DKosty123 This 73 minute film is obviously meant by RKO to be the short part of theater double features. Because of this, it is not a big budget film. Yet it has some top talents involved in the cast. Bobby Driscoll, on loan from Disney, is a big name child actor here who witnesses a murder and nobody will believe him. The Cornell Woolrich script based on his story: "The Boy Cried Murder" will later be remade under that title but this RKO version is better. A few years later Woolrich would write an even better script - Rear Window - for Alfred Hitchcock. Besides Driscoll who did Disney's Peter Pan, and Song of the South, Barbara Hale, still in her late 20's plays Mrs. Mary Woodry, who is very involved in the plot. Later she was Della Street, secretary to Perry Mason.The is a lot of Noir flavor to this one as there are a lot of things that come out later in the film. The excitement and thrills of the film hook the viewer very well for the short length (73 minutes) of the film. Worthwhile viewing on all levels.

secondtake The Window (1949)A totally classic film noir, fairly low budget, and unique for having a child at the middle of the story. The darkness of the mood and darkness of the filming combine to counterpoint the apparent cheer of this boy in New York City, creating something just short of a masterpiece. Perfect? I wish! But the best of it will blow your noir mind.The whole adventure here happens in an apartment building, one of those brick 5-story walk-ups with fire escapes on the outside. A boy, sleeping on the escape because of the heat, witnesses a murder. He tells his parents, who don't believe him (the movie opens with a summation of the Boy Who Cried Wolf). But of course, the murderer's believe him, and the boy is in danger.You might find this all a contrivance—and I guess it is, in a way, a plot too tight and compact for real life—but it works to create genuine suspense. The characters are all very realistic, from the nice, regular parents who want their kid to start telling the truth to the bad couple upstairs who seem on the surface to be rather like the parents. Even the cops are just regular schmoes. The dark stairway, the window nailed shut, the chases through an abandoned building next door (set up by the opening of the movie with a bunch of kids using it for play), and endless futile persuasion by the boy, who obviously means what he says all add up to for compact, intense ride. And filmed with energy and such dark shadows you can't see a thing. Director Ted Tetzlaff is more known as a cinematographer (including on his last film, "Notorious," which is a masterpiece). As a director this is probably his best film, and he knows how to make the cinematographers under him give him the visual richness the film in its simplicity requires. The plot carries the ideas, for sure, but the visuals carry the mood and intensity, and that's the best of it. And there's not a wasted minute—it's practically a textbook exercise in how to direct with economy, and the benefits of doing so.See it. The title doesn't inspire much—it should be called "Murder in the Window" or something more compelling—but the movie does indeed inspire much. See why. Oh, and a really clean copy is streamable from Warner Archive, which even has a free two week trial.

Alex da Silva Young Bobby Driscoll (Tommy) makes up stories to his friends and to his parents. One night, he sleeps on the fire escape outside the apartment of Paul Stewart (Mr Kellerson) and Ruth Roman (Mrs Kellerson) where he witnesses them commit a murder. When he tells his parents Arthur Kennedy and Barbara Hale about it, they dismiss him. In fact, they punish him. Even the police don't believe him when he reports the murder to them. Poor kid. No-one believes him. It's not long before Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman find out that he knows something and set a plan in motion to silence him.There are many tense scenes as Driscoll faces his nightmare all alone. The audience shares his fear as the killers have him next on their list. The acting is realistic as is the dialogue. The film also has eerie sections (eg, Ruth Roman outside Driscoll's window with a torch as he hides in his locked room) and dramatic moments (eg, when the killers kidnap Driscoll and put him in the back of a cab and they encounter a policeman). The strategy that Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman use to shut him up during the cab ride is genius. It's very funny and demonstrates perfect teamwork.Children are usually annoying in films. Not here. A dramatic ending in a disused apartment block adds to the tension. Worth watching again. The way the movie is filmed and the location all add to the experience of a film that is actually quite scary in parts.

Martin Teller Opening with a quote from Aesop, this movie is about a little lad who tells so many stories that no one believes him when he witnesses a real murder. It takes an awful lot for me to forgive a film that centers around a child, especially an obnoxious one like this. The very similar TALK ABOUT A STRANGER couldn't do it, despite the talents of John Alton. I hated young Bobby Driscoll throughout the picture and he's undoubtedly its weakest link. His pouting and whining and "golly gee" demeanor are very grating. But director Ted Tetzlaff otherwise delivers a stunning noir. The photography is amazing, capturing the grittiness, desperation and danger of the urban setting beautifully. The script is solid, building tension at a steady pace, culminating in a lengthy and gripping chase sequence through a decrepit abandoned building. Tetzlaff clearly learned something about suspense as the cinematographer on NOTORIOUS. A great film with a lousy protagonist.