Although the movie was based on Cornell Woolrichâs short story, there are definitely some differences between them. For instance, in the short story Jeffries had an assistant named Sam (who had known him for ten years) but in the movie the same role was performed by a female nurse named Stella. Whereas Jeffries seemed to be more authoritarian with Sam that was not the case with Stella. As well, in the short story there is no mention of a girlfriend. However, in the film Jefferies had a very classy and lovely girlfriend. Thus, the movie added an element of âwoman intuitionâ that didnât exist in the story. The other major difference we see is the representation of Jeffriesâs profession. Short story only vaguely mentions what he does for a living, while the movie tells us explicitly that he is a photographer. This information gives us an insight about his personality and lets us understand why he is good at observing his surroundings and picking up what most wouldnât, it is literally his job. In the story, on the other hand, his description left us guessing on whether he was a detective, or maybe a private investigator. A minor difference between the story and the movie is the details (or lack thereof) of Jeffries love life. In the reading there was no hints or talks about his love life, while in the film there is Lisa, his girlfriend, which appears in a number of scenes and even plans a romantic date with Jeffries. Another minor difference is in the description of the neighbors. In the story we cannot clearly identify the neighbors Jeffries is observing, while in the movie they are shown to us clearly.
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