The Woman in the Window Poster

The Woman in the Window (1944)

Crime | FilmNoir | Thriller
Rayting:   7.8/10 14.3K votes
Country: USA
Language: English
Release date: 14 March 1947

When a conservative middle aged professor engages in a minor dalliance with a femme fatale, he is plunged into a nightmarish quicksand of blackmail and murder.

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Bucs1960 5 February 2002

Herr Lang has another winner here with the same cast that he used in "Scarlet Street" in 1946.....wonderful portrayals from all concerned. In both films, Edward G. is caught up in a situation that traps him and forces him to make decisions that go against his sense of morality. Joan Bennett is gorgeous as the beautiful woman who ensnares Robinson in her troubles. Dan Duryea again proves that he was one hell of an actor.....he was stereotyped throughout his career in roles in which he was a coward, a weakling and a thoroughly unlikeable guy and nobody played it better. The story line is gripping and you feel as trapped as Edward G. BUT, it is that ending!!!!! Lang never was one for the easy out but here he must have been desperate to tie up all the loose ends and come up with a believable solution...so he tacks on the worst ending since the Bobby Ewing/Dallas explanation! I was disappointed that he would stoop to something so pat (and he is one of my favorite directors). This film could go down as a true classic and should have except for the ending....that knocked it right off the list. Still, it is very much worth watching and I would recommend it to all who love film noir.

Spikeopath 12 March 2011

Fmovies: The Woman in the Window is directed by Fritz Lang and adapted by Nunnally Johnson from the novel "Once off Guard" written by J.H. Wallis. It stars Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey & Dan Duryea. Music is by Arthur Lange and Milton R. Krasner is the cinematographer.

After admiring a portrait of Alice Reed (Bennett) in the storefront window of the shop next to his Gentleman's Club, Professor Richard Wanley (Robinson) is shocked to actually meet her in person on the street. It's a meeting that leads to a killing, recrimination and blackmail.

Time has shown The Woman in the Window to be one of the most significant movies in the film noir cycle. It was part of the original group identified by Cahiers du Cinéma that formed the cornerstone of film noir (the others were The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, Laura and Murder My Sweet). Its reputation set in stone, it's a film that boasts many of the key noir ingredients: man meets woman and finds his life flipped upside down, shifty characters, a killing, shadows and low lights, and of course an atmosphere thick with suspense. Yet the ending to this day is divisive and, depending what side of the camp you side with, it makes the film either a high rank classic noir or a nearly high rank classic noir. Personally it bothers me does the finale, it comes off as something that Rod Serling could have used on The Twilight Zone but decided to discard. No doubt to my mind that had Lang put in the ending from the source, this would be a 10/10 movie, for everything else in it is top draw stuff.

At its core the film is about the dangers of stepping out of the normal, a peril of wish fulfilment in middle age, with Lang gleefully smothering the themes with the onset of a devilish fate and the stark warning that being caught just "once off guard" can doom you to the unthinkable. There's even the odd Freudian interpretation to sample. All of which is aided by the excellent work of Krasner, who along with his director paints a shadowy world consisting of mirrors, clocks and Venetian blinds. The cast are very strong, strong enough in fact for Robinson, Bennett and Duryea to re-team with Lang the following year for the similar, but better, Scarlet Street, while Lang's direction doesn't miss a beat.

A great film regardless of the Production Code appeasing ending, with its importance in the pantheon of film noir well deserved. But you sense that watching it as a companion piece to Scarlet Street, that Lang finally made the film that this sort of story deserved. The Woman in the Window: essential but not essentially the best of its type. 8/10

Michael-110 1 April 1999

This gripping suspense thriller involves a man (Edward G. Robinson) and woman (Joan Bennett) who barely know each other conspiring to cover up a murder which threatens to destroy their lives. Robinson is an aging college professor of criminal justice who thinks there is no adventure left in his life anymore; Bennett is a mysterious and beautiful model. Fritz Lang's brilliant direction and a stunning musical score build the suspense incredibly. However, this superb film is spoiled by a trivializing happy ending, probably imposed on Lang by studio hacks. In all other respects, it is a triumph of film making.

secondtake 29 October 2009

The Woman in the Window fmovies. Woman in the Window (1944)

A methodical movie about a methodical cover-up. Edgar G. Robinson is the perfect actor for a steady, rational man having to face the crisis of a murder, and Fritz Lang, who has directed murderousness before, knows also about darkness and fear. There are no flaws in the reasoning, and if there is a flaw to the movie, it is it's very methodical perfection. Even the flaws are perfect, the mistakes made and how they are shown.

We all at one time or another get away with something, large or small. And this law-abiding man finds himself trapped. He has to succeed, and you think he might. Part of me kept saying, I wouldn't do that, or don't be a fool. But part of me said, it's inevitable, he'll fail, we all would fail. So the movie moves with a steady thoughtful pace. It talks a lot for an American crime film, but it also has the best of night scenes--rainy streets with gleaming dark streets, hallways with glass windows and harsh light, and dark woods (for the body, of course). But there are dull moments, some odd qualities like streets with no parked cars at all, and a leading woman who is a restrained femme fatale, which isn't the best. And then there are twists and suspicions, dodges and subterfuges. And of course Dan Duryea, who makes a great small-time chiseler.

clive-38 2 December 2000

"Woman in the Window" is one of my favourite Hollywood films of the forties and is in fact included in my "Top Ten" movies of all time. Expertly directed by Fritz Lang and starring Edward G. Robinson, the delectable Joan Bennett in a wonderfully seductive performance, and the sinister Dan Duryea it has a fascinating storyline, some outstanding acting and a "twist in the tale". Robinson is respectable Professor Richard Wanley (married with children) whose family are away on holiday. Admiring the painting of a woman in the window of an art gallery near his club he is surprised (and pleased) to see the attractive model (Joan Bennett) standing right next to him. She explains that she often comes along to the gallery to "watch people's faces" when they look at her painting and see how they react. After a few minutes conversation Robinson reluctantly escorts Bennett back to her apartment and the events which ensue lead to murder, blackmail, hardship and deep torment for Robinson whose neat well organised life is thrown into turmoil and disarray. Robinson's friend Frank Lalor (Raymond Massey) is the District Attorney investigating the murder which ironically for Robinson causes him even further complications and gets him unwittingly drawn deeper and deeper into the murder inquiry. Just when it seems that things could not get any worse for Robinson there is a magnificent twist at the end of the movie which comes as a total surprise!!

Some favourite lines from the film:

Joan Bennett (to Robinson): "I'm not married. I have no designs on you and one drink is all I care for".

Robinson (to Bennett): "I should never have stopped to talk with you - I should never never have come here to drink with you". Bennett (to Robinson): "Never?".

Raymond Massey (to Robinson): "It's all right Richard - don't get excited. We rarely arrest people just for knowing where the body was".

Bennett (to Dan Duryea): "Are you nuts? I haven't got $5,000 and there isn't any guy to get it from so you may as well go right along to the police and tell them whatever you wish!".

Although Edward G. Robinson was not the typical leading man type he could always be relied upon to give a good performance and in "Woman in the Window" he was at his very best!! 10 out of 10 for acting, direction, screenplay and photography. The only Oscar nomination this film received was for "best score" which was in my opinion an oversight as I believe in retrospect that both Robinson and Bennett clearly desrved to be nominated for their acting. If you enjoy this film be sure to see "Scarlet Street" (1945) which is another classic "film noir" thriller featuring the same three leading players and with Fritz Lang once again as director. Clive Roberts.

Keedee 25 November 2000

This one was a true nail biter. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Mr. Robinson's performance was believable and Ms. Bennet was beautiful and just as realistic as two people desperate to cover up a crime. This is a film that I highly recommend. It's suspenseful and dramatic. I felt as though I was on a roller coaster ride and couldn't get off. In short, I was a nervous wreck wondering how this film would play out. I highly recommend this one. I almost passed it by but I am eternally grateful that I didn't. Rent it, buy it, but by all means, watch it!!

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