The Woman in the Window (1944)
Directed by Fritz Lang

Film Review

Widely regarded as the definitive American film noir thriller, The Woman in the Window also marks one of the highpoints of Fritz Lang's highly productive career in Hollywood.  Elegantly shot, meticulously plotted and enlivened by some gripping performances, this is certainly one of the most stylish and most suspenseful films of its genre, a rare example of a film noir that genuinely does deserve the epithet 'classic'.

Prior to this film, Edward G. Robinson had been best known for his celebrated hard man roles, in such films as Little Caesar (1931) and Smart Money (1931).  In the 1940s, he proved his versatility by playing more sympathetic roles, just as convincingly.  In The Woman in the Window, Robinson is cast as an ordinary middle-aged academic who is drawn to the wrong side of the law not by his own character faults but simply by a conspiracy of circumstances.  He is the innocent man, drawn into a sinister web of intrigue from which there is, apparently, no escape - a classic film noir set up.

Playing the obligatory femme fatale opposite Robinson's doomed hero is the smoulderingly sensual Joan Bennett, her second appearance in a Fritz Lang film (after Man Hunt, 1941).  Bennett and Robinson worked so well together that Lang immediately cast them in the lead roles for his next film, Scarlet Street (1945), with Dan Duryea once again playing the sadistic villain of the piece.

The Woman in the Window has been criticised for its twist ending, which is a significant departure from J.H. Wallis's novel on which the film was based.  The ending was added to ensure compliance with Hollywood's stringent production code and, whilst it runs contrary to the film noir ethos, it does have the merit of explaining away the string of implausible plot contrivances in one masterful stroke.

On repeated viewings, The Woman in the Window feels increasingly less like a conventional film noir thriller and more like a black comedy parody of such a film.  There is a very subtle comic edge to Robinson's performance which, once discerned, reveals the sheer absurdity of the plot and lends it, appropriately, an air of unreality.  It is uncertain whether this was accidental or a cunning ploy by Fritz Lang, but it adds another dimension to what is by any standards a superlative piece of film noir escapism.

Film Synopsis

Richard Wanley is a humdrum college professor who is looking forward to an uneventful few weeks of bachelor living while his wife takes their children away for the annual holiday.  Leaving his club one evening, he stops to admire the portrait of a woman in a shop window and is surprised when the model, Alice Reed, appears beside him.   Of course Wanley accepts when Alice invites him back to her apartment to look at her sketches, but he soon regrets it.  Whilst Wanley and Alice are having a civilized chat about art, the latter's boyfriend, Claude Mazard, turns up unexpectedly and attacks Wanley in a fit of jealousy.  To save himself, Wanley stabs Mazard to death with a pair of scissors.  Realising that both of their reputations are on the line, Wanley and Alice agree that they must dispose of the dead body and never see each other again.  Wanley drives Mazard's corpse out into the country in his car, where he disposes of it, unwittingly leading a trail of clues.  Ironically, the man who is assigned to investigate Mazard's murder is Wanley's best friend, District Attorney Frank Lalor.  Although Lalor never suspects him for one moment, Wanley can feel the noose tightening around his neck as the details of the killing become apparent to the police.  Things take a dramatic turn for the worse when Mazard's bodyguard turns up and attempts to blackmail Alice and Wanley.  The latter have no choice but to commit a second murder...