The Woman in the Window (1944)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  Pure noir gold.

• Reid V

  
  First M, then Metropolis, and now The Woman in the Window. It seems that when Lang is at the helm, I can always expect a great film. While this is the first film of his that I have seen of his days in America, it appears that his transpacific migration did not have a negative effect… More
  First M, then Metropolis, and now The Woman in the Window. It seems that when Lang is at the helm, I can always expect a great film. While this is the first film of his that I have seen of his days in America, it appears that his transpacific migration did not have a negative effect on his eye for fantastic cinema. This slick noir features an aging professor Richard Wanley who is played by Edward G. Robinson. While Wanley's family is out of town, he fears going out on the town with his friends because he knows to ignore what he calls the , "Siren call of adventure." While the lure of eroticism is constantly hovering around him, he prefers to stay inside. However, upon a fateful encounter with a young woman, he becomes involved in a murder. Lang expertly gives the viewer the sense of Wanley's inner turmoil as the police begin to gather evidence that could lead to his conviction. Lang's constant use of mirrors illuminate the double nature of these characters while his use of clocks help to build suspense and shows that time waits for no man, regardless of class. To the chagrin of many, the twist ending adds another element to Lang's theme of sexual repression. While I was a bit disappointed, it does seem logical for Lang to use this twist seeing as he was the man who helped bring about a similar twist in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. All in all, a densely packed film that is not only a success for fans of Lang, but for fans of Noir as well.

• Randy T

  
  Hard-core noir until, right at the very end, it turns into a Dean Jones Disney movie. Oh so close to 5 stars.

• Michael G

  
  Woman in the Window is a good piece of film noir even if it isn't an essential one. Edward G. Robinson plays a great sap and Joan Bennett is as beautiful (even if she's not as evil) as ever. Fritz Lang's direction is great as usual with some great supporting… More
  Woman in the Window is a good piece of film noir even if it isn't an essential one. Edward G. Robinson plays a great sap and Joan Bennett is as beautiful (even if she's not as evil) as ever. Fritz Lang's direction is great as usual with some great supporting performances including Dan Duryea playing his usual shitball characters he was less than famous for. The chemistry between Robinson and Bennett is great even if the ending wraps things up conveniently. Not a great movie but I still liked it.

• Stella D

  
  a great noir right up until that copout at the end! apparently lang's original ending didn't test well. i wish i hadn't seen the last five minutes! : (

• Brian R

  
  I've seen countless pictures of the same story of a man who gets into a dilemma involving a crime he's committed, comes up with a plan and with the help of an accomplice (or witness) to escape from a tragic crime or better yet running away with their personal guilt. This is… More
  I've seen countless pictures of the same story of a man who gets into a dilemma involving a crime he's committed, comes up with a plan and with the help of an accomplice (or witness) to escape from a tragic crime or better yet running away with their personal guilt. This is not one of Fritz Lang's best but it's a nice little story where he uses good use of rain and dark shadows and light. The performances is key and the suspense is almost tight. Dan Dureya who would later play a pimp in Lang's "Scarlet Street" is just as fierce, witty, and deadly. Duryea's character is a flaw--How does he know all the p's and q's of the murder scene when he inspects Joan Bennett's character's house? The plot is unbelivable and expected (good viewers will notice the clues) but it's not a bad picture though. Not at all. Lang is a first rate storyteller. He seems to be interested in noirs and plots involving murders and dilemmas. Lang would again work with Robinson, Duryea, and Bennett in "Scarlet Street".

• Anastasia B

  
  Another addition to Lang's masterful dark universe, this tale, of a professor going rogue for a night by circumstance, is gripping and thoughtful at the same time. The fact that it's all a dream sequence is Lang's way of winking at an older man's daydream. A… More
  Another addition to Lang's masterful dark universe, this tale, of a professor going rogue for a night by circumstance, is gripping and thoughtful at the same time. The fact that it's all a dream sequence is Lang's way of winking at an older man's daydream. A resolution that you'd easily turn down in hands of other directors, yet here you can't help but enjoying it from the hands of the auteur. Recommended.

• Brett W

  
  Is there a greater cinematic kick in the nuts to an audience than turning the preceding hour and thirty minutes of a film into nothing more than some fat, middle-aged man's daydream? Not only that but the main character's subconscious isn't even creative enough to come… More
  Is there a greater cinematic kick in the nuts to an audience than turning the preceding hour and thirty minutes of a film into nothing more than some fat, middle-aged man's daydream? Not only that but the main character's subconscious isn't even creative enough to come up with an interesting and or suspenseful conclusion to his own fantasy. The antagonist' threat simply ends because he 'just-so-conveniently-happens' to get shot by the police. GEE! So, if you're interested in seeing how to not write a script, watch the whole thing. If not, stop at approximately the 1 hour and 30 minute mark.

• Henrik S

  
  It is always nice to see actors cast in unusual, non-typical roles (as happened with Ernest Borgnine in Marty or the Duke in the Quiet Man). For once, Edward G. Robinson is allowed play an "innocent" professor instead of the badguy. The movie is a pitch-black noir with all… More
  It is always nice to see actors cast in unusual, non-typical roles (as happened with Ernest Borgnine in Marty or the Duke in the Quiet Man). For once, Edward G. Robinson is allowed play an "innocent" professor instead of the badguy. The movie is a pitch-black noir with all the elements that make this genre so great. Dead-pan humour, a femme fatale, shady characters and lots fo lurking in shadows and rain, rain, rain. Alas, I found that Dun Duryea could not fill his role with enough menace to make it trukly daunting, but that is not too bad a thing. However, the ending is a joke and terribly executed. True, it does not make the film any worse but it leaves you with a screwy aftertaste and knocked down my rating quiet a bit. A solid film noir that is boosted by relying on genre parameters but fails to deliver a satisfying ending. HX

• Dimitris S

  
  There has been a lot of clash concerning the ending.As a person who continuously supports the critics (most of the times),I believe it serves for the purpose of humorous detail on a person's wild imagination,not to mention an elderly professor's brain.Stupendous sequences… More
  There has been a lot of clash concerning the ending.As a person who continuously supports the critics (most of the times),I believe it serves for the purpose of humorous detail on a person's wild imagination,not to mention an elderly professor's brain.Stupendous sequences and blackmail aura,Robinson is steady and clam in his stressful character,Lang directing one of his best American films.

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