MovieChat Forums > The Woman in the Window (1944) Discussion > If it wasn't for the ending!

If it wasn't for the ending!

posted 12 years ago by goodvibe61
11 replies | jump to latest

This would be one of my all time favorite noirs!

The tension just mounts and mounts, and the sense of dread and terror wraps itself around poor Edward G. Robinson. And Joan Bennett is fabulous in this picture. She is a true beauty, and your heart just goes out to her in this scenario.

But then, seemingly out of nowhere, here comes that ending! Anything, ANYTHING, would have been better than what Lang came up with. Maybe this had the big advantage of not being a cliche back then. I don't know, but it sure doesn't work now.

And yet, I continue to be drawn to this picture. The set up is so well done, the cinematography is wonderful, the performances are uniformly superb, and Lang was clearly a master of mood and atmosphere. The Woman in the Window ends up being a worth while entry in the noir canon in spite of that ending.

[–] MudFlapp 12 years ago

I agree about the ending...however...The States in 44...he may not have had a choice. If it was Pre WWII Germany right after M maybe a bleak ending would have passed...maybe not...not the censors of the Republican Commission for a better Germania...however after M and another Mabuse...Lang had to flee his country...come to the land of the free and home of the Code.........maybe it was Lang's deal as another thread I read suggests....?????
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037469/board/thread/187694606

we may never know in a movie made in a pre DVD commentary society

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 11 years ago

I don't have a problem with the ending. For one thing, the story told completely before he wakes up. I've heard some people say that it was left open-ended, but I don't see what was still missing in his nightmare. With Dureya's character dead, they would get away with the murder.

Also, I think that the point of the ending was to show that he learned something from that dream. At the beginning, he and his friends are talking about adventure, etc. This dream teaches him to ignore the "siren call of adventure" in the future.

~~
JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen

[–] gamertrav 10 years ago

I agree it was a great film up until that ending. Maybe it was less cliche back then as you said, but "it was all just a dream" is one of the most groan-worthy cop outs there is in modern storytelling.

[–] NewtonFigg 10 years ago

I was relieved by the ending as I fully expected Edward G. to die and I hoped he wouldn't. The only happy alternative would have been to have Joan reach him before he takes the pills, but that would mean they got away with a crime which was strictly forbidden by the code then.

[–] jmichael3387 10 years ago

Disagree completely. I think the ending make the film more meaningful.

The film turns-out to be about a man who's growing older and wondering if he'll ever get any spice in his life. And if 'spice' would be a good thing or a bad thing. It's a topic that all men have to debate with themselves.

If not for the 'dream'....if it was all real....then the movie would simply be a far-fetched story about a woman in a painting that shows-up out of nowhere and brings chaos into a man's life. A fantasy tale. An interesting tale, but not all that likely to happen.

With the dream, we can have a debate and something to talk about.

[–] Milret1951 9 years ago

Wow! Just watched this movie for the first time. It was all a dream! I never saw it coming. Great ending! Only wished that he really had met her later with an innocent and happy ending. You know...honestly...I had a difficult time not understanding why he didn't immediately rationalize that the whole incident was nothing more than a case of self defense. And he was a professor in that business, I believe. Oh well, that is how the script was written.

[–] Hefferik90 8 years ago

I'm ok with the way it ended. I liked the humor of it. It was nicely done.

"Scarlet Street" is the other movie which is so very similar to TWITW. And also starts Edward G.
The ending of Scarlett Street is a little more darker.

Both films are good in their own way. I prefer TWITW.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 8 years ago

I also like the humor of the ending. 

That professor learns a few things about "the call of adventure". 

~~~~~
Jim Hutton (1934-79) & Ellery Queen = 

[–] Lord-Z 8 years ago

Yeah, the ending really drags down the rest.

I don't know if he was told to end on a "light-hearted" note, but his previous movie, Ministry of Fear, also has a bit of comedy at the very end, standing out like a sore thumb. The movie begins with Ray Milland winning a cake at a fair, kicking off a pretty tight spy-thriller. At the end, him and his best gal are talking about their upcoming wedding and she mentions the cake, and his eyes go all wide and he shrieks in horror "Cake?!".

[–] FilmQuestions (68) 5 years ago

An ambiguous ending would have been more enjoyable. The professor wakes up and isn't sure if he was dreaming. And when he walks out onto the street to see the picture in the window again, a woman who closely resembles Alice walks by, but does not acknowledge Richard.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6448) a year ago

I was okay with the ending.

The part I found somewhat objectionable was when the professor keeps doing and saying things to the police and attorney that suggest he did it. That seemed pretty heavy handed.