Post by klep on May 21, 2018 6:47:39 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/21: Rear Window
BOTTLE FILMS WEEK!
Note: This week's essay is contributed by Edith Gillian Nelson.
I collect knowledge like a magpie. I always have. I read things, and then they lodge in my brain. I don't always know where I got them, and to be honest, I don't always know if they're correct. Though I have three or four pieces of "fake trivia" that I use to check the accuracy of books of random information—if the book states with authority where "the whole nine yards" comes from or tells you that pretty much any word older than about the 1920s is an acronym, the book's probably not fact-checked all that well. The one thing about doing this with movie information, though, is that people who made movies documented things. You can often find a primary source for this sort of weird stuff.
When it comes to the making of Rear Window, there are really four people whose information you can probably trust. Hitchcock himself, obviously. James Stewart. Grace Kelly. And Thelma Ritter. They were there most. Hitchcock was even the producer, so he didn't have someone breathing down his neck, and he had a bit of a disdain for screenwriters from what I can tell. The other person whose account is most detailed is "Miss Torso," Georgine Darcy, who essentially lived in her onscreen apartment during filming.
Because people could. Provided you didn't mind the stifling heat from the studio lights, the apartments Jeff (Stewart) looks into were fully livable. They had plumbing and everything. I've never been entirely sure why you'd bother with that, but there it is. They say Hitchcock considered shooting on location, finding a setup in Greenwich Village that resembled what was required for the script, but given Hitch's distaste for location shooting and the specific requirements of the script, I doubt anyone considered it for very long. The sound issues alone sound like they'd tank the idea, even though filming in the studio required complete remodeling of a building—the "ground" level is actually basement level, as it's easier to dig down than raise up.
One that I'm not sure was ever confirmed was the idea that a pre-Perry Mason Raymond Burr, still fairly obscure, was cast as Thorwald because of a slight resemblance to David O. Selznick, one emphasized by hair and makeup. Hitch had worked under Selznick when he first came to the United States and had deeply hated the experience. While many people consider Rear Window proof of the auteur theory, Selznick believed in an auteur theory as well—with himself the author as producer. Personality conflict with Hitch was inevitable, and it's possible that this movie was a subtle revenge.
Jeff's occupation is never given in the original short story. He has no love interest, and instead of the delightful Stella—you can't beat a Thelma Ritter character—he has a probably-black manservant. He has a friend in the police department whom he calls in. The story is only a handful of pages long, and most of the drama of the apartment building does not appear in it. Indeed, he explicitly cannot see as many apartments as he does in the movie. The world was fleshed out for the movie—padded, arguably, to make a feature.
Other than Burr, the person who was most obscure at the time of the film and went on to become the most famous was of course Ross Bagdasarian, four years later to hit it big under the stage name Dave Seville. Hollywood is an insular town; it's only marginally surprising, I think, that you can go from one of the greatest thrillers of all time to the Chipmunks and "I Told the Witch Doctor."
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/28: The Namesake
IMMIGRANT WEEK!
For Immigrant Week we'll be watching this 2006 film about the experiences of a child of Indian immigrants trying to reconcile his family's traditions and customs with those of the country he was born into. Join us next week as we explore the pressures and trials of trying to bridge two worlds. The Namesake is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is only free for Prime members with a Starz add-on.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 5/17: Avengers: Infinity War
Last week's podcast concluded with the biggest and most ambitious Marvel movie to date: The mega-crossover Infinity War. Join us Wednesday for a thread about what they did and did not accomplish. Infinity War is still in theaters.
BOTTLE FILMS WEEK!
Note: This week's essay is contributed by Edith Gillian Nelson.
I collect knowledge like a magpie. I always have. I read things, and then they lodge in my brain. I don't always know where I got them, and to be honest, I don't always know if they're correct. Though I have three or four pieces of "fake trivia" that I use to check the accuracy of books of random information—if the book states with authority where "the whole nine yards" comes from or tells you that pretty much any word older than about the 1920s is an acronym, the book's probably not fact-checked all that well. The one thing about doing this with movie information, though, is that people who made movies documented things. You can often find a primary source for this sort of weird stuff.
When it comes to the making of Rear Window, there are really four people whose information you can probably trust. Hitchcock himself, obviously. James Stewart. Grace Kelly. And Thelma Ritter. They were there most. Hitchcock was even the producer, so he didn't have someone breathing down his neck, and he had a bit of a disdain for screenwriters from what I can tell. The other person whose account is most detailed is "Miss Torso," Georgine Darcy, who essentially lived in her onscreen apartment during filming.
Because people could. Provided you didn't mind the stifling heat from the studio lights, the apartments Jeff (Stewart) looks into were fully livable. They had plumbing and everything. I've never been entirely sure why you'd bother with that, but there it is. They say Hitchcock considered shooting on location, finding a setup in Greenwich Village that resembled what was required for the script, but given Hitch's distaste for location shooting and the specific requirements of the script, I doubt anyone considered it for very long. The sound issues alone sound like they'd tank the idea, even though filming in the studio required complete remodeling of a building—the "ground" level is actually basement level, as it's easier to dig down than raise up.
One that I'm not sure was ever confirmed was the idea that a pre-Perry Mason Raymond Burr, still fairly obscure, was cast as Thorwald because of a slight resemblance to David O. Selznick, one emphasized by hair and makeup. Hitch had worked under Selznick when he first came to the United States and had deeply hated the experience. While many people consider Rear Window proof of the auteur theory, Selznick believed in an auteur theory as well—with himself the author as producer. Personality conflict with Hitch was inevitable, and it's possible that this movie was a subtle revenge.
Jeff's occupation is never given in the original short story. He has no love interest, and instead of the delightful Stella—you can't beat a Thelma Ritter character—he has a probably-black manservant. He has a friend in the police department whom he calls in. The story is only a handful of pages long, and most of the drama of the apartment building does not appear in it. Indeed, he explicitly cannot see as many apartments as he does in the movie. The world was fleshed out for the movie—padded, arguably, to make a feature.
Other than Burr, the person who was most obscure at the time of the film and went on to become the most famous was of course Ross Bagdasarian, four years later to hit it big under the stage name Dave Seville. Hollywood is an insular town; it's only marginally surprising, I think, that you can go from one of the greatest thrillers of all time to the Chipmunks and "I Told the Witch Doctor."
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 5/28: The Namesake
IMMIGRANT WEEK!
For Immigrant Week we'll be watching this 2006 film about the experiences of a child of Indian immigrants trying to reconcile his family's traditions and customs with those of the country he was born into. Join us next week as we explore the pressures and trials of trying to bridge two worlds. The Namesake is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is only free for Prime members with a Starz add-on.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 5/17: Avengers: Infinity War
Last week's podcast concluded with the biggest and most ambitious Marvel movie to date: The mega-crossover Infinity War. Join us Wednesday for a thread about what they did and did not accomplish. Infinity War is still in theaters.