← Back to Reviews
in
According to Greek mythology, sirens were beautiful women with the lower body of birds that lured sailors to their doom with bewitching songs. The term "siren song" or "siren call" is then used to refer to any thing that is "alluring", but also potentially harmful or dangerous. That is the situation in which Prof. Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) finds himself after meeting the titular "woman in the window".
This Fritz Lang film follows Wanley, a married man that ends up meeting Alice Reed (Joan Bennett), the subject of a beautiful painting he and his friends were admiring on a shop window earlier. Unfortunately for Wanley, what might seem like an innocent meeting ends up leading into disaster, as they both end up with a murder in their hands. The two then try to cover it up while also trying to keep Richard's DA friend off their scent.
As I was looking for something to start my #Noirvember, this film came up pretty high in a lot of lists, and with reason. The film manages to build up a solid tension as we see the events unfold, and we see Wanley sink deeper and deeper into his own lies. Thanks to Lang's tight direction, the pace at which we see things go down feels breezy and not overstuffed at all. At 99 minutes, the film does a good job of keeping things lean and simple.
Robinson does a great job as the man unlikely drawn into things beyond his control. It only adds to the tension to see his seemingly well-conceived plans crumble under the most minuscule details. Bennett also adds a certain level of uncertainty, as we're never really sure where she stands, which is heightened when Heidt (Dan Duryea) enters the scene as a third party determined to blackmail both of them. Duryea easily steals the second half of the film which, based on the handful of films I've seen him in, seems to be the norm. He's excellent.
Early on the film, Robinson's character complains of the routine of middle age; what he refers to as "stodginess", and "the end of the brightness of life". All reason enough to make the "siren call" of Reed the more alluring. But ultimately, it isn't in Reed that he finds his downfall, but on his mistrust of his own instincts. Based on the obviously tacked-on ending, which feels like a cheat, it seems that Lang didn't trust his own instincts either. Other than that, it's one solid film noir.
Grade:
THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
(1944, Lang)
A film noir
(1944, Lang)
A film noir
"It's not that, but... I was warned against the siren call of adventure at my age."
According to Greek mythology, sirens were beautiful women with the lower body of birds that lured sailors to their doom with bewitching songs. The term "siren song" or "siren call" is then used to refer to any thing that is "alluring", but also potentially harmful or dangerous. That is the situation in which Prof. Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) finds himself after meeting the titular "woman in the window".
This Fritz Lang film follows Wanley, a married man that ends up meeting Alice Reed (Joan Bennett), the subject of a beautiful painting he and his friends were admiring on a shop window earlier. Unfortunately for Wanley, what might seem like an innocent meeting ends up leading into disaster, as they both end up with a murder in their hands. The two then try to cover it up while also trying to keep Richard's DA friend off their scent.
As I was looking for something to start my #Noirvember, this film came up pretty high in a lot of lists, and with reason. The film manages to build up a solid tension as we see the events unfold, and we see Wanley sink deeper and deeper into his own lies. Thanks to Lang's tight direction, the pace at which we see things go down feels breezy and not overstuffed at all. At 99 minutes, the film does a good job of keeping things lean and simple.
Robinson does a great job as the man unlikely drawn into things beyond his control. It only adds to the tension to see his seemingly well-conceived plans crumble under the most minuscule details. Bennett also adds a certain level of uncertainty, as we're never really sure where she stands, which is heightened when Heidt (Dan Duryea) enters the scene as a third party determined to blackmail both of them. Duryea easily steals the second half of the film which, based on the handful of films I've seen him in, seems to be the norm. He's excellent.
Early on the film, Robinson's character complains of the routine of middle age; what he refers to as "stodginess", and "the end of the brightness of life". All reason enough to make the "siren call" of Reed the more alluring. But ultimately, it isn't in Reed that he finds his downfall, but on his mistrust of his own instincts. Based on the obviously tacked-on ending, which feels like a cheat, it seems that Lang didn't trust his own instincts either. Other than that, it's one solid film noir.
Grade: