To me, this movie is perfection.

From my favorite movies..

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Many know the sad tale of the life of Bobby Driscoll who was Walt Disney's first live action child star paving the way for dozens more right down to today's Disney Channel. As Disney at the time The Window was made released their product through RKO Studios, RKO apparently had call on Driscoll's services and they got him to star in this sleeper of a noir film which I call children's noir.Bobby is the son of Arthur Kennedy and Barbara Hale and he's got a big imagination forever telling tall tales. That's the problem, when he sees a real murder take place in an upstairs neighbor's apartment no one will believe him, not the cops, especially not his parents.But murder was done in that apartment as drunk and free spending sailor Richard Benedict was done in by Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman. The body was disposed of in a condemned building next door.In Disney products we've seen all kinds of kids put in harm's way of many a villain. But because it is a Disney film we all know nothing will happen. Not so here. Driscoll is in the mean streets of a big city and a really bad man is chasing him. You feel his fear.The Window got an Oscar nomination in the film editing. Almost 70 years later it's still a thrilling film to watch and the cross cut editing has a lot to do with it. Don't miss this one if broadcast.

This is a surprisingly suspenseful thriller with a very good cast. The story takes place in a NYC walk up apartment building where a 9 year-old boy, Tommy Woodry (Bobby Driscoll), lives with his mom (Barbara Hale) and dad (Arthur Kennedy). Tommy's dad has to work nights. Since Tommy is always making up stories about himself and others, his parents are concerned about his false story-telling problem. Is this just a phase or should they get some kind of professional help for Tommy? One hot summer night, Tommy asks his mother if he can sleep on the fire escape to cool down while he sleeps. She agrees. However, during the night on the fire escape, Tommy witnesses what he believes to be a murder. He witnesses this though a thin opening in a window shade from the upstairs apartment. When Tommy tells his mother what he witnessed, she tells him that he was just dreaming and should go back to sleep. Concerned, his mother tells his father and he, too, is concerned after questioning Tommy's story. With no one believing his story, Tommy reports it to the police. Fearing that the upstairs neighbors—the Kellersons (Paul Steward and Ruth Roman)--will kill him, Tommy asks the police not to identify him as the person reporting the murder. So, when a police officer goes to the Kellerson's apartment, he poses as a building inspector to check any potential "crime scene" that may be real. He finds nothing that the Kellersons cannot explain and proceeds to assume that Tommy's story was JUST a story. However, the Kellersons now know that they have to get rid of Tommy before he talks too much. To do this, they send a telegram to Tommy's mother to visit her sick sister. This leaves Tommy alone the following night which, in turn, leads to a terrifying cat-and-mouse game between Tommy and the Kellersons.....

The Window (1949)A totally classic film noir, fairly low budget, and unique for having a child at the middle of the story. The darkness of the mood and darkness of the filming combine to counterpoint the apparent cheer of this boy in New York City, creating something just short of a masterpiece. Perfect? I wish! But the best of it will blow your noir mind.The whole adventure here happens in an apartment building, one of those brick 5-story walk-ups with fire escapes on the outside. A boy, sleeping on the escape because of the heat, witnesses a murder. He tells his parents, who don't believe him (the movie opens with a summation of the Boy Who Cried Wolf). But of course, the murderer's believe him, and the boy is in danger.You might find this all a contrivance—and I guess it is, in a way, a plot too tight and compact for real life—but it works to create genuine suspense. The characters are all very realistic, from the nice, regular parents who want their kid to start telling the truth to the bad couple upstairs who seem on the surface to be rather like the parents. Even the cops are just regular schmoes. The dark stairway, the window nailed shut, the chases through an abandoned building next door (set up by the opening of the movie with a bunch of kids using it for play), and endless futile persuasion by the boy, who obviously means what he says all add up to for compact, intense ride. And filmed with energy and such dark shadows you can't see a thing. Director Ted Tetzlaff is more known as a cinematographer (including on his last film, "Notorious," which is a masterpiece). As a director this is probably his best film, and he knows how to make the cinematographers under him give him the visual richness the film in its simplicity requires. The plot carries the ideas, for sure, but the visuals carry the mood and intensity, and that's the best of it. And there's not a wasted minute—it's practically a textbook exercise in how to direct with economy, and the benefits of doing so.See it. The title doesn't inspire much—it should be called "Murder in the Window" or something more compelling—but the movie does indeed inspire much. See why. Oh, and a really clean copy is streamable from Warner Archive, which even has a free two week trial.

Young Bobby Driscoll (Tommy) makes up stories to his friends and to his parents. One night, he sleeps on the fire escape outside the apartment of Paul Stewart (Mr Kellerson) and Ruth Roman (Mrs Kellerson) where he witnesses them commit a murder. When he tells his parents Arthur Kennedy and Barbara Hale about it, they dismiss him. In fact, they punish him. Even the police don't believe him when he reports the murder to them. Poor kid. No-one believes him. It's not long before Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman find out that he knows something and set a plan in motion to silence him.There are many tense scenes as Driscoll faces his nightmare all alone. The audience shares his fear as the killers have him next on their list. The acting is realistic as is the dialogue. The film also has eerie sections (eg, Ruth Roman outside Driscoll's window with a torch as he hides in his locked room) and dramatic moments (eg, when the killers kidnap Driscoll and put him in the back of a cab and they encounter a policeman). The strategy that Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman use to shut him up during the cab ride is genius. It's very funny and demonstrates perfect teamwork.Children are usually annoying in films. Not here. A dramatic ending in a disused apartment block adds to the tension. Worth watching again. The way the movie is filmed and the location all add to the experience of a film that is actually quite scary in parts.