A darkly comic examination of cinema, sexuality, and voyeurism, Rear Window features a surprisingly frank relationship (given the censorious Production Code) between commitment-phobic photojournalist Jeff (James Stewart) and alluring girlfriend Lisa (the luminous Grace Kelly) and several subplots that explore male-female relations from multiple perspectives. The story – Jeff, immobilized by a broken leg, spies what appears to be a murder while peering at his neighbors through the apartment’s rear window – both generates excruciating suspense and provides a beautifully apt metaphor for the filmgoing experience itself. Hitchcock’s handling of the complex mise-en-scène, the myriad ancillary stories and intrigues, and the central romance (with its implicit critique of the man’s need for power and his ironic impotence) is simply masterful. With a fabulous Thelma Ritter as Jeff’s nurse and noodge – marry that girl! – and a pre-Perry Mason Raymond Burr as the suspected killer across the courtyard.

To attend both the film screening and post-screening discussion, please purchase a ticket for the Thursday 1:00 PM screening. Discussions are offered exclusively at this Thursday matinee.

This presentation is part of the film & lectures series Getting Hitched in partnership with St. Louis Oasis. Thursday matinees for six of the films: Blackmail, The 39 Steps, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Rear Window, and Vertigo. will be followed by a discussion of 30 minutes led by Cliff Froehlich, retired executive director of Cinema St. Louis and former film critic for The Riverfront Times.