Rear Window: The Making of a Hitchcock Masterpiece in the Hollywood Golden Age
Jennifer O'Callaghan
Sep 2025 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Christine Williams
headphones
Audiobook
9 hr 41 min
Unabridged
family_home
Eligible
info
infoThis book will become available on September 30, 2025. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this audiobook
Before the internet and social media offered voyeuristic glimpses into the lives of others, the acclaimed Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, exposed the dangers and delights of looking—and knowing—too much in his 1954 masterpiece Rear Window. Hailed as one of the greatest films ever made, it stars James Stewart and Grace Kelly but, in an unusual gamble, is shot entirely from within a Greenwich Village apartment.
Hitchcock forces his audience to participate in his protagonist's voyeuristic impulses and darkest obsessions—a bold move in the era of the Hollywood Blacklist and restrictive Hays Code. But the gamble paid off, and Rear Window became a timeless classic. This book goes straight to the source of Rear Window's genius by mining the papers of Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart, and Thelma Ritter, revealing little-known facts behind the scenes: Why taking the role of Lisa was one of the toughest decisions Grace Kelly ever made; How Hitchcock intertwined suspense and romance with inspiration from Ingrid Bergman; How he used a topless scene to distract censors from other scenes to which they may have objected; and how Hitchcock crafted the film's unforgettable villain by modeling him on a producer he loathed.
This exciting book pulls back the curtain on a classic thriller that's as relevant today as ever—and every bit as thrilling.
Hitchcock forces his audience to participate in his protagonist's voyeuristic impulses and darkest obsessions—a bold move in the era of the Hollywood Blacklist and restrictive Hays Code. But the gamble paid off, and Rear Window became a timeless classic. This book goes straight to the source of Rear Window's genius by mining the papers of Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart, and Thelma Ritter, revealing little-known facts behind the scenes: Why taking the role of Lisa was one of the toughest decisions Grace Kelly ever made; How Hitchcock intertwined suspense and romance with inspiration from Ingrid Bergman; How he used a topless scene to distract censors from other scenes to which they may have objected; and how Hitchcock crafted the film's unforgettable villain by modeling him on a producer he loathed.
This exciting book pulls back the curtain on a classic thriller that's as relevant today as ever—and every bit as thrilling.
Listening information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
