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Exceptional "film noir" murder mystery with surprise ending

posted 22 years ago by clive-38
23 replies | jump to latest

"WOMAN IN THE WINDOW" is one of my favourite Hollywood films of the forties and is in fact included in my "top ten" movies of all time. Expertly directed by Fritz Lang and starring Edward G. Robinson, the delectable Joan Bennett (in a wonderfully seductive performance), and the sinister Dan Duryea it has a fascinating storyline, some outstanding acting and a "twist in the tale". Although Edward G. Robinson was not the typical leading man type he could always be relied upon to give a good performance and in "Woman in the Window" he was at his very best. Favourite line: Joan Bennett (to Edward G. Robinson): "I'm not married. I have no designs on you and one drink is all I care for". If you enjoy this film be sure to see "Scarlet Street" which is another "film noir" thriller featuring the same three leading players and with Fritz Lang once again as director.

Clive "movie buff" Roberts

[–] spope2 19 years ago

A remarkable movie which I would LOVE to see released on DVD....come on guys, release it NOW....the ending certainly surprised me!

[–] MarxBrosFan 19 years ago

The ending was terrible, it ruined an excellent movie. I wonder if the original novel has the same feel-good twist.

[–] PhrenicGermal 17 years ago

I strongly agree with that.
I was hoping that the hand shaking him would be his wife who was thinking he was napping, with their kids near by,
It was hijacked by Frank Capra or something. I came on to imdb and expected to find more Fritz Lang fans griping about this.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] joeann_21 18 years ago

I so love this movie as well and would love to see it on DVD. If anyone knows if it has come out, PLEASE let me know.

I had a copy on VHS, and don't know what happened to it :(

[–] mr.slut 18 years ago

There is a dvd available in Spain, under the title: "la mujer del cuadro"

[–] gplacher 18 years ago

Just saw the film tonight, a beautiful restored 35mm print, with all the picture and sound quality that viewers saw originally in a theater. Wow!
It makes a great film even greater. I suspect a DVD should be released soon because the pre-print has now been done.

[–] maydom04 17 years ago

You mean you saw it projected on a BOG SCREEN , in a theatre?, if you did I envy you, Great film experience !

[–] csu16387 17 years ago

I haven't seen it in a while, but it will be on TCM next week. I hope I get to see it again. The ending was a surprise, though not totally in a good way.

"Dry your eyes baby, it's out of character."

[–] AlanSquier 17 years ago

I have extremely fond memories of it although I'm not sure how the ending will affect me seeing it again...it seemed like a cop-out at the time.

Where am I from, you ask? "Pomona, Glendale, ((Fullerton, La Habra, Anaheim)), whatever."

[–] Phillip Marlowe 17 years ago

I just saw this for the first time on DVD. As a film noir buff, this ending may have been surprising, but was just awful (much worse even than the unnecessary twist ending of No Way Out, the loose remake of The Big Clock). It was completely out of keeping with the tone of the movie and pretty much undermined the preceding ninety minutes of what was otherwise a fairly compelling noir. I felt cheated.

[–] daneldorado 17 years ago

P_M wrote:

I just saw this for the first time on DVD. As a film noir buff, this ending may have been surprising, but was just awful (much worse even than the unnecessary twist ending of No Way Out, the loose remake of The Big Clock). It was completely out of keeping with the tone of the movie and pretty much undermined the preceding ninety minutes of what was otherwise a fairly compelling noir. I felt cheated.

I'm sorry you felt cheated, but maybe you should watch the movie again. The first time I saw it, I was surprised by the ending, but not unhappily. But when I saw it for the second time, years later, I found it an exhilarating experience, much more rewarding than the first time.

When you revisit The Woman in the Window the second time, knowing about that surprise ending, you will be amazed at how well it all fits together. Director Fritz Lang did not waste a single scene, but made every shot logical and coherent, all leading to that great ending.

That great "transition" scene that takes place near the end may have been inspired by Orson Welles' masterpiece Citizen Kane (1941). In the Welles film, stationary items were removed and/or replaced on the periphery of a particular shot, to effect the spectacular results that Welles wanted. In TWITW, note that in the transition scene, Edward G. Robinson falls asleep in his great armchair, the camera moves in for a giant closeup, then -- with no cuts -- when it pulls back, the surrounding room is different from the room he fell asleep in. Very Wellesian.

P.S.: I agree with you on the unnecessary twist ending of No Way Out (1987).

Cheers,
Dan

English subtitles are a MUST on all DVD releases!

[–] gryzler 14 years ago

Loved the film bar the end. I was on the edge of my seat throughout only to be very disappointed with an ending I used to use in my stories when I was 6 years old! :(

[–] MissRaedeLarge 17 years ago

I was admittedly surprised by the ending, but enjoyed it anyway. I don't think it was a bad ending per se, but the outcome was definitely not what I was expecting (which for me is a good thing).

I'll make sure to add Scarlet Street to my queue!

What we got here...is failure to communicate.

[–] J. Spurlin 16 years ago

Hey, Miss Rae! I just saw this movie and loved it. (Hated the ending.) It certainly makes a good companion piece with Scarlet Street.

... Justin

[–] MissRaedeLarge 16 years ago

Only a couple of films away from the top of my queue...can't wait to see it!

What we got here...is failure to communicate.

[–] HulotderSpeiler 15 years ago

It isn't really a murder mystery.

black and white movies were better

[–] Caractacus23 14 years ago

*SPOILERS*

My wife and I just watched it, and we were both very unimpressed by the whole it-was-all-a-dream ending motif. I suppose in 1944, the impact of such a then-novel ending might have been different, but here in 2011, our response was along the lines of "Are they freakin' kidding us?" I gave it a 5. Its a moderately entertaining film with a pathetic ending.

Been making IMDB board posts since the 90s, yet can't bring up any from before December of 2004.

[–] tsrts 14 years ago

Great movie.
I liked the end.
You have to understand that back in those days,
audiences were not as nit picky as they are now.
It's a good suspense film with the comic relief coming
at the end.
Thumbs up.

[–] herbroyd 14 years ago

I saw the movie when it came out, and thought the ending as ridiculous as anyone here. I do take some exception to the statements by Caractacus23 and the next poster implying some degree of naivete in us 1940s viewers.

What surprises me is the naivete of all you young'uns, who apparently didn't suspect the existence of the "Production Code," aka the Breen Office or the Hays Office. The film originally ended with the suicide, but the code prigs wouldn't allow it (getting away, in a sense, with committing a crime). So Lang tacked on the ridiculous ending, making it as plausible as he could.

The Production Code also required any couple sleeping in the same room to occupy separate beds, even if married to each other. You should have noticed this in old movies.

Young Guy Trapped in Old Body

[–] Caractacus23 14 years ago

"I do take some exception to the statements by Caractacus23 and the next poster implying some degree of naivete in us 1940s viewers."

I didn't mean to imply people in the 1940s were naive, but simply that I have seen this "it-was-all-a-dream" ending probably dozens of times, generally in (both adult & child, ususally made-for-TV) productions from the 1950s, 60s, & 70s, hence by the time I'd reached, say, the age of 15 (in 1985), the notion was a bit cliched. I'm not sure such a cliche had yet been established in 1944; it might have then been a fairly original (if still rather stupid) ending.

I know about the Hayes Code, but not knowing the script originally called for the film to end in suicide, I had no way of knowing the actual ending had been dictated by said Code.

[–] Jalea 14 years ago

According to Girish Shambu, a professor at Carnisius College, the ending was not due to studio interference. Lang used the "dream device" as a way for the main character to get away with it. Lang used the code as an excuse; reportedly, he wanted to add the dream sequence and added it to the script himself.

Here is the source (please note that the author has citations):
http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2002/cteq/woman_window/

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 13 years ago

I still say that the ending worked well in this movie. Some movies get ruined by such endings, but somehow, the ending seemed appropriate here. Just my humble opinion, that's all. :)

Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever!