Latest news with #1954
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
One Of The Best Thrillers Ever Made Just Landed On Netflix
Rear Window If you're looking for something great to watch, sometimes it's best to look to the classics. There are plenty of top-notch movies being made these days, but few promise to withstand the test of time. Fortunately, a number of really terrific films just dropped on Netflix and one of these in particular qualifies as one of the most brilliant thrillers of all time. Rear Window is often considered Alfred Hitchcock's best movie, though it ranks second in terms of Rotten Tomatoes scores, behind the much less-known Shadow Of A Doubt from 1943, one of the storied director's earliest films and Hitchcock's personal favorite. As far as I'm concerned, the 1954 thriller is the best of the bunch – up there with Vertigo and North By Northwest – a tightly-paced, incredibly intense movie that would work just as well as a theatrical production as a film thanks to its confined set and small cast. Few films reach this level of suspense, though it's far from the type of action-thrillers most modern audiences are accustomed to these days. The story follows photojournalist L.B. 'Jeff' Jefferies, played by James Stewart, as he recuperates with a broken leg in his Greenwich Village apartment. Jeff is a bit of a voyeur or peeping Tom, though not in a perverted way. There's an oppressive summer heat wave and he's confined to his apartment, with the occasional visit of his middle-aged nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter) and his pretty socialite girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly). He's bored with nothing to do, so he watches his neighbors go about their lives. The neighbors are entertaining enough. One is a professional dancer. Another is a songwriter with writer's block. An old spinster puts on elaborately staged, and entirely fake, date nights with her pretend suitors. He refers to her as Miss Lonely-Hearts. But one couple in particular stands out: A traveling costume jewelry salesman, Lars Thorwald, and his nagging, bedridden wife. One night, Jeff hears a woman scream and notices some very suspicious activity in the Thorwald apartment. When Mrs. Thorwald is mysteriously missing the next day, Jeff begins to suspect foul play. With the help of Stella, he begins investigating the woman's disappearance. I won't spoil it any further. Suffice to say, what follows is a masterclass in filmmaking and the art of suspense, not to mention a brilliant study of voyeurism and our own morbid curiosity. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes was based on the 1942 short story It Had To Be Murder by Cornell Woolrich. The film was shot at stage 17 at Paramount Studios, with a massive set created to replicate the Greenwich Village courtyard and building. Despite the relatively limited setting, this was the largest set of its kind at Paramount at the time. The set designers even included a complex drainage system to accommodate the rain scenes. The lighting design was set up to portray an entire day and night cycle. The film uses primarily diegetic music – music characters can hear in the film also – rather than a traditional score. Jeff hears music drifting in from other apartments, including the piano from the songwriter's apartment and songs by Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Leonard Bernstein. Anyone interested in filmmaking or who just wants to enjoy an intense, suspenseful drama with some of the greatest actors of the era, should absolutely check this one out on Netflix as soon as possible. It's the perfect summer thriller. Even better, several other Alfred Hitchcock movies have also just landed on the streaming service, including Vertigo and The Birds. For all the new TV shows, movies and Netflix Original landing on Netflix in June, check out my streaming guide right here.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
One Of The Best Thrillers Ever Made Time Just Landed On Netflix
Rear Window If you're looking for something great to watch, sometimes it's best to look to the classics. There are plenty of top-notch movies being made these days, but few promise to withstand the test of time. Fortunately, a number of really terrific films just dropped on Netflix and one of these in particular qualifies as one of the most brilliant thrillers of all time. Rear Window is often considered Alfred Hitchcock's best movie, though it ranks second in terms of Rotten Tomatoes scores, behind the much less-known Shadow Of A Doubt from 1943, one of the storied director's earliest films and Hitchcock's personal favorite. As far as I'm concerned, the 1954 thriller is the best of the bunch – up there with Vertigo and North By Northwest – a tightly-paced, incredibly intense movie that would work just as well as a theatrical production as a film thanks to its confined set and small cast. Few films reach this level of suspense, though it's far from the type of action-thrillers most modern audiences are accustomed to these days. The story follows photojournalist L.B. 'Jeff' Jefferies, played by James Stewart, as he recuperates with a broken leg in his Greenwich Village apartment. Jeff is a bit of a voyeur or peeping Tom, though not in a perverted way. There's an oppressive summer heat wave and he's confined to his apartment, with the occasional visit of his middle-aged nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter) and his pretty socialite girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly). He's bored with nothing to do, so he watches his neighbors go about their lives. The neighbors are entertaining enough. One is a professional dancer. Another is a songwriter with writer's block. An old spinster puts on elaborately staged, and entirely fake, date nights with her pretend suitors. He refers to her as Miss Lonely-Hearts. But one couple in particular stands out: A traveling costume jewelry salesman, Lars Thorwald, and his nagging, bedridden wife. One night, Jeff hears a woman scream and notices some very suspicious activity in the Thorwald apartment. When Mrs. Thorwald is mysteriously missing the next day, Jeff begins to suspect foul play. With the help of Stella, he begins investigating the woman's disappearance. I won't spoil it any further. Suffice to say, what follows is a masterclass in filmmaking and the art of suspense, not to mention a brilliant study of voyeurism and our own morbid curiosity. The screenplay by John Michael Hayes was based on the 1942 short story It Had To Be Murder by Cornell Woolrich. The film was shot at stage 17 at Paramount Studios, with a massive set created to replicate the Greenwich Village courtyard and building. Despite the relatively limited setting, this was the largest set of its kind at Paramount at the time. The set designers even included a complex drainage system to accommodate the rain scenes. The lighting design was set up to portray an entire day and night cycle. The film uses primarily diegetic music – music characters can hear in the film also – rather than a traditional score. Jeff hears music drifting in from other apartments, including the piano from the songwriter's apartment and songs by Nat King Cole, Dean Martin and Leonard Bernstein. Anyone interested in filmmaking or who just wants to enjoy an intense, suspenseful drama with some of the greatest actors of the era, should absolutely check this one out on Netflix as soon as possible. It's the perfect summer thriller. Even better, several other Alfred Hitchcock movies have also just landed on the streaming service, including Vertigo and The Birds. For all the new TV shows, movies and Netflix Original landing on Netflix in June, check out my streaming guide right here.
Globe and Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Mystery solved: Clue at Mirvish is a delight
Title: Clue Written by: Sandy Rustin Performed by: Jennifer Allen, Mariah Burks, Donna English, David Hess, Sarah Hollis, Jamil A.C. Mangan, John Shartzer, Jeff Skowron, Mark Jude Sullivan, Elisabeth Yancey and Evan Zes Director: Casey Hushion Company: Mirvish Productions Venue: Royal Alexandra Theatre City: Toronto Year: Until June 8, 2025 It's 1954. McCarthyism is running amok across Washington, where no one is safe from investigation – not the politicians greasing the wheels of American power, not the cooks and maids keeping their homes and certainly not their wives and escorts. It's a tense time, and in Clue: On Stage, Sandy Rustin's terrific theatrical adaptation of Jonathan Lynn's iconic 1985 screenplay, the game is, as they say, afoot. The play is relatively faithful to both the film and the board game that inspired it, a mystery predicated on cheesy sight gags and – you've been warned – a veritable murder of puns. When six D.C. power players find themselves at the home of the mysterious Mr. Boddy (Mark Jude Sullivan), his cook (Mariah Burks), his maid Yvette (Elisabeth Yancey) and his butler Wadsworth (the fabulous Jeff Skowron), they soon realize something's not right. Before long, there's a murder, and, à la Agatha Christie, it's up to them to figure out whodunit. Of course, you know these colourful party guests well. There's the bumbling Colonel Mustard (David Hess), who takes things so literally even Amelia Bedelia would be impressed. Mrs. White (Donna English) has a suspicious number of dead ex-husbands, while Mrs. Peacock's (Jennifer Allen) life partner is a powerful senator. Mr. Green (John Shartzer) is a nervous Republican who may or may not have voted blue in the last election, and Professor Plum (a Stanley Tucci-esque Evan Zes) has an even more lurid secret of his own. And Miss Scarlet (Sarah Hollis) seems to know one or two of these men from the D.C. nightlife scene – which is bad news for them, if word gets out. Director Casey Hushion's cast has great chemistry, punchy comic timing and a strong sense of physicality – an important trait in a slapstick comedy such as this one, which frequently sees the party guests tumble over each other like puppies in pursuit of murder weapons and brass keys. Rustin's script, too, preserves the campy political smarm of the film – you can expect more than a handful of jokes at the United States' expense. (Elbows up, could-be murderers!) It's a shame Clue's touring set, designed by Lee Savage, is a bit flimsy – slammed doors rattle the entire Boddy estate in a way that doesn't seem to be intentional, and the Royal Alexandra Theatre's narrow proscenium makes for a few sightline issues when murders happen at the very edge of the stage. When London's Grand Theatre co-produced Clue with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre last year, Brian Perchaluk's set was wildly imaginative, a spinning, two-floor dollhouse spring-loaded with secrets. Savage's set isn't bad, but theatre fans who saw Perchaluk's – which at the time seemed firmly anchored to the stage without any sightline concerns – might feel a touch shortchanged here. That's a minor complaint, though, for a production that lives up to its marketing materials: Clue really is fun for all ages. The McCarthyism of it all is sure to make the adults in the room chuckle – same goes for the raunchy jokes about 1950s prudishness and secrecy – while the wacky accents and proximity to the board game will easily sate the more bookish kids in the audience. The breakneck 80-minute runtime, too, ensures there's not much room to get bored. Plus, on the design side, Jen Caprio's costumes are just gorgeous – Miss Scarlet's plunging, form-fitting evening gown, in particular, has been tailored to perfection. Performance-wise, it's worth singling out Skowron, whose performance as Wadsworth was just right on opening night. Without any spoilers, the seemingly buttoned-up butler is written in a way that might become tiresome in the hands of a less agile actor. (His final monologue, in particular, has the capacity to become exhausting for both actor and audience.) Skowron doesn't overdo it, and the end result is truly entertaining. His accents could use some work, but hey, it's Clue, not Shakespeare – a missed word or two in RP dialect is no cardinal sin. All this to say: Clue is an utter delight. Mystery solved.
