Author: Kenny

Kenny Paredes 

Prof. Scanlan    

English 2400     

10/28/2020

 Analyzing “Rear window” and “It Had To Be Murder”

    The “Rear Window” (1954) by Alfred Hitchcock is an adaptation from “ It Had To Be Murder” (1942) by Cornell Woolrich. Both tell a story about a man, Jefferies who had an accident and has to sit in his apartment in a wheelchair. Although he can’t move as much he turns to his window to observe his surroundings while carefully spectating each neighbor he realizes one of his neighbors by the name of Thorwald might be a suspect of murdering his own wife. Both also have some differences but are similar because they keep the same plot or storyline by using one of Linda’s chair’s three types of translations. 

    There are various similarities with minor differences between both text and film that show how Alfred Hitchcock was able to make Cornell Woolrich’s story “it had to be murder” come to life in his own way. Both explain the story of a woman being murdered by her husband, with very important symbols. In “It Had To Be Murder”, Woolrich explains when Jefferies observed how Thorwald would smoke his cigar by his window stating “It did surprise me, though, when a match-flare winked sometime later, to have it still come from the darkened living room”(8). In “Rear Window” a scene it showed how the dog was found dead and everyone came out feeling bad for the dog. The only person who didn’t come out was Thorwald. The camera movement in the scene zoomed in showing Thorwald’s window and his darkroom, with the only thing visible being a small red light from the end of a cigar. Although there are some differences between the two the cigar in both the film and text remains the same. Furthermore, another similarity between the two is the use of a tool. In “Rear Window” it shows how Jefferies used a camera to help him see better inside Thorwald’s apartment. The scene shows Jefferies taking out the camera and pointing it towards Thorwald’s window to help him see in better detail what’s going on inside the apartment. The camera gives us an inside look of Jefferies’s view through the lens zooming in and out using close-up shots. In the text, it shows how Jefferies asks Sam about a spyglass stating, “He went, and I got the spyglass ready. I got him in the right focus after a minute or two. A face leaped up, and I was really seeing him for the first time. Dark-haired, but unmistakable Scandinavian ancestry. Looked like a sinewy customer,”(18). This shows how both have different things happening but use similar objects to help them with their investigations.

  In both, the story and film show how the roles of each character are given to different people but have similar jobs. In the text, it states, “I sealed it in an envelope and left the envelope blank. I said to Sam “Now here’s what I want you to do, and I want you to be slick about it…..Then when you get safely down again, give the outside doorbell a little poke, to attract attention.” His mouth started to open. “And don’t ask me any questions, you understand? I’m not fooling.” In the text, it states, Sam, a long time friend of Jefferies, is Jefferies’ caretaker and serves on whatever Jefferies commands him to do. In the film it shows that there is no Sam, Jefferies gives Lisa the letter to sneakily slide it under Thorwald’s door while Stella and Jefferies observe from the window. The role is given to Lisa his girlfriend and Stella his caretaker showing how the characters and roles make the film similar to the text just in its own style or way. In the film, it showed how Stella who is Jefferies nurse/caretaker helps Jefferies but does not obey every command such as sam in the text. They both play similar roles taking care of Jefferies but are two completely different characters.

   Overall, “The Rear Window” (1954) by Alfred Hitchcock was a modified film from “It Had To Be Murder” by Cornell Woolrich the same but modified versions of each other and some adjustments to make it their own. Although there were some similarities and differences between text and film the plot remained unchanged making it a traditional translation. The storyline is the same as Jefferies cooped up in his home glued to a wheel chair by the window observing his surroundings and, about Jefferies’s suspicions towards Thorwald. Both similarities and differences can or are noticeable through different parts or aspects of the film and text both taking place in a neighborhood street. The only similar characters besides Jefferies were Thorwald and his wife. There were more differences from the text to the film to make it more entertaining for viewers than the text.