IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

If Hollywood was to venerate a single filmmaker as “The Patron Saint of Noir,” they would have to bestow that honor on Fritz Lang.  German émigré Lang laid the groundwork for the film noir movement with his early crime films in his native country, such as Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922), M (1931), and The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933).  As the Nazis came to power, Lang fled to the U.S., exposing Hollywood to his dark, expressionistic style, with such early films as Fury (1936) and You Only Live Once (1937).  Then, as the cinema grew darker in the aftermath of World War II, the director helped cement the film noir style with classics such as The Woman in the Window (1944), Scarlet Street (1945), The Blue Gardenia (1953), and The Big Heat (1953).

The definition of film noir depends largely on the viewer, but most consider The Woman in the Window to be Lang’s first true film noir; and the story is a prime example of the noir trope of an average man being pulled inexorably towards his doom, based on a single poor choice.  When the wife and children of Professor Richard Watley (Edward G. Robinson) leave on a trip without him, the Professor complains to his buddies that middle age has sapped all adventure from his life. Upon leaving his companions, Watley stops to admire a painting of a young woman in the window of a storefront, and as if out of a dream, the model for the portrait (Joan Bennett) appears beside him. Instead of heading home, the professor takes the woman out for a drink, which leads the professor down a path that leads to violence, blackmail, and murder. As the professor tries to dig himself out of the ever expanding hole, his good friend, the District Attorney (Raymond Massey), is only a half step behind him. To say any more would be to spoil the marvelous surprises that await you in this fine film.

Earlier in 1944, Robinson had a featured role in Billy Wilder’s noir classic Double Indemnity, playing the part of the investigator close on the heels of a murderer who happens to be his friend. It turns out that Robinson, always an underrated actor, was equally effective in the role of the guilty party as that of the sleuth.  He turns in a beautifully nuanced performance, which ranges from downtrodden to nervous to sly to overwhelmed to resigned to jubilant.  It is a multitude of roles in one.

Joan Bennett provides fine support as Robinson’s dream girl.  However, Lang would give the actress much more to sink her teeth into the following year in his next noir, Scarlet Street.  Her part in The Woman in the Window feels like a mere warm up for her iconic femme fatale performance in the following film. At the same time, Dan Duryea, who also appears in both films, gets one of his most iconic roles in The Woman in the Window as a blackmailing sleezeball.

For fans of film noir, The Woman in the Window is an important entry in the canon, and for collectors, it is an essential purchase.  It is thematically iconic, and features Fritz Lang at the height of his American directing period.  Plus, the script by Nunnally Johnson and performances are all top notch.  There may be a few noir purists that poo-poo the ending (I’ll let you discover why on your own), but I find the film to be a highly entertaining watch from beginning to end.

USA/B&W-107m./Dir: Fritz Lang/Wr: Nunnally Johnson/Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey, Edmund Breon, Dan Duryea, Thomas E. Jackson, Dorothy Peterson, Arthur Loft, Arthur Loft

For Fans of: If you liked watching Edward G. Robinson tighten the noose around Fred MacMurray’s neck in Double Indemnity, you will likely enjoy seeing the tables turned in The Woman in the Window.

Video: Kino Lorber has released a Blu-ray of The Woman in the Window [Blu-ray] with a very strong HD image.  The image is sharp and film-like.  There may be a minor scratch on the elements here or there, but this is by far the best the film has appeared on home video.

Blu-ray Extras Include:

• Audio commentary by film historian Imogen Sara Smith
• The original theatrical trailer

Streaming: Low resolution copies of the film can be found streaming on YouTube and elsewhere, but they are nowhere near as sharp and clear as the Kino Lorber Blu-ray.

More to Explore: One year later, Fritz Lang reunited cast members Robinson, Bennett, and Duryea for another noir classic, Scarlet Street (1945).  It is also essential viewing, and it features a firecracker of a performance from Joan Bennett — quite possibly her best.

Trivia: Two members of Our Gang (a.k.a. The Little Rascals) make brief appearances in the film.  Robert Blake plays Edward G. Robinson’s son, and George “Spanky” McFarland shows up as the Boy Scout who discovers a discarded corpse.

For More Info: Several books have been written about director Fritz Lang and his work, including Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast by Patrick McGilligan, The Films of Fritz Lang: Allegories of Vision and Modernity by Tom Gunning, and Fritz Lang: Interviews edited by Barry Kieth Grant.