeping on their fire escape, begins to ring, indicating that everyone is preparing for a new day. Miss Torso begins to dress herself before the camera pans back into Jeff’s apartment as he remains sleeping. The introduction of each character is important in determining Jeff’s desires and morals, which reaffirms Hitchcock’s intent to subject the audience to look into each person’s apartment. Through the use of the panning shot, Hitchcock asks whether it is moral to gaze into the homes of others when they are not dressed, primarily because it is presented in a film. Or, is it a Freudian subconscious desire to fantasise about peeping into people’s apartments in everyday life? It is a question that is projected onto Jeff throughout the film.

Next, the camera pans down to Jeff’s leg cast, which reads “Here lie the broken bones of L.B. Jefferies”. This shot allows Hitchcock to present the visual style of the film, as the camera acts as a separate character, providing the audience with important information, without the characters always needing to do so. It allows the audience to become aware of the film’s style, as the camera takes on a life of its own, acting as a gaze for the audience. Jeff’s accident continues to be explained through one continuous shot as the camera pans through his apartment, capturing his broken photography camera that is displayed on his desk, a black and white photograph of two automobiles in mid-collision from the crash, captured seconds before they collided with him, as well as various magazines stacked up in a singular pile, highlighting that Jeff works for a magazine company. The opening sequence is fundamental to establishing the geography of the apartment complex, as Hitchcock desires for the audience to become aware of each apartment and where each neighbour is situated, as various pieces of action could occur simultaneously, and the whereabouts of each neighbour, as well as the action occurring within their apartments, are important for Jeff’s internal and external investigation within the film.

As Jeff awakens, he begins to spy on his neighbours. Hitchcock uses a POV shot of Jeff gazing through the windows of his neighbours' apartments as he draws his attention to a couple arguing, as well as individuals commenting on the lives of others. This leads to Jeff witnessing his neighbour, Mr. Lars Thorwald (played by Raymond Burr), exclaiming to Miss Hearing Aid (played by Jesslyn Fax), “Why don’t you shut up?”, following her criticism of how deep he is digging in his flower bed, and that he is giving the flowers “far too much water.” The purpose of Jeff witnessing these interactions is that he becomes influenced by the behaviour of his neighbours and, therefore, replicates patterns of behaviour that he witnesses, as the world outside Jeff’s apartment begins to consume him. In addition, the interaction between Mr. Thorwald and Miss Hearing Aid foreshadows the film’s revelation in the third act, which is key for Jeff to witness for his later investigation of Mr. Thorwald. Hitchcock further symbolises Rear Window being a metaphor for the cinema, as Jeff gives names to a multitude of characters in the film, whom he does not know first-hand, reaffirming that he is the audience.

Moreover, Jeff’s insurance company nurse, Stella (played by Thelma Ritter), enters his apartment as she catches Jeff spying on his neighbours, with Miss Torso catching Jeff’s eye across the courtyard. The male gaze is demonstrated in this sequence, which conveys Hitchcock’s use of female sexualisation in the film. As Stella becomes aware of Jeff spying on the “bikini bombshell”, she contends, “We’ve become a race of peeping Toms.” She continues to analyse Jeff’s behaviour by stating, “What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change.” This statement highlights Hitchcock’s commentary on voyeurism as well as the human psyche, as people spend a vast amount of time spying and examining the lives of others, without looking inward at themselves and what they already possess within their own lives.

Following Stella’s lecture on Jeff’s immoral act of voyeurism and that she “smells trouble”, Jeff proceeds to exclaim his prediction of trouble on the horizon, as his girlfriend, Lisa Fremont (played by Grace Kelly), is expecting marriage from him. Stella proclaims that Jeff is psychoanalysing Lisa, and that Lisa is the perfect woman for “any man with half a brain”. Lisa is ready to spend her life with Jeff; however, he is not ready to be tied down to marriage with a woman who is “too perfect”, “too talented”, “too beautiful”, and “too sophisticated”. This comment indicates that she is from a different world than Jeff, but only in a materialistic sense. Jeff acknowledges her qualities, but he is putting her in a category that does not represent who she truly is as a person. The category he puts her in only represents her lifestyle and job, not her humanistic qualities. Jeff’s statement connects back to Hitchcock’s commentary on class, as Jeff judges Lisa before understanding who she is. From his perspective, Lisa is a woman who belongs to a high society in Park Avenue with “Expensive restaurants and literary cocktail parties.” Jeff belongs to a life outside of the city - a life travelling and experiencing the world through his photography job. One month, he could be travelling to Cambodia, the next, he could be navigating the Amazon rainforest. Lisa is not accustomed to that lifestyle; however, she could be. Jeff doesn’t realise it yet. Although he is looking for a girl who is “willing to go anywhere and do anything and love it”, he should not rule out Lisa’s resilience and capabilities, as she is more than a Park Avenue girl.

Furthermore, Hitchcock conveys Jeff’s hesitation about marriage through a POV shot of Jeff gazing at a newly married couple, Harry, and his wife (played by Rand Harper and Havis Davenport), entering their apartment across the courtyard, as Harry carries his bride “across the threshold”. This shot allows for the idea of marriage to weave into Jeff’s psyche, as well as allows for Jeff to be placed into a romantic mood when Lisa arrives at his apartment – reaffirming that everything Jeff witnesses outside of his apartment influences his life within his apartment. Grace Kelly’s portrayal of Lisa Fremont is introduced through a surrealistic dream-like sequence. The film’s ambience further contributes to the dream-like atmosphere as the sun has set for the evening, the street lamps are illuminating the sidewalks, the courtyard is melancholic, and Jeff is sleeping, until a silhouette appears, awakening him. The camera reveals Lisa, through the use of a medium close-up, who is representative of a floating angel, as if she appeared out of the sky. As Lisa leans towards Jeff to kiss him, the film’s editor, George Tomasini, utilises slow-motion editing to emphasise the sequence’s romanticism. Edith Head’s costume design further highlights the angel motif as Lisa’s white and black silk dress is translucent, allowing light to travel through the white material, which is demonstrated as she turns on the lamps in the apartment while reciting her full name as “Lisa Carol Fremont”. Although Lisa’s upper-class glamour is instilled within her psyche, she knows that love is much more important than materialism. She is only expected to look and dress a certain way by other people. She would give all of that up in a second if it meant exchanging that for a married life with Jeff. Lisa wants to impress him, but she systematically learns that materialism and high society traditions are not the answer for winning him over.

A sequence that demonstrates Lisa failing to impress Jeff begins with her arranging a high-end, romantic dinner. Lisa orchestrates a delivery of lobster and wine from the 21 Club on 21 West 52nd Street. There is a juxtaposition with the high-class dining, as it appears, on the surface, that Lisa eats high-quality, expensive food as an everyday occurrence; however, making a valuable impression on Jeff is of primary importance to her. The irony in this sequence, therefore, is that Jeff is not impressed by the fine dining, as he previously explained to Stella that he wants to marry a woman who “thinks of life not just as a new dress and a lobster dinner or latest scandal.” He would marry Lisa “if she were only ordinary”. Jeff is accustomed to drinking water out of a canteen and carrying food in a backpack while travelling. He is not accustomed to fine dining and lobster dinners. Jeff’s lack of interest in materialism is reaffirmed when Lisa asks him if the wine glasses she is holding are “big enough”. Jeff provides an unenthusiastic response as he pays little attention to Lisa’s question by quickly glancing at the two glasses and stating, “Yeah, they’re fine”. Through this interaction, Hitchcock is commentating on the theme of class, as Jeff is unfazed by whether a wine glass is of the idealistic size, yet Lisa is hyper-aware of those particular details and nuances in restaurants, hotels, and bars, as it’s ingrained within her lifestyle.

Lisa’s class and lifestyle is further emphasised as she recites the events of her day by stating “I was all morning in a sales meeting, then I had to dash to the Waldorf for a quick drink with Madame Dufresne, who’s just over from Paris with some spy reports, and then I had to go to ‘21’ and have lunch with the Harper’s Bazaar people, and that’s when I ordered dinner. Then I had two fall showings, 20 blocks apart. Then I had to have a cocktail with Leland and Slim Hayward. We’re trying to get his new show, and then I had to dash back and change.” Although the events of Lisa’s day are relentless, she is enthusiastic to share the details with Jeff. However, Jeff fails to take Lisa seriously, which is demonstrated through his sarcastic response as he states, “Well, now tell me. Tell me. Now, what was Mrs. Hayward wearing?” Lisa is initially oblivious to his sarcasm, as she replies, “Oh, she looked wonderfully cool. She did. She had on the most divine Italian hand-print Mousseline de Soie…”. Before she could finish her sentence, Jeff interjects by mocking her, as he sarcastically emphasizes the fact that the dress is of an Italian design. In response to Jeff’s belittling of Lisa’s story, she reminds him of the favour she did for him as she “planted three nice items in the column”, providing Jeff with publicity for his photography. Jeff’s intention with Lisa remains ambiguous, as keeping her around is beneficial for his career and provides him with female company, yet he is reluctant to commit to a life with her.

Jeff and Lisa proceed to debate about whether a future together is possible, as Lisa desires him to come home permanently and open up a photography studio in New York. On the contrary, Jeff desires to travel the world, “driving a jeep” while “wearing combat boots and a three-day beard”. Lisa believes it would be in her and Jeff’s best interest if he left that life behind him and worked fashion assignments. In this line of work, she could see him “looking very handsome and successful in a dark blue flannel suit”. Jeff dismisses her compliment and offer, and turns to his rear window to observe his neighbours once again. Miss Lonelyhearts (played by Judith Evelyn) navigates around her kitchen, as she sets two places for dinner, with candles and a bottle of wine, while listening to Bing Crosby singing ‘To See You (Is to Love You)’. This sequence symbolizes Jeff's internal struggle with the kind of love that he desires, as he witnesses his neighbour dining alone, while he possesses yet neglects romantic and authentic love in his own apartment.

As Jeff gazes into Miss Lonelyhearts’ apartment, he becomes aware that she is reenacting an imaginary date, as she welcomes an imaginary man into her home, inviting him to sit at the dinner table and raising a glass of wine to them both. She begins to break down and cry, as she is unable to proceed with the imaginary date, realising that she is alone and without love. Jeff, aware of her crying, redirects Miss Lonelyhearts’ emotional breakdown to Lisa, as he remarks, “At least that’s something you’ll never have to worry about.” This statement demonstrates how Hitchcock uses dialogue as a tool to highlight Jeff’s lack of awareness towards Lisa’s romantic desires and agenda, as she replies, “Oh? You can see my apartment from here, all the way up on 63rd Street?”. To which Jeff contends, “No, not exactly, but we have a little apartment here that’s probably about as popular as yours. You remember, of course, Miss Torso, the ballet dancer? She’s like a queen bee with her pick of the drones.” Jeff’s presumptuous remark towards Lisa reflects how oblivious he is to her commitment towards him, and that she may be surrounded by men at parties, but she does not desire them; instead, she humours them at best. This is made clear through Lisa's response as she states, “I’d say she’s doing a woman’s hardest job. Juggling wolves.” Therefore, Lisa is observant of Miss Torso’s body language towards her guests, as it resembles what she has also similarly experienced. Jeff and Lisa observe Miss Torso entertaining three men as she pours them a drink and proceeds to engage in a less-than-passionate kiss on her balcony with one of the men. Jeff comments on the kiss by stating, “Well, she picked the most prosperous-looking one.” Lisa suggests, “She’s not in love with him or any of them.” Jeff questions Lisa by asking, “Oh, how can you tell that from here?”. Lisa reminds Jeff of his earlier statement as she quips, “You said it resembled my apartment, didn’t you?”. Lisa’s lack of interest in men swooning over her is already established, as she is aware of the man she wants to marry.

Jeff scans the rear windows of his neighbours' apartments, as the newly married couple has closed their curtains, indicating that they are privately and intimately living their life within their apartment as opposed to looking out at others. It is a direct paradox of Jeff’s life, as he could close his curtains and proceed with the romantic evening that Lisa constructed. Instead, he continues to examine the lives of his neighbours, and does not examine his own life. He begins to observe the interactions between Mr. Thorwald and his wife, Mrs. Emma Thorwald (played by Irene Winston). Mr. Thorwald attends to his sick wife in bed, as he carries a suspicious tray of food to accommodate her. However, Mrs. Thorwald exclaims to him, “I hope they are cooked this time”, indicating and establishing that friction exists between them. A piano is heard from the songwriter’s apartment, as the sound reverberates through the courtyard. Jeff watches him play his piano, while Hitchcock’s cameo within the film occurs during this sequence as he stands behind the songwriter, winding a clock. The music catches the attention of Lisa, as it amplifies their romantic dinner, with her claiming, “It’s almost as if it were being written especially for us.”. As Jeff and Lisa also have friction in their relationship, he replies, “No wonder he’s having so much trouble with it.” To Lisa’s disappointment, she references the upscale dinner that she prepared for Jeff, in the hope that he is impressed; however, he unamusingly and unenthusiastically refers to the dinner as “perfect”, while rolling his eyes. Following their dinner, Lisa and Jeff engage in an argumentative discussion about the life that Jeff lives, as well as their own and other people’s class. Lisa argues that “There can’t be that much difference between people and the way they live”. She further asserts, “We all eat, talk, drink, laugh, wear clothes.” Through these statements, Lisa believes that there is no difference in Jeff travelling the world with a camera as a professional photographer as opposed to “being a tourist on an endless vacation.” Jeff informs Lisa that she is entitled to her opinion before informing her that he can back up his lifestyle and viewpoints if she will “just shut up for a minute.” This piece of dialogue demonstrates that Jeff is mirroring the behaviour of Mr. Thorwald, following him informing Miss Hearing Aid to “shut up” earlier that day in the courtyard - once again reaffirming that Jeff is being influenced by his neighbours. Jeff informs Lisa to “shut up” for a second time, as she argues her point about him being judgmental about the way in which people can live their lives. In addition, Jeff informs Lisa that they can’t live their lives together, as she wouldn’t be able to navigate the harsh conditions of travelling the world through his photography job.

Upset with Jeff’s response, Lisa proceeds to storm out of his apartment after informing him that he will not see her “for a long time.”, meaning “at least, not until tomorrow night.” Dumfounded by his evening being ruined with Lisa, Jeff resorts to scanning the rear view of his neighbours' apartments. It would seem that every one of his neighbours has drawn their curtains for the night, indicating that they are prioritizing their own lives, in opposition to Jeff, who has upset his girlfriend and is now alone, spying on others to pass the time. Suddenly, Jeff becomes aware of a woman screaming, “DON’T!” as the sound of glass can be heard shattering on the ground. However, as there are no clear points of view into his neighbours' apartments, it is unclear as to where the mysterious scream occurred, which leads to Jeff falling asleep and his night coming to a close, or so it would seem. Awakened by the sound of thunder as well as a rainstorm, Jeff proceeds to observe the married couple on their fire escape, as they scatter inside their apartment to avoid the relentless rain. Moments later, Mr. Thorwald exits his apartment, gripping a silver briefcase. Jeff contemplates the reason for Mr. Thorwald leaving his apartment in the middle of the night, as Jeff gazes at his watch, which reads 1:55 a.m. Returning home at 2:40 a.m., Mr. Thorwald enters his apartment for several seconds before exiting once again with the same silver briefcase. Before Jeff awakens for a new day, Mr. Thorwald has returned home for a second time, but this time he has now exited his apartment with his wife, while continuing to carry the silver briefcase.

As a new day has begun, the courtyard and apartments of Jeff’s neighbours exude life and enthusiasm. The sun is radiating through the city, kids are playing on the streets, Miss Hearing Aid is sculpting a piece of art called “Hunger”, Miss Torso is exercising, the married woman is lowering her dog into the courtyard through the use of a wired basket, and Stella is catering to Jeff as she applies lotion on his injured body. Jeff and Stella become aware of Mr. Thorwald gazing out into the courtyard while standing in front of the rear window of his apartment. Jeff is systematically becoming suspicious of Mr. Thorwald, following his excursion in the middle of the night. As Jeff attempts to piece together the clues of his whereabouts, he notices Mr. Thorwald glancing at the woman’s dog digging up his flowerbed. Motivated by his curiosity, Jeff obtains a pair of binoculars before gaining an enhanced view into Mr. Thorwald’s apartment, as he notices him packing a suitcase. Exuding further suspicion, Jeff attaches a long-range lens to his camera, allowing him to gain close proximity to Mr. Thorwald’s apartment. He witnesses Mr. Thorwald wrapping up a handsaw in a newspaper before lying down on his couch for a nap, which provides Jeff with another clue.

As the night has approached, the setting has become melancholic. Lisa has returned to Jeff’s apartment, as they share an intimate and romantic moment, showing affection to one another. Jeff’s mind remains on his premature investigation surrounding Mr. Thorwald. Lisa notices, and requests that Jeff pays attention to her. He responds to her request by asking, “Why would a man leave his apartment three times on a rainy night with a suitcase, and come back three times?” Jeff continues to question the situation by asking, “Why didn’t he go to work today?” Lisa, focused on engaging in their intimate moment, humours Jeff as she states, “Homework. It’s more interesting.” To which Jeff replies, “What’s interesting about a butcher knife and a small saw wrapped in newspaper?” Jeff asks for Lisa’s perspective on the situation; however, she is unamused by his curiosity as he has once again ruined their romantic evening. He then begins to scare Lisa as he exclaims, “Just how would you start to cut up a human body?”. Before Jeff notices Lisa’s concerns regarding his choice of words, he becomes aware of Mr. Thorwald returning home. This time, Lisa is watching alongside Jeff, as they both observe Mr. Thorwald carrying a rope into his apartment. Hitchcock’s use of mise-en-scène is fundamental within this sequence as the first two rear windows of Mr. Thorwald’s apartment have a clear view through them, yet the curtains are drawn within his bedroom, which prevents Jeff with a view into the bedroom. As the apartments have had a clear view into them throughout the film, Hitchcock is aware that the audience is accustomed to spying into each apartment; therefore, it is more suspicious for one out of three curtains to be shut.

With Mrs. Thorwald no longer in her bed or at home, Jeff is determined to uncover the mystery of her whereabouts, while Lisa is determined to prevent Jeff from obsessing over the lives of others. As Lisa has yet to become aware of each clue that Jeff has obtained surrounding Mr and Mrs Thorwald’s suspicious home life, she believes that there is “nothing to see”. That is, before her eyes lock onto a mysterious act in Mr. Thorwald’s bedroom, where he can be seen closing a trunk, which is tied by the rope he was clutching onto when entering his apartment. The camera zooms in to capture Lisa’s concerned expression through the use of a medium close-up, as she contends, “Let’s start from the beginning again, Jeff. Tell me everything you saw and what you think it means”, indicating that she has now become a party to Jeff’s investigation. There is a part of Lisa, in this moment, that believes that it is in her best interest to go along with Jeff’s curiosity, as she believes it will bring them closer together, while another part of her has become intrigued by the suspicious activity across the courtyard. Lisa and Jeff begin their forensic investigation as they work together to gather information surrounding Mr. and Mrs Lars Thorwald’s home address. This sequence indicates that Lisa is adventurous and can navigate high-stakes assignments and missions, contrary to what Jeff believed. Jeff also becomes increasingly attentive and caring towards Lisa, as he refers to her as “dear” and informs her to “go home and get some sleep.” His agenda and attitude revolve around adventurous thrills and unpacking mysteries through his traveling photography job. Therefore, as Jeff can no longer uncover mysteries through his job due to his broken leg, he finds another assignment to grasp onto to uncover. Now that Lisa is on board with Jeff’s thrilling yet dangerous assignment, he believes that he can take her more seriously.

Through his recent discovery, Jeff decides to phone his “old friend” and war buddy, Detective Tom Doyle (played by Wendell Corey), to report the clues he has retrieved. Jeff persuades Doyle to “drop by” to detect the recent events in Mr. Thorwald’s apartment, which Doyle agrees to. Stella is on call in Jeff’s apartment, as she fixes him breakfast, while eavesdropping on his phone call with the detective. Stella, more intrigued than Lisa was at first, begins to theorise on the whereabouts of Mrs. Thorwald’s body, as she asserts, “Just where do you suppose he cut her up? Of course. The bathtub. That’s the only place where he could have washed away the blood.” With Stella planting graphic visual images into Jeff’s head while he attempts to eat his breakfast and drink his coffee, this sequence demonstrates that she represents the comic relief in the film, as Jeff now refuses to eat his breakfast due to Stella’s detailed theory. The comic relief is further conveyed through her next piece of dialogue, as she lurks over at the trunk sitting in Mr. Thorwald’s bedroom, stating, “He better get that trunk out of there before it starts to leak.”. This statement leads to Jeff spilling his coffee, as the visual image of a leaking trunk runs parallel to the visual image of him taking a less-than-smooth sip from the coffee mug, with the coffee running down his face. Stella directs Jeff’s attention to Mr. Thorwald’s apartment, as handymen arrive to retrieve the trunk, leaving Jeff with no potential murder evidence for Doyle to inquire about upon his arrival. As Doyle arrives, he humours Jeff by gazing through Mr. Thorwald’s apartment window with Jeff’s binoculars, and immediately becomes sceptical. He proclaims to Jeff, “You didn’t see the killing or the body. How do you know there was a murder?” Jeff asserts, “Because everything this fellow’s done has been suspicious. Trips at night in the rain, and knives and saws and trunks with rope and now this wife that isn’t there anymore.” This leads to Doyle levelling with Jeff, yet remaining on the side of law that requires hard evidence as opposed to speculation, as he states, “I admit it all has a mysterious sound. It could be any number of things. Murder’s the least plausible.” Jeff demands that Doyle arrests Mr. Thorwald, however, Doyle informs him that he has “got a lot to learn about homicide.” He continues lecturing Jeff by stating, “That salesman wouldn’t just knock his wife off after dinner and toss her in the trunk and put her in storage.” The framework of Mr. Thorwald’s innocence is that there is no hard evidence alluding to a murder, and, as Doyle states “He’s still sitting around the apartment” and is “not panicked.”

Although Doyle fails to believe Jeff’s report of a “neighbourhood murder”, he still, as a favour to Jeff, decides to look into the whereabouts of Mrs. Thorwald, which remains a mystery, whether she is still alive or not. With Doyle on a search for Mrs. Thorwald, Jeff turns his attention to the courtyard once again. He notices a dog digging in the flower bed that Mr. Thorwald planted. Mr. Thorwald becomes aware of the situation and informs the dog to “get along”, preventing any further digging. Jeff, contemplating the reason for Mr. Thorwald’s extensive attention paid to the flower bed, becomes increasingly suspicious and takes a mental note of the situation. Doyle arrives back at Jeff’s apartment with personal information regarding Mr. Thorwald, as he states, “He has a six-month’s lease. Used up a little more than five and a half months of it. He’s quiet, drinks, but not to drunkenness. Pays his bills promptly with money earned as a costume jewellery salesman. Wholesale. Kept to himself. None of his neighbours got close to him or his wife.” The plot begins to thicken, in more ways than one, as Doyle further states, “She never left the apartment… until yesterday morning.” Jeff, with no hesitation, asks, “What time?” Doyle explains that it was “6:00 a.m.” To Jeff’s frustration, he explains, “I think that’s about the time I fell asleep.” Doyle, with a smile on his face, states, “Too bad. Thorwalds were leaving their apartment at just that time.” He further displays his enthusiasm for Jeff’s lack of evidence by asking him, “Feel a little foolish?” Jeff informs him, ”No, not yet.”, before noticing Doyle admiring Miss Torso as she practises her dance routine in her studio apartment. Jeff breaks Doyle’s entrancement by asking, “How’s your wife?”.

After contemplating the Thorwalds’ supposed recent whereabouts, Jeff asks Doyle, “Who said they left then?” Confused about Jeff’s statement, Doyle asks, “Who left where?”. Jeff explains, “The Thorwalds, at 6:00 in the morning.” Doyle informs him that the alibies consisted of “the building superintendent and two tenants.” He further explains that there was “no hesitation” with their statements and that they informed him that the “Thorwalds were on their way to the railroad station.” To Jeff’s dismay, he believes the alibies’ statements are too convenient, by stating “Well, now, Tom, how could anybody possibly guess that? What, did they have signs on their luggage, saying, “Grand Central or bust?””. Doyle, with an answer for every question Jeff throws in his direction, responds, “The superintendent met Thorwald on his way back. Thorwald told him that he’d put his wife on a train to the country.” Jeff contemplates Doyle’s “unsupported” evidence further by asking, “Now did anybody actually see the wife get on the train?. This conversation systematically becomes a chess match, as Doyle is one move ahead, and contends, “Now, did anyone, including you, actually see her get murdered?” Jeff’s move is next in this metaphorical chess match, as he proclaims, “Go over there and search Thorwald’s apartment. It must be knee-deep in evidence.” The problem with this statement, however, is that Doyle is unable to waltz over to Thorwald’s apartment, turning it upside down, flipping over the couch, turning over the mattress, and emptying every cupboard and drawer that he sets his eyes on. This is because he needs a search warrant from a judge to turn someone’s apartment upside down. Although Doyle informs Jeff that he “can’t do that”, Jeff attempts to find a loophole in his idea by arguing, “Well, no, I don’t mean right now, but when he goes out for a drink, or a paper, or something. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” It’s Doyle’s turn on the chess board, as he states, “I can’t do that, even if he isn’t there.” He further states “Not even a detective can walk into an apartment and search it. If I were caught in there, they’d have my badge within 10 minutes.” Jeff informs Doyle to tell a judge that he has evidence of a murder. Doyle mocks Jeff’s demand as he constructs a hypothetical conversation with a judge by proclaiming that he has “a friend who’s an amateur sleuth.” Jeff begs the question, “What do you need before you can search? Tell me. Now what do you need? Bloody footsteps leading up to the door?.” Unamused by Jeff’s “heckling”, Doyle decides that the conversation with Jeff has reached a conclusion, and that it’s time to leave. Although he decides to continue the investigation, as he is going to “go over to the railroad station and check on Thorwald’s story.” Jeff suggests that he should “Forget about the story and find the trunk.”, as he believes that “Mrs. Thorwald’s in it.”. Every time Jeff believes that he has the upper hand, there is always something or someone that brings him back down to solid ground, as Doyle informs him that “There was a postcard in Thorwald’s mailbox. It was mailed 3:30 yesterday afternoon from Merritsville. That’s 80 miles north of here”. Doyle informs Jeff that the message stated “Arrived okay. Already feeling better. Love, Anna.” Jeff asks, “Is that… um… Anna… Is that who I think it is?”. Doyle confirms that it is who Jeff thinks it is. It is Mrs. Thorwald.

The sky sets for the day, as the night once again arrives, leading to Jeff, at this point, routinely and recreationally spying on his neighbours through his long-range camera lens. More specifically, Jeff is focused on Miss Lonelyhearts’ agenda, as she fixes her makeup, gazing into a mirror, before finishing a drink, and then another drink, to calm her nerves. She is preparing herself for a date. This time, it is a real date, with a real person, in a real situation. Jeff turns to the songwriter's apartment, as he is hosting a party, with one woman arranging an array of drinks and glasses on a table, with buckets of ice nearby. The songwriter informs her to include whiskey and gin in the arrangement of liquors, while another woman stands beside him while he plays the piano. Miss Torso is practising a ballet routine with her dance partner, while Miss Lonelyhearts has exited her apartment and is now standing on the sidewalk, waiting for the courage to walk into a local bar and begin her date. Simultaneously, Franz Waxman’s melodic song ‘Many Dreams Ago’ echoes through the courtyard. Hitchcock’s attention to detail within this sequence creates an immersive world that Jeff lives in, as Jeff witnesses Miss Lonelyhearts sitting down at a bar from his apartment, yet the camera does not go into the bar; it remains in Jeff’s apartment. However, the bar is filled with life, and can only be seen from Jeff’s POV.

With Miss Lonelyhearts awaiting her date to arrive, Jeff notices Mr. Thorwald enter his sight through the long-range lens as he crosses the street to return home. Jeff, therefore, prepares for further investigation. Following his return home, Mr. Thorwald lays out an array of clothes on his bed and proceeds to make a long-distance phone call while sorting through his wife’s handbag. He retrieves various pieces of jewellery from the handbag, including his wife’s wedding ring, allowing the question to be asked as to why his wife is not wearing her wedding ring, and why he has her handbag and jewellery. Jeff’s attention is broken by various guests arriving at the songwriter’s party. Hitchcock plays with tension throughout this sequence as Jeff and the audience are focused on Mr. Thorwald, yet because Jeff can hear the voices of his neighbours from their apartment, he is distracted. This sequence is effective as Hitchcock intentionally introduced the audience to each neighbour’s apartment within the complex, to allow for any action, of any scale, to become noticeable at any given moment. Jeff is attempting to uncover Mr. Thorwald’s suspicious activities; however, the tension is always broken by another form of action taking place. This is why an apartment complex is an effective location for a thriller, as it’s not always straightforward to get to the bottom of something; there’s always something else taking place to distract Jeff, whether that is Miss Torso dancing, Miss Lonelyhearts living a sorrowful life, a newlywed couple, neighbours arguing, or a party taking place. Jeff’s attention is always going to be directed at something else; he can easily be distracted, and that is why Mr. Thorwald can go about his business as easily as he desires. Or can he?

Frustrated by the distraction over at the songwriter’s apartment, Jeff refocuses, balancing his camera on top of his knee, as he looks through the lens to find Mr. Thorwald hiding his wife’s handbag underneath a pile of clothes. Jeff’s attention is once again broken by Lisa arriving at his apartment, as she walks in to greet him. Jeff could have further examined the reason for the handbag being hidden. Yet, he is once again distracted. With the location of Mrs. Thorwald’s handbag cemented in Jeff’s mind, he informs Lisa that Mr. Thorwald has his wife’s “Alligator handbag” that was “hidden in the dresser”, he had “his wife’s jewellery in the handbag”, and he “seemed worried about it”, as well as “asked somebody’s advice over the telephone.” Lisa interjects by remarking, “Someone not his wife.” Jeff replies, “Well, I never saw him ask her for advice. She volunteered plenty, but I never saw him ask her for any.” Mr. Thorwald leaves his apartment, which allows Jeff to turn his attention to Lisa. She informs Jeff that she has been thinking all day about Mr. Thorwald, as well as Jeff and Doyle’s investigation. She further states, “It doesn’t make sense to me.” He asks, “What doesn’t?”. She goes on to say, “Women aren’t that unpredictable.” Jeff humours Lisa by stating, “Well, I can’t guess what you’re thinking, honey.” This demonstrates how far removed Jeff is from being aware of Lisa’s thoughts and desires. Lisa begins to explain to Jeff what her statement meant, as she contends, “A woman has a favourite handbag and it always hangs on her bedpost, where she can get at it easily. And then, all of a sudden, she goes away on a trip and leaves it behind. Why?”. Jeff answers, “Because she didn’t know she was going on a trip, and where she’s going, she wouldn’t need the handbag.” Lisa responds, “Yes, but only her husband would know that. And that jewellery. Women don’t keep their jewellery in a purse getting all twisted and scratched and tangled up.” Jeff asks, “Well do they hide it in their husband’s clothes?” Lisa confirms, “They do not. And they don’t leave it behind, either. Why, a woman going anywhere but the hospital would always take makeup, perfume, and jewellery” She continues, “And you don’t leave it behind in your husband’s drawer in your favourite handbag.” Lisa and Jeff then discuss Doyle’s theory, relating to a witness report, as Lisa thinks out loud and states, “Mrs. Thorwald left at 6:00 a.m. yesterday with her husband”. She then rebuts against Doyle’s theory as she argues it “couldn’t have been Mrs. Thorwald”, otherwise, if it is, Lisa believes that she doesn’t “know women”. Jeff, impressed with her theory, invites her to sit on his lap for a kiss, indicating that he is becoming more accustomed to her as she is engaging with the adventurous investigation at hand.

Lisa informs Jeff that she had brought her “compact, but ample enough” Mark Cross overnight suitcase to stay the night, stating, “You said I’ll have to live out of one suitcase”. This statement refers to Jeff’s earlier argument about his job, as he stated that he lives out of a suitcase when travelling. It also demonstrates that Lisa is following Jeff’s preferences, as she proves to him that she isn’t the girl he initially thought she was and that she can adapt to any situation when presented to her. Now that Jeff has informed Lisa that she can stay the night, their romantic connection has heightened, which leads to Lisa becoming aware of the songwriter’s music playing across the courtyard. This time, Jeff is not in a position to ruin their evening, as they are now in agreement with Mr. Thorwald’s potential crime, as well as their plans for the evening, leading to the music evoking their feelings for one another. Lisa informs Jeff that she wishes that she could be as creative as the songwriter, to which Jeff informs her that she is, and that she has “a great talent for creating difficult situations”, referring to Lisa inviting herself to stay the night uninvited. Lisa informs Jeff that “surprise is the most important element of attack. She further states, “Besides, you’re not up on your private eye literature. When they’re in trouble, it’s always their Girl Friday who gets them out of it.” This statement highlights Lisa embodying Jeff’s backup and rescue sidekick as well as foreshadows the climax of the picture. Jeff replies by asking, “Is she the girl that saves them from the clutches of the seductive showgirls and the over-passionate daughters of the rich?.” They both agree that both girls are the same as one another; however, Jeff follows that up with a bitter and insensitive comment, as he exclaims, “It’s funny. He never ends up marrying her, does he? That’s strange”. As Lisa finds it “weird”, she takes it upon herself to impress Jeff further, by removing her green suit jacket and suggesting, “Why don’t I slip into something more comfortable?”. Jeff is more than on board with Lisa slipping into something more comfortable, but, he had a different idea, as she remarks, “I mean, like the kitchen and make us some coffee.” This action demonstrates that Lisa is going the extra lengths to do whatever it takes to prove that she is a normal girl who can take care off Jeff by making them both coffee, for example - further highlighting that just because she lives on Park Avenue, doesn’t mean that she isn’t a grounded, independent girl who can adapt to a normal lifestyle. Before Lisa makes them both coffee, Jeff replies, “Oh, and some brandy, too, huh?. As he awaits his coffee and Brandy, he veers through his rear window to locate the newly wedded man, Harry, opening his bedroom window to smoke, indicating (due to the Hay’s code censorship regulations) that he has been in bed with his wife. Jeff, assessing what he is witnessing, looks away, contemplating married life, as that is something he could have with Lisa.

Doyle once again enters Jeff’s apartment, becoming aware of Lisa humming in the kitchen as she makes coffee and warms some brandy. Doyle lifts a cigarette from Jeff’s cigarette case and looks towards the ceiling to find Lisa’s shadow from inside the kitchen, swaying from side to side. Jeff and Doyle remain silent as they search for words to describe Lisa’s presence in the apartment. Jeff, certainly, is searching through his vocabulary to construct a sentence that will describe his situation with Lisa, yet he waits for Doyle’s mouth to start moving first. Doyle, using his detective skillset, scans the apartment to find Lisa’s nightwear folded on her suitcase, but he still doesn’t say a word. Tension builds quicker through Jeff and Doyle’s non-verbal stand-off than a gunfight stand-off at the O.K. Corral, as moments have passed without a single word. The only communication occurring in this moment is telepathic, as Jeff can read Doyle’s mind. Doyle lights up a cigarette and navigates towards the rear window, as he lurks across the courtyard to find Mr. Thorwald’s apartment lights switched off. Doyle proceeds to talk business with Jeff, as he asks, “What else have you got on this man Thorwald?” Jeff replies, “Well, enough to scare me you wouldn’t show up in time and we’d lose him.”. This requires Doyle to ask, “Think he’s getting out of here?” Jeff then reminds him that Mr. Thorwald has “got everything he owns laid out over there in the bedroom, waiting to be packed.” Before Doyle could respond, Lisa exits the kitchen with two snifters of brandy, one in each hand, as she swirls them with precision and control – a technique used to release aromas and flavours hidden in the glasses, enhancing the drinking experience. As she does so, she locks eyes with the detective and states, “I’m just warming some brandy.” She then looks at him and contends, “Mr Doyle, I presume?”. Mr. Doyle gazes at Lisa before she offers him a snifter. Jeff takes it upon himself to formally introduce Lisa and Doyle, as he announces, “Tom, this is Miss Lisa Fremont.”. Tom makes her acquaintance by stating, “How do you do?”. Lisa, with no time to make small talk, cuts to the chase, as she asserts, “We think Thorwald’s guilty.”. Without waiting for a reply from Doyle, she proceeds to turn in the opposite direction and walk back into the kitchen to retrieve her own brandy snifter.

With Lisa gone momentarily, Doyle and Jeff continue their telepathic conversation they were once engaged in, as Doyle reads the room once again, by gazing at Lisa’s compact suitcase, to which Jeff comments on this time, as he remarks, “Careful, Tom”. Jeff is aware of the ideas that Doyle is getting in his head - ideas involving Doyle’s perception of Jeff and Lisa’s arrangement, which Jeff has reservations about. The tension is broken as Jeff’s home telephone begins to ring. He answers and discovers that Lieutenant Doyle is being requested on the phone. Following Doyle’s phone call, Lisa expresses to Jeff that he should inform Doyle about the jewellery. Jeff articulates that Mr. Thorwald has “got his wife’s jewellery hidden in his clothes in the bedroom over there”. Doyle asks, “You sure it belonged to his wife?”, before Lisa expresses, “It was in her favourite handbag. Mr. Doyle, that can only lead to one conclusion.” Jeff follows up Lisa’s theory by exclaiming, “That it was not Mrs. Thorwald that left with him yesterday morning.” Doyle, remaining sceptical, yet, on the side of law, asks, “You figured that out, eh?”. Lisa explains to him, “Well, it’s simply that women don’t leave their jewellery behind when they go on a trip.” Doyle proceeds to contend, “Lars Thorwald is no more a murderer than I am.” Shocked that Doyle does not believe them, Jeff states, “You mean to say you can explain everything that’s gone on over there, and is still going on?”. Doyle obtains the upper hand once again by asserting, “No, neither can you. That’s a secret, private world you’re looking into out there. People do a lot of things in private they couldn’t possibly explain in public.” Lisa fires back at Doyle, as she quips, “Like disposing of their wives?”. Doyle replies, “You get that idea out of your mind. It’ll only lead in the wrong direction.” Jeff, hellbent on the evidence he has accumulated, asks, “What about the knife and the saw?”. In response, Doyle asks Jeff, “Did you ever own a saw?” Jeff, stumped by Doyle’s logic, replies, “Well, at home in the garage I had…”. Without any time to finish his sentence, Jeff is interrupted by Doyle, as he proclaims, “How many people did you cut up with it? Or with the couple of hundred knives you’ve probably owned in your lifetime?”. This logic and interaction is a prime example of Hitchcock conveying the film through the protagonist’s perspective, as on paper, Jeff has no substantial evidence that Mr. Thorwald is committing any crimes.

However, in theory, Jeff has constructed a neighbourhood murder out of witnessing several suspicious activities and clues that Mr. Thorwald engaged in. Therefore, just because Jeff believes there is a criminal living across the courtyard, does that mean that there actually is one? Or, is Hitchcock using cinema to convince us of this by utilizing filmic techniques such as the use of the shot reverse shot of Jeff continuously witnessing a “clue”, then cutting to Jeff’s curious expression, then cutting back to the “clue”? This is also a fundamental storytelling technique to make the audience believe that something suspicious is occurring, but is it really occurring, or is it all in Jeff’s mind? As the film is told from Jeff’s perspective, the audience is made to believe that Jeff is a reliable witness; but, just because the audience follows Jeff throughout the film, it doesn’t mean the audience has to believe everything Jeff believes. Jeff could be correct about Mr. Thorwald murdering his wife, but, at this point in the film, he could also not be correct, and, with Hitchcock using Jeff’s point of view and gaze as first-hand “evidence” of Mr. Thorwald’s potential crimes, the investigation tilts in Jeff’s favour when Doyle is not there. Although, when Doyle visits Jeff, he debunks every piece of evidence Jeff throws his way. Thus, at this current moment, Detective Doyle is the most logical character, not Jeff. As Doyle said before, “it all has a suspicious sound to it”, but where is the concrete, definitive evidence of a murder taking place? After all, Doyle has first-hand witnesses stating that Mr. Thorwald and his wife left for the station; what does Jeff have? Theories? Clues? Assumptions?

Furthermore, Lisa emphasizes to Doyle that he “can’t ignore the wife disappearing and the trunk and the jewellery.” Doyle reminds Lisa that he “checked the railroad station” and that Mr. Thorwald “bought a ticket”, then “ten minutes later, he put his wife on a train. Destination, Merritsville.” He also informs Lisa that the “witnesses are that deep.”, while raising his hand in the air to display how high up the witness list is. With Lisa becoming equally frustrated and passionate about the investigation as Jeff is, she states, “That might have been a woman, but it couldn’t have been Mrs. Thorwald.” Doyle shuts down Lisa’s remarks about Mrs. Thorwald’s jewellery by contending, “Look, Miss Fremont. That feminine intuition stuff sells magazines. But in real life, it’s still a fairy tale. I don’t know how many wasted years I’ve spent tracking down leads based on female intuition.” Enraged by Doyle’s investigation approach, Jeff asserts, “All right. I take it you didn’t find the trunk, and all this is from an old speech you once made at the Policemen’s Ball.” Doyle interjects by stating, “I found the trunk a half-hour after I left here.” Lisa rejoins the conversation as she sarcastically states, “I suppose it’s normal for a man to tie up a trunk with heavy rope?” Doyle defends Mr. Thorwald as he argues, “Well, if the lock is broken, yes.” Jeff then asks, “And what did you find inside the trunk? A surly note to me?” Doyle shuts down another piece of “evidence” by stating, “Mrs. Thorwald’s clothes. Clean, well-packed. Not stylish, but presentable.” Lisa doesn’t let the investigation come to an end, as she asks, “Didn’t you take them off to the crime lab?” Doyle, having had enough of their questions, directly states, “I sent them on their merry and legal way.” Jeff, also not giving up on the investigation, constructs another question, as he asks, “Why, when a woman is taking a simple, short trip, does she take everything she owns?” On one hand, this question is suspicious from Jeff’s point of view, as he has accumulated various clues, but on the other hand, it is not illegal or a detective’s job to uncover why a woman has overpacked for a short trip. In this case, Doyle quips back at Jeff as he suggests, “Let’s let the female psychology department handle that one.” Lisa contends, “I would say it looked as if she wasn’t coming back.” Doyle then responds with, “That’s what’s known as a family problem.”

Jeff, attempting to convince Doyle with any piece of evidence, argues, “And if she wasn’t coming back, why didn’t he tell his landlord? I’ll tell you why he didn’t tell his landlord. Because he was hiding something.” Doyle, using his detective skillset once again, gazes over to Lisa’s nightwear on her suitcase, then back to Jeff, and asks, “Do you tell your landlord everything?”, suggesting that Jeff has not informed his landlord that Lisa is staying the night. Jeff reminds him, “I told you to be careful, Tom.” Doyle suggests that they all have a friendly drink and reminisce about his and Jeff’s “good old days during the war.” Lisa asks, “You mean you’re through with the case?” Doyle shuts her down by stating, “There is no case to be through with, Miss Fremont.” Unimpressed with Doyle’s decision, Lisa and Jeff decide not to humour his idea of a “friendly drink”, which leads to Doyle realising that the evening is through and that he “better get home and get some sleep.” Before Doyle exits Jeff’s apartment, he states, “Oh, Jeff, if you need any more help… consult the Yellow Pages in your telephone directory.”. Jeff constructed another question for Doyle regarding the trunk, as he asks, “Who was that trunk addressed to?”. Doyle states that it was addressed to “Mrs. Anna Thorwald.” Jeff suggests, “Well, then let’s wait and find out who picks it up.” Doyle informs Jeff, “Oh, that telephone call. I gave them your number. I hope you don’t mind.” Jeff replies, “Depends on who they were.” Doyle expresses that it was the “police at Merritsville”, as “they reported the trunk was just picked up by Mrs. Anna Thorwald.”

Following Detective Doyle’s information regarding Mrs. Thorwald’s trunk, Jeff and Lisa become speechless as they no longer possess leverage on Mr. Thorwald or any key evidence of a murder taking place. The songwriter’s party becomes increasingly livelier, which attracts their attention and leads to them intruding on Jeff’s neighbours. They gaze through Miss Torso’s rear window to find her stretching, as well as into Miss Lonelyhearts’ apartment to discover her returning home with her date. She draws her drapes to obtain privacy; however, Jeff and Lisa can still see through. They witness Miss Lonelyhearts’ date begin to force himself on her to kiss her, but she does not permit him to do so and attempts to stop him. After a struggle between them both, she slaps him and exclaims, “What are you doing?”. Jeff and Lisa continue to look on in despair. Miss Lonelyhearts forces the man out of her apartment before beginning to cry. Hitchcock cuts back to Jeff’s apartment, as he expresses to Lisa, “You know, much as I hate to give Thomas J. Doyle too much credit, he might have gotten a hold of something when he said that was pretty private stuff going on out there. I wonder if it’s ethical to watch a man with binoculars and a long-focus lens.” He then proceeds to ask Lisa, “Do you suppose it’s ethical, even if you prove that he didn’t commit a crime?” Lisa follows Jeff’s question up with, “I’m not much on rear-window ethics.” Jeff then comments, “Of course, they can do the same thing to me. Watch me like a bug under a glass, if they want to.” Lisa replies, “Jeff, you know, if someone came in here, they wouldn’t believe what they’d see.” She continues, “You and me with long faces. Plunged into despair because we find out a man didn’t kill his wife. We’re two of the most frightening ghouls I’ve ever known. You’d think we could be a little bit happy that the poor woman is alive and well. Whatever happened to that old saying, “Love thy neighbour”?. Jeff responds, “You know, I think I’ll start reviving that tomorrow. I’ll begin with Miss Torso.” Lisa, unwilling to allow Jeff to do so, begins to draw his curtains while stating, “Not if I have to move into an apartment across the way and do the Dance of the Seven Veils every hour.” As she finishes drawing the curtains, she asserts, “Show’s over for tonight.” She then walks towards her suitcase to retrieve it and quips, “Preview of coming attractions.” This alludes to the film being a commentary on cinema, as Lisa is informing Jeff and the audience that the show on voyeurism has come to an end with the curtains being drawn, but, the coming attractions for a show on lust and love is about to begin. Before Lisa enters Jeff’s bathroom to change her outfit, she asks, “Did Mr. Doyle think I stole this case?” Jeff explains, “No, Lisa, I don’t think he did.” This interaction between Jeff and Lisa allows for the film to come to a halt, as they are both aware of their extensive voyeurism and invasion of other people’s privacy. They begin to realise that there is no evident murder to investigate, as Mrs. Thorwald is reportedly alive.

Lisa exits the bathroom in a white silk evening gown, reinforcing the angel motif within the film, as if sent from above to help Jeff navigate his love life, his personal life, and his life as an amateur detective. As Jeff is stunned by her beauty, she asks, “What do you think?”. Jeff has difficulty responding, which leads to her stating, “I will rephrase the question.” She walks towards Jeff, presenting her evening attire with a closer view, and asserts, “Do you like it?” Jeff obliges her by stating, “Yes, I like it.” Before Lisa can further entice Jeff with her outfit, a scream is heard from outside in the courtyard. The married woman on the fire escape weeps as her neighbour asks, “What is the matter?”. She points down to the courtyard, as her dog is lying on the ground. The commotion is noticed by various neighbours, as the guests in the songwriter's apartment look out into the courtyard, becoming aware of the current situation. A neighbour exclaims, “Something’s happened to the dog”, before the lights on each apartment turn on. Jeff’s neighbours look on, as they stand by their window, balcony, fire escape or garden, with another neighbour stating, “See, it’s a dog down there.” Miss Lonelyhearts kneels in front of the dog to check on him, before looking up to the married woman on her fire escape, stating, “It’s dead. It’s been strangled. The neck is broken.” Hitchcock cuts to a wide shot of the apartment complex, with each neighbour looking out into the courtyard, as the woman on the fire escape shouts, Which one of you did it? Which one of you killed my dog? You don’t know the meaning of the word “neighbours.” She continues to shout by asserting, “Neighbours like each other, speak to each other, care if anybody lives or dies. But none of you do!” As Miss Lonelyhearts places the dog inside the basket to allow for the basket to be raised to the fire escape, the married woman remains weeping as she continues, “But I couldn’t imagine any of you being so low that you’d kill a little, helpless, friendly dog. The only thing in this whole neighbourhood who liked anybody. Did you kill him because he liked you? Just because he liked you?” She informs her husband that they should go inside, as she is distraught and can’t face her neighbours anymore. As the commotion comes to a close, a party guest on the songwriter’s balcony comments, “Come on. Let’s go back in. It’s only a dog.” Each neighbour systematically begins to re-enter their apartment, as they believe the show is over, and want to continue with their own lives.

With the camera re-entering Jeff’s apartment, Hitchcock captures Jeff through the use of a medium shot, explaining to Lisa, “You know, for a minute that Tom Doyle almost had me convinced I was wrong.” Lisa desperately asks, “But you’re not?” Jeff draws her attention to Mr. Thorwald’s apartment as he states, “In the whole courtyard, only one person didn’t come to the window.” He focuses Lisa’s attention on the light being switched off in Mr. Thorwald’s apartment, yet the light of a burning cigarette can be seen, as it creates a silhouette of him sitting on his chair. Lisa remarks, “Why would Thorwald want to kill a little dog? Because it knew too much?” Stella then returns to Jeff’s apartment, immediately scoping out Mr. Thorwald’s apartment alongside Jeff and Lisa. Jeff sits with his camera and long-range lens positioned on his knee, gazing through the lens as he states, “You think this is worth waiting all day to see?” They veer over to Mr. Thorwald’s apartment to find him scrubbing down his bathroom walls, indicating that he is potentially erasing any evidence, as Stella remarks, “Must have splattered a lot.” She continues theorising by contending, “He killed her in there, he has to clean up those stains before he leaves.” Lisa replies, “Oh, Stella, your choice of words.” Stella justifies her statement as she quips, “Nobody ever invented a polite word for a killing yet.” As they exchange their own perspectives on Mr. Thorwald’s activities, Jeff glances down at the courtyard. A metaphorical lightbulb has appeared above his head as he points to a cabinet positioned behind them and informs Lisa, “Back there, on that shelf, there’s a little yellow box.” He further instructs her, “Bring it and bring me the viewer there.” He is referring to his photo viewer, as he has a picture of the courtyard that he wishes to analyse. Jeff has a strong inclination as he murmurs, “There’s something, and if I’m right, I think I’ve solved a murder.” Stella follows up on his statement with, “Mrs. Thorwald?”. Although it would seem that way, Jeff is alluding to the dog that was murdered. As Jeff looks through his photo viewer, he proclaims, “I think I know why Thorwald killed that dog. Jeff has inserted a photo of the courtyard into the photo viewer; therefore, he can distinguish the difference between the courtyard in the photo and the courtyard in the present time. He invites Lisa to look at the old photo of the courtyard, and then glances down at its current condition to find a key difference; however, Lisa is unable to discover any difference, as she states, “But it’s just a picture of the backyard, that’s all.” Jeff informs her that there is, “one importance change.” That one important change revolves around, as he states, “Those flowers in Thorwald’s pet flower bed.” Stella replies, “You mean where the dog was sniffing around?”. Jeff corrects her by stating, “Where the dog was digging.”

Jeff invites Stella to peer through the photo viewer as he states, “Now look at those flowers.” He continues, “Those two yellow zinnias on this end aren’t as tall as they were. Now, since when do flowers grow shorter in two weeks?” Jeff’s investigation begins to take fundamental shape, as Stella announces, “There’s something buried there.” To which Lisa expresses, “Mrs. Thorwald.” Stella turns to Lisa and proclaims, “You haven’t spent much time around cemeteries, have you? Mr. Thorwald could scarcely put his wife’s body in a plot of ground around one foot square. Unless, of course, he put her in standing on end, and then he wouldn’t need a knife and saw. No, my idea is she’s scattered all over town. Leg in the East River…” Before Stella could finish explaining her gruelling theory, Lisa interrupts her by stating, “Oh, Stella, please!” Jeff stands by his theory as he explains, “ No, no, no. There’s something in there. Those flowers have been taken out and put back in.” Lisa then states, “Maybe it’s the knife and saw.” Stella commands that they call Lieutenant Doyle. Instead, Lisa suggests that they should hold off, as she contends, “Let’s wait till it gets a little darker, and I’ll go over there and dig them up.” Jeff, protecting Lisa, argues, “You’ll go? You won’t dig anything up and get your neck broken.” He further asserts, “We’re not gonna call Doyle until I can produce Mrs. Thorwald’s body. What we’ve got to do is find a way to get into that apartment.” Stella then becomes aware of Mr. Thorwald packing his suitcase in his bedroom. This sparks an idea for Jeff, as he begins to write Mr. Thorwald a note that reads, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?” Hitchcock frames Jeff, writing the note, through the use of a high-angled shot, symbolising Jeff regaining power over Mr. Thorwald.

The next sequence begins with Jeff and Stella peering out at the street, as Lisa walks towards Mr. Thorwald’s front entrance, with the note, addressed to him, in her hand. Lisa turns to look at Jeff and Stella as she waves at them, indicating that the plan is in motion, and proceeds to walk towards Mr. Thorwald’s apartment. Lisa slowly navigates through the hallway of the apartment building before she arrives at his door, sliding the note under it. Hitchcock uses a wide shot to capture the rear-view of Mr. Thorwald’s apartment, as Lisa and Mr. Thorwald are captured in the same frame, and can be seen through two separate windows. Following Lisa's strategic plan, she runs down the hallway, with a second spare to disappear out of sight, as Mr. Thorwald opens his door, becoming aware of a note being slid under it. Shocked by the message on the note, he runs down his hallway, attempting to find the anonymous person who slid the note under his door. With a rear-view of the building, Jeff and Stella watch as Lisa flees the scene, exiting the bottom floor, into the courtyard, and hides behind a wall. Mr. Thorwald returns to his apartment floor and looks down over the fire escape; however, Lisa has escaped. He re-enters his apartment, walking towards his bedroom, and continues to pack his suitcase. Jeff exclaims, “There’s no doubt about it. He’s leaving. It’s just a question of when.” Stella retrieves Jeff’s camera to gain a view across the courtyard and instantly finds Miss Lonelyhearts emptying a handful of pills onto a bookstand. As Miss Lonelyhearts walks towards her kitchen to pour a glass of water, Stella remarks, “Miss Lonelyhearts’s just laid out something that looks like rhodium tri-eckonal capsules.” Jeff replies, “You can tell from here?” She then states, “I’ve handled enough of those red pills to put everybody in Hackensack to sleep for the winter.”

Lisa arrives back at Jeff’s apartment, running through the door, gleaming with accomplishment. She states, “Wasn’t that close? What was his reaction? I mean, when he looked at the note?” Jeff watches on in amazement as Lisa is thrilled by the danger and crime they are caught up in. From Jeff’s perspective, Lisa is now the type of girl “to go anywhere and do anything, and love it.”. Stella informs Lisa that Mr. Thorwald’s expression, “Wasn’t the kind of an expression that would get him a quick loan at the bank.” Lisa looks over to Mr. Thorwald’s apartment and remarks, “Jeff, the handbag!” Jeff takes back his camera from Stella and looks through the lens to find Mr. Thorwald gripping onto his wife’s handbag before throwing it in his suitcase, and locking it. Jeff states, “Suppose Mrs. Thorwald’s wedding ring is among that jewellery he has in that handbag? Now, during the phone conversation, he held up three rings. One with a diamond, one with a big stone of some sort, and then just a plain gold band.” Lisa pieces the clues together further by indicating, “And the last thing she would leave behind would be a wedding ring.” She then asks Stella, “Do you ever leave yours at home?” Stella replies, “The only way anybody could get that ring would be to chop off my finger.” Stella then suggests, “Let’s go down and find out what’s buried in the garden.” Lisa responds, “Why not? I’ve always wanted to meet Mrs. Thorwald.” Jeff, unamused by their conversation, asks, “What are you two talking about?” Before he could speak any further, Stella overlaps his final word by beginning to ask, “You got a shovel?” Jeff replies, “A shovel? Of course, I don’t have a shovel.” Stella turns to Lisa, stating, “There’s probably one in the basement.” Jeff informs them to “hold on”, while Lisa asserts, “Jeff, if you’re squeamish, just don’t look.” He expresses that he is “not squeamish” and states, “I just don’t want you two to end up like that dog ended up. That’s all.”

Jeff, not willing to take any chances, retrieves his yellow phone book and searches through it to find Mr. Thorwald’s home telephone number. His plan involves getting Mr. Thorwald out of his apartment for “about 15 minutes.” He finds Mr. Thorwald in the phone book, with his telephone number reading, “Chelsea 27099.” Jeff proceeds to move backwards, out of sight, with Stella and Lisa mirroring him, as he dials the number on his rotary dial telephone. Mr. Thorwald’s home telephone immediately begins to ring, which is heard from across the courtyard. He walks towards the telephone, hovering over it, reluctant to pick it up. He finally does so, curiously saying, “Hello?”. Jeff, embodying an anonymous caller, asks, “Did you get my note?”. Mr. Thorwald is now reluctant to speak, leading to Jeff asking, “Well, did you get it, Thorwald?” Lisa and Stella watch on as Mr. Thorwald asks Jeff, “Who are you?” Jeff replies, “I’ll give you a chance to find out. Meet me in the bar at the Albert Hotel. Do it right away.” Mr. Thorwald asks, “Why should I?” to which Jeff responds, “A little business meeting… To settle the estate of your late wife.” Mr. Thorwald informs Jeff that he doesn’t know what Jeff means. Jeff doubles down on his invitation to the Albert Hotel by stating, “Come on. Quit stalling, Thorwald, or I’ll hang up and call the police.” Mr Thorwald proceeds to state, “I have only $100 or so.” Jeff informs him that it’s a start, before exclaiming, “I’m at the Albert now. I’ll be looking for you.” Mr. Thorwald hangs up, lifts his hat and exits his apartment to go to the Albert Hotel. Lisa immediately exploits his empty apartment to uncover the mystery of his wife. She remarks, “Come on, Stella, let’s go.” Before they exit Jeff’s apartment, he asserts, “One of you keep an eye on this window. If I see him coming back, I’ll signal with a flashbulb.” Jeff retrieves his camera, as he is the lookout in this breaking-and-entering scheme. He witnesses Mr. Thorwald walking away from his building, indicating that it is safe for Lisa to break into his apartment, or at least, safer. Jeff opens a camera bag to lift out his Speedgraphic camera and flash bulbs, which he uses for his flash photography, indicating that he is still using his cameras during high-stakes missions. Whether he is on an excursion, retreat, at an event, or for criminal activity, he is still utilising his skill set to accomplish his assignment.

Jeff gravitates towards his window to find Lisa and Stella slowly navigating into the courtyard, as they walk up the staircase in Jeff’s apartment courtyard – the staircase that was shown in the opening sequence as a form of establishing the location. To get into Mr. Thorwald’s courtyard, they climb a ladder beside a fence, which divides the two courtyards, and proceed to climb over to find Mr. Thorwald’s flowerbed. Stella, using a shovel, begins digging up the flowerbed, while Jeff makes a phone call to Mr. Doyle’s residence to find a woman, who is the Doyles’ babysitter, on the other end of the phone. He informs her that he is a friend of Doyle’s. He then proceeds to ask when she expects Mr. and Mrs Doyle to arrive home. The babysitter states, “Well, I’m hired till 1:00. They went to dinner and maybe a nightclub.” Jeff informs her to give Doyle a message to get in touch with him right away, as he “Might have quite a surprise for him.” Following his phone call with the babysitter, Jeff picks up his camera and looks through to find Stella making progress with digging the flowerbed. Although they have not made any further progress with the investigation as Stella glances up to Jeff and shakes her head from side to side, indicating that she did not find anything in the square footage of the flowerbed that she dug up.

Lisa, unable to accept defeat, proceeds to climb the fire escape leading up to Mr. Thorwald’s apartment. She wants to prove herself further to Jeff. After she successfully slides the note under Mr. Thorwald's door and escapes back to Jeff's apartment, Jeff looks at her in a different light. He realizes that she was capable of doing more than he thought she could do. She could throw herself into the line of fire, and did so, by putting herself in harm's way when she delivered the note, and now, on the verge of breaking into Mr. Thorwald’s apartment. In the thriller genre, audiences are accustomed to watching characters either throwing themselves into danger or being thrown into danger by someone else. Lisa's mission falls under both categories. She throws herself into danger, but she is simultaneously put into danger by Jeff. If he just accepted her for who she is and was not obsessed with the lives of others, Lisa wouldn't feel like she had to do dangerous things to impress him and get his attention. Jeff is now aware, while watching Lisa climb up the fire escape, that she is in potential danger. As she reaches the top of the fire escape, she climbs over the railing and positions herself on the window ledge outside of Mr. Thorwald’s apartment. Jeff, unable to help her, murmurs, “Lisa, what are you doing? Don’t go…”, but it is too late; she has climbed through the open window into Mr. Thorwald’s lounge. Lisa runs through the apartment to the bedroom, opens Mr. Thorwald’s suitcase, and lifts out his wife’s handbag. She turns to Jeff’s apartment and smiles in his direction, waving the handbag at him. She opens it, and to her disappointment, it is empty. She tilts the handbag upside down to show Jeff that there is nothing inside. He whispers to himself, “Come on, come on! Get out of there!” Lisa rummages through the cabinet next to Mr. Thorwald’s bed, attempting to find any evidence. At this point, Stella runs into Jeff’s apartment, rushing to the window to look out at Lisa. Stella informs Jeff, “She said ring Thorwald’s phone the second you see him come back.” Jeff doesn’t want to wait any longer and picks up his phone to call Thorwald’s apartment. However, Stella persuades him to give Lisa another minute. Jeff and Stella momentarily turn their attention to Miss Lonelyhearts’ apartment. They become aware of her sitting next to a pile of pills, contemplating swallowing each one. Stella, in a panic, demands that Jeff call the police. He picks up his phone and speaks to an operator, to whom he asserts, “Get me the police, sixth precinct.” While he waits to talk to the police, orchestrated music is heard from the songwriter’s apartment, catching the attention of Miss Lonelyhearts. She stands up from her couch and glances over to the songwriter’s apartment, entranced by the music. Stella remarks, “Mr. Jefferies, the music stopped her.” Lisa, one floor above Miss Lonelyhearts, turns her attention to the songwriter’s apartment, observing the songwriter and his friends playing their instruments.

On the other side of the building, Mr. Thorwald can be seen walking through his apartment building hallway, on the verge of returning home. Lisa, unaware of Mr. Thorwald arriving home, holds a pearl necklace in her hand, showing it to Jeff and Stella. They both panic as they witness Mr. Thorwald approach his apartment. Jeff calls out for Lisa, but he is obligated to control the volume of his voice as he cannot attract Mr. Thorwald’s attention. Lisa runs towards the apartment door; however, she hears Mr. Thorwald’s footsteps on the other side of the door. At this moment, Jeff should have called Mr. Thorwald’s home telephone to inform Lisa of his presence. However, Miss Lonelyhearts’ emotional and life-altering decision to swallow a handful of pills took his and Stella’s attention off of Lisa, leading Jeff to make a different phone call. Therefore, this is a prime example of how Jeff continues to become distracted by his neighbours, as his investigation and mission always go sideways. Lisa then runs into the bedroom as Mr. Thorwald walks into his apartment. At the same time, Jeff hears a voice on the other end of his phone stating, “Precinct 6, Sergeant Allgood.” Jeff emotionally states to the Sergeant, “Hello. Hello. Look, a man is assaulting a woman at 125 West 9th Street. Second Floor, at the rear. Make it fast!” Jeff informs him of his name and phone number, while he watches Mr. Thorwald walk into his bedroom to find his wife’s handbag sitting on top of his nightstand. He turns around to see Lisa standing behind him. As Lisa walks backwards through his apartment, he slowly follows her, angry about her break-in. She stands with one arm behind her back, clutching onto a piece of jewellery, as she explains to Mr. Thorwald that the “door was open”. As she attempts to walk out of the apartment, Mr. Thorwald pulls her arm towards him until she falls onto his couch. He holds out his hand, demanding that she give back what she stole. Jeff and Stella look on in a state of frenzy. Lisa places a piece of stolen jewellery into Mr. Thorwald’s hand and proceeds to walk towards the front door once again. Mr. Thorwald, yet again, pulls her towards him, forcefully holding onto both of her arms, as she attempts to escape his tight grip. She begins to shout, “Let go of me!” and calls out for Jeff. Her voice can be heard from across the courtyard as Jeff watches on, in a panic, unable to help. Suddenly, Mr. Thorwald switches off his apartment lights while he continues to latch onto one of Lisa’s arms. Jeff, struggling to watch, turns to Stella and asks, “What do we do?” Lisa continues to call out for Jeff. Stella then informs him, “Well, here they come”, as the two police officers and two neighbours rush to Mr. Thorwald’s apartment.

Jeff sighs in relief as Lisa can now be helped. One police officer knocks on the apartment door, as Mr. Thorwald switches on his apartment lights. He removes his hand from Lisa’s arm, walks towards his apartment door, and opens it. Mr. Thorwald explains to the police officers that Lisa broke into his home. She attempts to justify her story with one officer, while Mr. Thorwald converses with the other. Both explain their perspectives, while Jeff and Stella observe the situation. Stella remarks, “What’s she trying to do? Why doesn’t she turn him in?” Jeff then states, “She’s a smart girl.” Stella replies, “Smart girl? She’ll get herself arrested.” Jeff contends, “It’ll get her out of there, won’t it?” As he continues to watch the commotion through his camera lens, Jeff becomes aware of Lisa placing one of her hands behind her back, signalling to Jeff that she is wearing Mrs. Thorwald’s wedding ring, as she obtained it moments earlier. Jeff notices her pointing to the ring on her finger as he states, “Look, the wedding ring!” Simultaneously, Mr. Thorwald becomes aware of Lisa wearing his wife’s ring as well as her signalling to Jeff, with him tilting his head up to look across at Jeff’s apartment. Jeff immediately panics and informs Stella, “Turn off the light! He’s seen us!”, with his apartment now becoming dark as Stella switches off the lamp next to them.

Lisa walks out of Mr. Thorwald’s apartment with the police officers accompanying her, as they are taking her down to the station. Jeff, aware of Lisa’s arrest, scrambles to accumulate enough money to pay her bail. As he is doing so, Stella informs him, “You know, you could leave her there till next Tuesday, then you could sneak safely away as planned.” This statement indicates that Jeff, at the beginning of the film, would not have immediately considered helping Lisa or bailing her out of jail, as he wasn’t committed to her. But now, he is aware of her importance to him, after she won him over. However, she didn't have to go out of her way to prove herself to him, especially since she could have been killed. Jeff realizes that he put Lisa in harm's way and that if something tragic had happened to her, he couldn't live with himself. He wouldn't be able to live without Lisa, and he wouldn't be able to live with what he influenced her to do. Although she took it upon herself to break into Mr. Thorwald’s apartment, Jeff is also responsible for that. His curiosity, and even more so, his obsession with uncovering a potential neighbourhood murder, got the better of him. Lisa knew that if she were responsible for solving Jeff's obsessive investigation, he would pay more attention to her and also be proud of who she is.

Jeff and Stella continue to accumulate Lisa’s bail money, as they collectively discuss how much they will need. Jeff explains, “Well, this is first-offense burglary, that’s about $250.” Jeff has $127, but they need more, so they check Lisa’s purse to find 50 cents in it, which leads to Stella offering “$20 or so” from her own purse. Although it still isn’t enough, Stella states, “When those cops see Lisa, they’ll even contribute.” All of a sudden, Jeff’s telephone rings; it is Doyle on the other end, returning his call. Jeff answers, and Doyle unenthusiastically quips, “All right. What is it now?”. Jeff, excited by his breakthrough with the investigation, states, “Doyle, I’ve got something really big for you.” Doyle, still unamused, contends, “Why did I have to return your call? Look, Jeff! Don’t louse up my night with another mad killer…” Jeff interrupts Doyle as he exclaims, “Listen to me! Listen to me! Lisa’s in jail. She got arrested.” Jeff gleams over Lisa’s antics, as he states, “Boy, you should have seen her. She got into Thorwald’s apartment. But then he came back, and the only way I could get her out was to call the police.” Doyle, transitioning from unamused to enraged, shouts at Jeff, asserting, “I told you…” Before he could finish his lecture, Jeff explains, “I know you told me! She went in to get evidence, and she came out with evidence.” Doyle asks, “Like what?”, to which Jeff argues, “Like what? Like Mrs. Thorwald’s wedding ring. That’s like what. If that woman was alive, she’d be wearing that ring. Right?” Doyle murmurs, “A possibility”, leading Jeff to stating, “A possibility. It’s a fact! He killed a dog last night because the dog was scratching around in the garden. You know why? Because he had something buried in that garden that the dog scented.” Doyle then quips, “Like an old ham bone?” Jeff frustratingly replies, “Look, I don’t know what pet names Thorwald had for his wife, but I’ll tell you this, all those trips at night with that metal suitcase, he wasn’t taking out his possessions, because his possessions are still up in the apartment.” Doyle humours Jeff by expressing, “Perhaps it was old ham bone”, referring to Mrs. Thorwald, to which Jeff replies, “Yeah, in sections and I’ll tell you something else. All the telephone calls he made were long-distance, all right? Now, if he called his wife long-distance on the day she left, after she arrived in Merritsville, why did she write a card to him saying that she’d arrived in Merritsville? Why did she do that?”. Doyle responds with, “Where’d they take Lisa?” Jeff informs him that she was taken to Precinct 6 and that he sent Stella over with the bail money. Doyle informs him that he may not need the money, as he will “run it down.” Jeff expresses to Doyle that he needs to “Hurry up” as Mr. Thorwald “knows he’s being watched.” Doyle explains to Jeff, “If that ring checks out, we’ll give him an escort.”

Jeff, alone in his apartment and finished with his phone call with Doyle, glances over to Mr. Thorwald’s apartment to find that the lights are off, as if no one is home. The apartment exudes nothing but darkness and silence. Jeff notices his telephone ringing once again and picks it up in a hurry. He assumes it is Doyle on the other end and asserts, “Tom, I think Thorwald’s left. I don’t see… Before Jeff continues with his sentence, he realises that the person on the other line is not Doyle, it is Mr. Thorwald. Jeff puts down his phone and once again looks over to Mr. Thorwald’s apartment. The camera zooms into Jeff’s face to capture his concerned expression, as he is unaware of Mr. Thorwald’s whereabouts. That is, until suddenly, a door is heard slamming closed in Jeff’s apartment hallway. He turns to look at his apartment door as a light illuminates the hallway. The sound of footsteps is heard approaching his apartment. Jeff assesses the situation, looking for a solution and a plan for how the next few moments are going to materialise. He navigates towards his apartment door in his wheelchair and attempts to stand up to walk up his staircase to lock his front door, but is unable to do so due to his broken leg. He momentarily remains as guarded as he can be, zoning in on the hallway light shining underneath his door. Unexpectedly, the light switches off, highlighting that Jeff’s leverage of seeing Mr. Thorwald’s footsteps is gone, as his shadow no longer reflects off the light. He can hear the footsteps, but with no vision of the hallway, he is being blindsided. Jeff backs up in his wheelchair as he prepares for an intrusion into his apartment. As Jeff continues to back up into a corner, he notices his flash bulb camera sitting on the side of his wheelchair. He picks it up and retrieves a pack of flash bulbs from his photography bag. He backs up further towards his window to gain a long-range view of the door. Mr. Thorwald’s footsteps become louder, indicating that he is becoming closer to Jeff’s apartment with each step. Jeff’s apartment door begins to slowly open as Mr. Thorwald enters. He immediately finds Jeff sitting by his window. He closes the door and asserts, “What do you want from me?” Jeff does not respond, with Mr. Thorwald stating, “Your friend, the girl, could have turned me in. Why didn’t she?” Jeff provides no response yet again, which leads to Mr Thorwald asking, “What is it you want? A lot of money? I don’t have any money. Say something. Say something! Tell me what you want!.” Jeff continues to be silent, leading Mr Thorwald to ask, “Can you get me that ring back?” Jeff then decides to speak, as he states, “No.” Mr. Thorwald becomes increasingly frustrated, as he proclaims, “Tell her to bring it back!” Jeff informs him, “I can’t. The police have it by now.”

Mr. Thorwald begins to walk towards Jeff, but is unable to take more than a single step, as Jeff shoots a flash bulb in his direction, momentarily stunning him and blurring his vision. He isn’t disillusioned; however, his vision is just distorted. If Jeff wanted to disillusion Mr. Thorwald, he would have had Lisa break into Mr. Thorwald’s apartment to insert poison into his decanter of scotch or bourbon, although that’s a different film. That’s something that would happen to Grace Kelly’s character, Margot Wendice, in Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (which was released the same year as Rear Window, four months prior). Grace Kelly worked with Hitchcock on two consecutive projects (Dial M for Murder and Rear Window), with a total of five motion pictures in which she acted in being released in 1954, including Mark Robson’s The Bridges at Toko-Ri, Andrew Marton’s Green Fire, and George Seaton’s The Country Girl, the latter in which she won a Best Leading Actress Academy Award for. In Dial M for Murder, however, Margot’s husband, Tony Wendice (played by Ray Milland), would have poisoned her if it weren’t for his elaborate plan to stage a burglary and a murder, which was wrongly executed by Charles Swann (played by Anthony Dawson). Tony wanted to kill his wife; therefore, he was in a position to commit any crime. In the case of Jeff, the only position that he was in was to be murdered for the crime he was attempting to expose. To prevent his fate, he had to utilise his only obtainable skill set - his flash photography. As Jeff distorted Mr. Thorwald’s vision, Hitchcock uses an orange filter to highlight and emphasise Mr. Thorwald’s vision being blurred by the flash. Mr. Thorwald momentarily gains a clear view of Jeff and begins to walk towards him once again. Jeff inserts a second flash bulb into his camera and stuns Mr. Thorwald a second time, again distorting his vision. Mr. Thorwald adjusts his glasses, restoring his full sight, which is again indicated by an orange filter. This happens for a third and fourth time, following Mr. Thorwald walking closer to Jeff. Jeff looks back towards the opposing building to find Doyle, Lisa, and the police officers walking through the hallway. Jeff, with a moment to spare, shouts, “LISA! DOYLE!. Mr. Thorwald then begins to wrap his hands around Jeff’s neck, in an attempt to strangle him. Hitchcock captures Lisa running towards the hallway window of the opposing building, as she becomes aware of Jeff being attacked. This gains the attention of Doyle as well as the police officers, as they run through the hallway in the pursuit of helping Jeff.

Jeff attempts to resist Mr. Thorwald’s attack by using his strength and force to hold him off. They both continue putting force on one another, as each neighbour can be seen systematically becoming aware of the attack, as they run out of their apartment, looking up at Jeff’s rear-view window. Mr. Thorwald suddenly throws Jeff out of his wheelchair, onto his bed, as Jeff dangles off it. A neighbour is heard shouting, “Look! Look, over in that apartment! as they watch Jeff being attacked. Jeff struggles to gain any control over Mr. Thorwald, leading Mr. Thorwald to clutch onto his legs and carry him towards the window. He proceeds to lift Jeff out of his window, leading to Jeff dangling from the window ledge. Mr. Thorwald uses his force to push Jeff out of the window, as Jeff hangs in mid-air, gripping onto the ledge. Doyle and the two police officers run through the opposing courtyard, towards Jeff's rear window. Jeff shouts for Doyle as they do so. The camera captures Jeff hanging from his window in the courtyard, indicating that this is the second occasion, throughout the film, that the camera has left Jeff’s apartment. Through this sequence, it is clear that if Jeff does not leave his apartment, neither does the audience, for the most part. Hitchcock, therefore, forces the audience to remain inside the apartment for the majority of the picture. This confirms that the audience fundamentally witnesses what Jeff witnesses and goes where he goes.

With Doyle attempting to save Jeff, he retrieves a gun from his partner, Creele, and aims it in the direction of Mr. Thorwald. Before he could fire, two detectives arrived at Jeff’s apartment, immediately lifting Mr. Thorwald off Jeff. Jeff continues to hang from the window ledge, with his grip becoming looser. With no grip ultimately left on the ledge, Jeff falls towards the ground as the two police officers attempt to catch him. Doyle runs down the steps into his courtyard, with Stella and Lisa following behind. Doyle approaches Jeff on the ground and states, “I’m sorry, Jeff. I got here as fast as I could!” Stella kneels by Jeff’s side and remarks, “Oh, Mr Jefferies!” She then turns to Doyle and expresses, “Don’t let anybody touch him.” She makes eye contact with Jeff’s neighbours and demands, “Get my medical bag from upstairs.” Lisa holds Jeff in her arms, comforting him, as Jeff states, “Oh, Lisa, sweetie, if anything had happened to you…” Lisa interrupts him and states, “Oh, shut up. I'm all right.” Jeff grins at her and replies, “Gee, I’m proud of you!”. Jeff looks up at Doyle and asks, “You got enough for a search warrant now?” Doyle smiles at Jeff and states, “Oh, yeah, sure.” A detective shouts down into the courtyard to Doyle to get his attention, asking if Jeff is okay, and contending, “Thorwald’s ready to take us on a tour of the East River.” Stella whispers in Doyle’s ear to remind him of the flower bed, to which Doyle asks the detective, “Did he say what was buried in the flower bed?” The detective replies, “Yeah. He said the dog got too inquisitive, so he dug it up. It’s in a hat box over in his apartment.” Doyle then asks Stella, “Want to look?” Stella replies, “No, thanks. I don’t want any part of her.” Stella realises that her comment was a double entendre as there is a part of Mrs. Thorwald in the box, and that she doesn’t want to be a part of the search for Mrs. Thorwald’s body.

The final sequence of the film begins on a new day, with a close-up of the thermometer on Jeff’s apartment wall, displaying that it is 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Hitchcock pans to the left to capture Miss Lonelyhearts standing next to the songwriter in his apartment, as he shows her a record, stating, “I hope it’s gonna be a hit. This is the first release.” She states to him, “I’d love to hear it. I can’t tell you what this music has meant to me.” The song that is played includes the melody that saved her life, the night she almost swallowed a handful of pills, attempting to commit suicide. Therefore, the romantic music was strong enough to prevent her from doing so, which led to her forming a connection with the songwriter. The lyrics of the song refer to a woman named “Lisa”, highlighting that the song is representative of Jeff, as he is now infatuated with Lisa, and is in a place in his life wherein he can marry Lisa. The camera continues to pan through the courtyard, capturing a wide shot of Mr. Thorwald’s apartment, as it is under renovation due to his arrest. The interior of his apartment has been stripped down, as painters are in the process of applying green paint to the walls. The camera pans up to the married couple on the balcony, as the wife is training their new puppy, while her husband sits in the living room, working. To the left of their apartment, Miss Torso welcomes her husband home from the Army, admiring his body, as she states, “My, look what the Army’s done for you!” He replies, “The Army’s made me hungry. What’ve you got in the icebox to eat? Boy, it’s good to be home.” Panning down from their studio apartment, Hitchcock captures Miss Hearing Aid sleeping on her sun lounger. The camera then pans up to the newlyweds' apartment as the wife states to her husband, “I don’t care if you help me or not, but if you’d told me you’d quit your job, we wouldn’t have gotten married.” The husband sits at their kitchen table, eating his breakfast, and reads the daily newspaper, while the wife stands beside him. He looks to her and remarks, “Oh, honey, come on…”

The camera pans back into Jeff’s apartment, through his rear window, to capture him sleeping in his wheelchair, with a smile on his face. The singer, on the songwriter’s ballad, serenades, “If this is dreaming, I hope I’ll never wake.” This indicates that Jeff is in love with Lisa, and is now content and satisfied with his life, and does not want to wake up from the dream he is living with her. Hitchcock pans the camera down towards Jeff’s legs, as he now has two broken legs, with a cast wrapped around each one. He was on the verge of recovering from his initial leg accident, but now his initial injury has worsened, and his other leg is broken too, due to the fall from his window. Furthermore, Edith heads costume design symbolises Lisa’s change, and becoming a part of Jeff’s world, as Hitchcock pans the camera to the right of Jeff to display Lisa, wearing casual leather shoes, a pair of denim jeans, rolled up at the ankles, and a salmon coloured shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, indicating that she has transitioned from a high society girl with high-end glamour and expensive dresses, to a normal girl whom Jeff always wanted. Lisa holds a book entitled “Beyond the High Himalayas”, indicating that she is educating herself on adventurous locations that Jeff embarks on with his job. However, as Lisa notices Jeff is asleep, she sets the book down and retrieves a Bazaar fashion magazine to replace it, as the final word in the film is heard from the romantic song, with the singer harmonising the name “Lisa” for a final time. Hitchcock captures Lisa through the use of a medium shot, smiling at the magazine. This shot symbolises that Lisa continues to possess her interests and remains her own person, with her own desires. She may have proven herself to Jeff and is going to spend her life with him, but she should never change who she is. After all, Jeff has to accept her for who she is. He has drawn his own conclusions about enough people. It’s time for him to look inward at himself, now that he has even more time to do so. This time around, he needs to reflect on who he is, rather than focus on the lives of others. Finally, before the film comes to a close, the curtains roll down on Jeff’s rear window, symbolising that the show is over, as well as reaffirming that his apartment is a theatre, and he is the audience.