Movie Monday 11/17

Oops...it's Tuesday already. But I didn't want to miss the opportunity to tell you how much I enjoyed watching a classic this weekend:

My husband and I watched Rear Window, the classic suspense film from Alfred Hitchcock. Confession time: this was the first Hitchcock movie I have ever seen! Can you believe it? My husband had seen this one before but happily watched it again. Jimmy Stewart stars as L.B. Jeffries, a photojournalist with a broken leg who is stuck in a wheelchair in his tiny apartment during a heat wave. He can't wait to get back on the road with his camera, and is horribly bored. Only visits from his nurse and his wealthy & fashionable girlfriend, Lisa (played by Grace Kelly), break up the monotony. In between their visits, he amuses himself by watching his neighbors through the rear window. He lives in a courtyard apartment, so there is plenty to watch across the yard. He even makes up silly names and stories for some of his neighbors. One day, though, he sees some unusual behavior across the way from a traveling salesman whose invalid wife is suddenly absent. L.B. guesses (half jokingly) that the man killed his wife and chopped her up. As the days pass, though, events in that apartment seem stranger and stranger, and L.B. even gets Lisa and his nurse in on the guessing game and amateur sleuthing. The question is: is this another of L.B.'s silly stories or did a murder really take place? The movie starts out slowly, but the suspense builds right up to the end and kept me guessing. I really enjoyed seeing these famous Hollywood stars and was surprised to see how well the old film holds up. I definitely want to watch more Hitchcock classics now! My husband says Vertigo is next.

NOTE: When I looked up Rear Window to grab the photo above, I discovered that the movie was remade in 1998, starring Christopher Reeve (post-accident) as the man in the wheelchair. It's rating wasn't nearly as high as the original, but it might be fun to watch it and compare the two (besides, I love Christopher Reeve).

Have you seen any good movies lately? And which Hitchcock film is your favorite?