The Window (1949) {Warner Archive Blu-ray Review}

Reviewed By Jason Lockard

The master of suspense was Alfred Hitchcock. Director Ted Tetzlaff worked as a cinematographer on Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 classic Notorious. Than just a short three years later he would take what he learned under the master and brought to theater a thrilling suspense film noir The Window.

Now thanks to the great folks at Warner Archive this noir classics is receiving a Blu-ray release for the first time ever. And as a fan of film noirs, suspense and Hitchcock films, I must say I could not be happier.

Tommy (Bobby Driscoll) is a 9 year old boy who has a tendency to spin tall tales. One hot night he goes outside to sleep on the fire escape of his tenement building. While out there he sees his neighbors, Joe (Paul Stewart) and Jean Kellerson (Ruth Roman), murder a sailor. Tommy had been warned by his parents about telling stories. So when he brings this account to them, they feel it was just a nightmare. When his mother must leave to attend to her sick sister, Tommy fears that the Kellersons may try to kill him, too.

This is one amazing little tale. Running at just 73 minutes there is no padding of the story like many films have. It is a perfectly paced film noir, keeping the viewer on the edge of their seat to the thrilling end. All the actors do a remarkable job the standouts of course being Perry Mason alumni Barbara Hale and the young Bobby Driscoll. Bobby is so good in his role that he received a Juvenile Oscar for "Outstanding Juvenile Actor of 1949". This was very well deserved.

The Warner Archive transferred The Window on Blu-ray in 1080p with 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The audio is a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio. This new restoration is remarkable. The pictures is crisp and the audio is clear. It truly looks like it could have been shot in 2021.

On this Blu-ray there is the option for English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. Always a nice option. But sadly that is all that is on this Blu-ray. It would have been nice to see a audio commentary or a trailer or maybe some vintage shorts. But an absolutely stunning restored version of this film is enough to call this a must own for film noir fans. 

This film has been remade three different times The Boy Cried Murder (1966), Eyewitness (1970), and Cloak & Dagger (1984). Now while all of these are entertaining films, none of them seem to hit the suspenseful heights of The Window. No wonder this film noir won the
Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture.

If you love film noirs as much as I do, I can not recommend this film enough. It looks tremendous on Blu-ray. You can order a copy for yourself at Amazon.com today.


Out of 4 Film Reels (4 Being the Best) The Warner Archive's Blu-ray of The Window receives...