The Woman in the Window (1944)

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1. 

   MrE2Me

   I can forgive the ending because of the forced censorship in practice at the time, but some of the stupid decisions made by the main characters (especially when one of them is a professor of psychology) prevented me from buying a lot of what takes place. Aside from that, it's a decent suspense flick. 12 years 1 month ago
2. 

   GrooveRemote

   That ending was hilarious. Holy cow. I was really wondering what it'd be after reading these comments, and I don't think it's spoiling anything to say it's just terrible.
   
   The rest of the film is disappointingly standard. Edward G. Robinson is a professor of psychology at some university. He professes to his colleagues his dissatisfaction with growing older, as he finds his life increasingly less adventurous and exciting, but, wouldn't you know it, he gets caught up in this whole murder shindig 'cause of some dame. He then becomes wrapped up in the investigation of the crime that he committed, and, well, I won't spoil it for you. Robinson, as always, is top-notch. He's one of the great movie stars because, while he's recognizable and has very familiar inflections, the characters he plays are always distinct among one another. Here, he has to sell that all-too-familiar nervous guy trying to evade the law, and he does it as well and anyone could. Joan Bennett also sells her part well, though her character is far more interesting to me. She treads a very fine line between innocent and devilish. She's not like most noir femme fatales, like your Gildas and your Phyllis Dietrichsons; she doesn't have that strikingly evil nature. Largely, the female lead in this film is a nice, respectable woman, but you see the seams once or twice, and it's a lot of fun. Dan Duryea is just terrible. It's not that he's too over-the-top, as I'm the kind of guy that doesn't always love neorealist acting; I can't quite put my finger on why I disliked him so, but suffice to say he's the average sly criminal character with a bad New York accent.
   
   I expect more from Fritz Lang. This is such an average, middle-of-the-road crime movie, which is the last thing I'd expect from the man who brought the world M. It's not a bad movie at all. Outside of the last half hour or so, I enjoyed it. I suggest anyone interested in seeing it go in without thinking of it as a Fritz Lang movie, because it doesn't meet that criteria. Go in looking at it as any other crime thriller of the time, and you'll probably come out a little happier than I did (OK, that ending made me happy).
   
   It's fine/10. 4 years 3 months ago
3. 

   joachimt

   Can't we use spoilertags in these comments?
   
   

   Let's try.

   10 years ago

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