Classic Movie Marathon Day 10: The Woman in the Window (1944)

Welcome to the Classic Movie Marathon. Ten movies down, only two to go! Next up is The Country Girl (1954).

The Woman in the Window is another one of those movies which I have had sitting in my DVD shelf for a very long time. It was a result of my trip to the now devastated Christchurch back in early 2010, when I went to the shop Alice in Videoland, and was so taken by the beauty and variety the shop had that I felt obligated to buy something. From the small selection of ex-rentals they had, this movie looked the best. I've heard that the shop is no longer running because of the earthquake, so this DVD has a pretty big sentimental value to it. Even with the sentimental value and all, I haven't found the time to watch it since it's a different zone and I barely ever watch movies on the TV. This is the beauty of this marathon...I have to watch these movies which I've had gathering dust for so long. Anyway, I digress. You're here for my review on the movie, aren't you? Well, I hope you are...

Who ever knew that a painting of a woman could cause so much pain for one innocent man? College professor Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) and his friends become obsessed with the portrait of a woman in the window next to the men's club. Wanley happens to meet the woman (Joan Bennett) while admiring her portrait, and ends up in her apartment for talk and a bit of champagne. Her boyfriend bursts in and misinterprets Wanley's presence, whereupon a scuffle ensues and the boyfriend gets killed. In order to protect his reputation, the professor agrees to dump the body and help cover up the killing, but becomes increasingly suspect as the police uncover more and more clues and a blackmailer begins leaning on the woman.

You can't go wrong with a bit of Edward G. Robinson. He was the epitome of a short bad-ass. But isn't it ironic that this movie was made in 1944, it featured a man killing a woman's lover and having to live with the guilt of it, and it stars Robinson? Why yes, Double Indemnity is very similar to this little number. Apart from the fact that this is more of a film noir in every sense of the word. It's dark and icy, from Joan Bennett's cool demeanour to the really dark shots. Meanwhile, the movie has some splendid moments of laughter and sarcasm which stood out quite a bit for me. Fritz Lang did a fantastic job of directing. This is my first Lang movie, so I feel like a bit of a Lang virgin, but I am definitely eager to check out some of his other movies after seeing this one. The only problem I have is the slightly clunky script which seems to drag a bit and the end. The end was a bit dated, but I assume this could have been classed as original back in the time it was made. Otherwise, I don't really have anything else to say about the film.

What I got: