{"id":37213,"date":"2016-09-09T10:43:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-09T17:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37213"},"modified":"2021-02-04T20:00:51","modified_gmt":"2021-02-05T03:00:51","slug":"woman-in-the-window-the-1944","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37213","title":{"rendered":"Woman in the Window, The (1944)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;The flesh is still strong, but the spirit grows weaker by the hour.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Poster-300x234.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"234\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-37214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Poster-300x234.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Poster-128x100.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Poster-768x600.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Poster.jpg 935w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen his wife and kids go away for the summer, a middle-aged professor (Edward G. Robinson) becomes intrigued by the real-life model (Joan Bennett) of a portrait near his office and accompanies her to her apartment, where he kills her jealous lover (Arthur Loft) in self-defense. They arrange to dump the body, but soon Robinson&#8217;s friends &#8212; a D.A. (Raymond Massey) and a doctor (Edmund Breon) &#8212; involve him in the case, while Bennett is blackmailed by a menacing man (Dan Duryea).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blackmail<\/li>\n<li>Dan Duryea Films<\/li>\n<li>Edward G. Robinson Films<\/li>\n<li>Femmes Fatales<\/li>\n<li>Fritz Lang Films<\/li>\n<li>Joan Bennett Films<\/li>\n<li>Living Nightmare<\/li>\n<li>Raymond Massey Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary writes, the opening sequence of this Fritz Lang film &#8212; like many others in Lang&#8217;s oeuvre, including the same year&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37200\"><em>Ministry of Fear<\/em> (1944)<\/a> &#8212; &#8220;opens up his trap for another innocent man to fall into.&#8221; In Lang&#8217;s films, &#8220;it doesn&#8217;t matter whether or not you&#8217;re guilty of a crime &#8212; you still have to pay for it.&#8221; Peary notes that this &#8220;superlative melodrama&#8221; is &#8220;smoothly written by Nunnally Johnson&#8221; and &#8220;masterfully builds tension&#8221;, with Lang focusing &#8220;on Robinson&#8217;s guilt so he&#8217;s almost giving himself away, and on his paranoia so he can feel the web of the law closing in on him&#8221;. He ends his review by noting that this is a &#8220;fine companion piece to Lang&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5893\"><em>Scarlet Street<\/em> (1945)<\/a>&#8221; &#8212; indeed, comparisons are inevitable, given the reappearance of Robinson, Bennett, AND Duryea in key roles. While both films represent living nightmares for middle-aged men, Robinson&#8217;s culpability differs: he&#8217;s so miserably henpecked in <em>Scarlet Street<\/em> that we don&#8217;t blame him for being lured into Bennett&#8217;s web, while his character in <em>Woman in the Window<\/em> simply suffers from boredom, naivete, and momentary stupidity (going to a beautiful woman&#8217;s apartment to look at art work? yeah, right). To that end, the &#8220;hokey and familiar&#8221; but &#8220;crowd-pleasing&#8221; &#8220;twist ending&#8221; feels appropriate for <em>Woman in the Window<\/em>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>MINOR SPOILER ALERT<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Robinson learns his lesson, but isn&#8217;t unduly punished. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Edward G. Robinson as the professor (nominated by Peary as one of the Best Actors of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Robinson.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Robinson.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Robinson.png 496w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Robinson-128x100.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Robinson-300x233.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 496px) 100vw, 496px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Joan Bennett as Alice Reed<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Bennett.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Bennett.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37216\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Bennett.png 496w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Bennett-128x100.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Bennett-300x233.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 496px) 100vw, 496px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Milton Krasner&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"496\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-37217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Cinematography.png 496w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Cinematography-128x100.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Woman-in-the-Window-Cinematography-300x233.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 496px) 100vw, 496px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as another fine flick by Lang. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0037469\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/womwind.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2353wind.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.indiewire.com\/2012\/05\/two-by-lang-the-woman-in-the-window-while-the-city-sleeps-131701\/\">Indie Wire Review (Peter Bogdanovich)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/96148\/the-woman-in-the-window#articles-reviews?articleId=161146\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The flesh is still strong, but the spirit grows weaker by the hour.&#8221; Synopsis: When his wife and kids go away for the summer, a middle-aged professor (Edward G. Robinson) becomes intrigued by the real-life model (Joan Bennett) of a portrait near his office and accompanies her to her apartment, where he kills her jealous lover (Arthur Loft) in self-defense. They arrange to dump the body, but soon Robinson&#8217;s friends &#8212; a D.A. (Raymond Massey) and a doctor (Edmund Breon)&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37213\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37213"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68780,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37213\/revisions\/68780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}