Rear Window

James Stewart stars as L.B. Jeffries, a charismatic and adventurous news photographer whose life has been forever altered following a broken leg that confines him to a wheelchair. He is tasked with simply recovering for a long period of time, but growing restlessness and an insatiable curiosity get the better of him. As Jeffries begins to heal, there is one hobby he cannot let go of - spying on his neighbors through his camera lens from his apartment window. Jeffries shares his luxurious high-rise apartment with a nurse, Stella (Judith Evelyn), who has been his devoted caregiver since the accident. One night, while taking a peek at the surrounding rooftops, Jeffries catches the eye of his beautiful and refined neighbor, Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly), who has recently purchased the apartment next door and has been attempting to get to know Jeffries. Lisa eventually moves into her new apartment with the understanding that she would become Jeffries' permanent roommate once he regains full usage of his legs. This new living arrangement gives her, in effect, an apartment right next to Jeffries in the apartment complex where they both reside. One evening, Jeffries’ observations turn into a front-row seat on a real-life mystery as he becomes convinced that his neighbor Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) is responsible for a missing woman, Anna. Jeffries' findings spark his detective instincts, and his mind runs wild with conspiracy theories. He confides in his nurse, Stella, and from then on, she becomes entangled in Jeffries and Lisa’s murder mystery solving, though she remains oblivious as to what they are tracking. However, the bulk of his suspicions fall on his lovely companion Lisa. Back at work after a few days of absence, Jeffries’ coworker and fellow photographer, Thomas Doyle (Ross Bagdasarian Sr.), returns from Ethiopia with his new wife. However this leaves Jeffries even more isolated within his own mind to the world as one less person to take things seriously and prevent Lisa and the whole ordeal from turning quite far headed. Lisa’s main intention of setting up a comfortable domestic home for herself with Jeffries gets ruined by his preoccupation with finding the missing woman. As a result, whatever shred of trust between Jeffries and Lisa vanishes while his mystery accelerates. Not only is Lisa unaware of the depth of the suspicion Jeffries now holds against Lars’ potential crime, but even Jeffries' nurse Stella, too, becomes a part of the misunderstanding between Jeffries and Lisa. But even though Lisa sets aside a passionate and charming companion in an atmosphere where there was so much potential for her new life in moving in with Jeffries in these luxurious apartments, she and the character of Jeffries grow even more distant when Jeffries becomes more and more intently involved in his ever-speculative findings about Lars Thorwald and the missing woman. What becomes of Lars’ secret is also up for investigation by Lisa, until the key to what really stands in the Lars mystery eventually crosses her path. Jeffries follows his lead about this mystery and eventually learns that he has misjudged Lars. The final piece of evidence arrives in the form of a diamond-encrusted locket discovered in Lars’ backyard. Jeffries realizes in a moment of triumph that his preoccupation had made him miss the most obvious clues. It is realized that Lars had smothered Anna with a pillow, and later sold her diamond necklace. In light of the confession to murder that Lars makes against them once he realizes they know his very hideous secret, Jeffries immediately calls the authorities, followed by the ultimate joy in receiving a visit from his beloved Lisa. L.B. Jeffries, with all the suspense drained out of his life finally, eagerly awaits the procedure of surgery which marks the end of this traumatic period in his life, as those beautiful summer days slowly return to his life.