Scene 5: Observations during the night 31:57-36:36

Jeff starts to doze and is woken by the sound of rain outside his window. The Man and Woman from the Fire Escape, who had taken their bedding outside onto the fire escape to sleep in the cool night air, are woken by the rain and frantically gather their bedding indoors.

Mr Thorwald departs his apartment carrying a large suitcase. Intrigued, Jeff watches him emerge onto the street below, and checks his watch for the time as though something is not quite right. An extreme close-up of the watch shows that it is 1.55am.

A fade to black transition and a return to an extreme close-up of the watch shows that 40 minutes has passed, creating the sense that the viewer has dozed with Jeff.

Mr Thorwald returns with the same suitcase, however upon entering his apartment, Jeff can no longer see what Mr Thorwald is up to as the blinds have been closed.

The Songwriter returns home intoxicated. Much like Miss Lonelyhearts’ drinking alone earlier, being alone seems to weigh heavy on them both

Mr Thorwald leaves again with his suitcase, and Jeff follows his figure as he once again emerges on the street and disappears out of view.

A close-up of Jeff as he dozes and nods himself awake. The rain can still be heard outside. Miss Torso returns, appearing at the door to wrestle with one of the men previously described by Lisa as a wolf. She successfully locks the door on him.

Mr Thorwald comes into view on the street and, shortly after, enters his apartment, still holding his suitcase. Jeff dozes but the camera continues to pan, suggesting that the viewer is now observing without Jeff.

Mr Thorwald leaves his apartment with a woman wearing a large hat who appears to be his wife. The camera pans to Jeff who has missed this scene, once again leaving the viewer as the sole voyeur.

This scene is noticeably absent of any dialogue. The rain is the only constant sound, creating the atmosphere of Jeff quietly observing during the night.

Scene 6: Suspicions about Mr Thorwald 36:36-43:05

Sounds of children and a bus on the street and bright daylight signify morning. The camera continues to pan from apartment to apartment, first observing Miss Hearing Aid chatting with an ice delivery man, a scantily-dressed Miss Torso dancing, then the Woman from the Fire Escape lowering her small dog to the garden in a wicker basket. The camera retreats inside Jeff’s apartment and shows him receiving a massage from Stella.

Jeff and Stella’s conversation turns to Mr Thorwald and his peculiar early morning comings and goings, Stella speculating that he intends on leaving his wife. All the shades are now open in Mr Thorwald’s apartment, except for the bedroom, and Mr Thorwald is scanning the apartments around him suspiciously. Jeff and Stella retreat further into Jeff’s apartment, away from the window to avoid being seen by Mr Thorwald.

Mr Thorwald turns his gaze to the garden below, where the Woman from the Fire Escape’s dog is sniffing around the flowers Mr Thorwald had tended to on the previous day. After retreating into the shadows, Jeff surrenders some of his anonymity, as he rolls his wheelchair forward into the light in order to see what Mr Thorwald is looking at. Miss Hearing Aid looks over the fence, and shoos the dog from the plants.

As Stella leaves, she pleads with Jeff ‘don’t sleep in that chair again’ but Jeff is now far too invested in the activities of the complex and asks for his binoculars to be brought. What began as casual gazing has grown in intensity. Stella, noticing this shift, brings his binoculars and says that she can smell trouble coming.

Through binoculars, Jeff observes Mr Thorwald stacking jewellery items into his sales case. Jeff rolls his wheelchair back into the shadows of his apartment in order to observe Mr Thorwald unnoticed.

Appearing unsatisfied with the view through his binoculars, Jeff equips a large telephoto lens to a camera and resumes watching Mr Thorwald, who wraps two large knives in newspaper before taking a nap on his lounge.

Scene 6: Suspicions about Mr Thorwald Quotes

‘She sure is the “eat, drink and be merry” girl.’
‘Yeah, she’ll wind up fat, alcoholic and miserable.’ (Jeff to Stella, about Miss Torso) Scene 6

‘Maybe one day she’ll find her happiness.’
‘Yeah, and some man will lose his.’ (Stella to Jeff about Miss Lonelyhearts) Scene 6

‘Isn’t there anybody in the neighbourhood who could cast an eye in her direction?’ (Stella to Jeff, about Miss Lonelyhearts) Scene 6

‘Get back! He’ll see you.’
‘I’m not shy. I’ve been looked at before.’ (Jeff to Stella when Mr Thorwald looks suspiciously out of his window) Scene 6

Scene 7: Lisa joins the investigation 43:05-49:31

It is now night time, and the initial shot is a close-up of a thermometer showing a hot 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius). The camera pans to the Songwriter’s apartment, where he is shirtless and cleaning. He pauses momentarily to try a note on the piano but returns to cleaning, frustrated. It appears he has not resolved his artistic direction. The camera continues to wander, imitating a human gaze, showing the couple setting up their bed on the fire escape and lifting up their small dog in the wicker basket. Miss Lonelyhearts is sewing, Miss Torso is doing her hair, and Miss Hearing Aid is working on a sculpture.

The movement of the camera continues to the inside of Jeff’s apartment, suggesting again that it is the viewer that has been watching in first-person and who is now watching an intimate moment between Jeff and Lisa. Perhaps sensing Jeff’s fascination with the outside world, Lisa asks ‘how far does a girl have to go before you’ll notice her?’

Lisa makes affectionate advances but Jeff is clearly distracted by the puzzle of why Mr Thorwald left his apartment three times in one night. Lisa gives up trying to create an intimate moment. Although Jeff is discussing Mr Thorwald, his gaze falls on Miss Torso, who is laying in black lingerie on her bed.

Mr Thorwald returns in his undershirt, carrying rope. The blinds to the bedroom have been drawn all scene.

Lisa’s rebuttals and objections to Jeff’s spying are interrupted when the bedroom blinds are opened and the two notice that Mr Thorwald has packed a large trunk and is tying it up with rope. The mattress on which Mrs Thorwad had been sleeping has been rolled up and Mrs Thorwald is nowhere to be seen. Lisa’s interest is now piqued and she asks: ‘Let’s start from the beginning again, Jeff. Tell me everything you saw and what you think it means.’

Of note in this scene is the Songwriter who appears in the background of a shot of Lisa, having found his rhythm with an instrumental piece that continues for the remainder of the scene. This is symbolic of Lisa and Jeff’s relationship, which appears to be synchronising with their aligning views on Mr Thorwald, compared to the Songwriter’s earlier struggle which had mirrored their disharmony.

Scene 7: Lisa joins the investigation Quotes

‘How far does a girl have to go before you’ll notice her?’
‘Well, if she’s pretty enough, she doesn’t have to go anywhere.’ (Lisa to Jeff) Scene 7

‘Jeff, if you could only see yourself!’ (Lisa to Jeff about his preoccupation with watching Mr Thorwald) Scene 7

‘… wild opinions about every little thing you see is diseased!’ (Lisa to Jeff) Scene 7

Scene 8: Jeff’s report to Lieutenant Doyle 49:31-56:14

Following a fade transition, a close-up of Jeff’s hand hovers above the telephone as though he is waiting for a call. He continues to observe Mr Thorwald, who is sitting in the dark with his face only seen as he lights a cigarette.

The phone rings, and Jeff is quick to lift the receiver so the sound is not heard. He continues to observe Mr Thorwald in silence and anonymity. The call is from Lisa, who reveals that the name of the person in the apartment is Lars Thorwald, according to the mail box she had gone to spy. She adds: ‘OK, chief. What’s my next assignment?’ Their roles have been reversed in that Jeff is the one who has sent Lisa out in the field to investigate. This is the first indication that despite Jeff being adamant that Lisa is a fragile socialite, she is willing to be involved.

Lisa presses Jeff to find out what Lars is doing now, showing how interested she now is in the investigation.

A transition to the morning, Jeff is on the phone while Stella is in the apartment. Jeff tells Detective Lieutenant Doyle to come over, that he suspects a murder has occurred. Although it’s his day off, Doyle says he will attend.

Jeff takes his breakfast, still facing the window. Stella joins him in watching Lars’ apartment, eating a piece of toast and contemplating how Lars could have disposed of his wife’s body. Her candidness as to the matter of murder may be linked to Jeff’s previous comment about her being married and contrasts with Lisa’s more timid approach.

Despite the intensity of the investigation, Jeff still finds time to observe Miss Torso, again scantily dressed, hanging lacy underwear on the line. A close-up of Jeff’s face seems to indicate a primal approval. His gaze continues to the Newlywed’s apartment, where the blinds are drawn, until the young husband opens them in his underwear. There is a juxtaposition between Miss Torso and the Newlyweds in that Miss Torso is uninhibited in her openness to finding a man whereas the Newlyweds, having found love, seem desirous of keeping it private. This is further contrasted with the perceived contentment of the Man and Woman from the Fire Escape. Stages of loneliness, coupling and matrimony are critiqued throughout the film.

Delivery men arrive to take Mr Thorwald’s trunk away. Jeff had hoped Doyle would have arrived before the trunk had left and when he hasn’t, Stella offers to go and get the details of the freight company from their truck on the street. Once again, despite Jeff’s devaluing of what women can achieve, here is a woman doing the field work he cannot due to his confinement in a wheelchair.

Stella does not catch the details of the freight company before it leaves and conveys this to Jeff via gestures as he watches through his binoculars.

A transition reveals Doyle has arrived and is observing Mr Thorwald’s apartment through binoculars. Doyle questions Jeff’s lack of concrete evidence and dismisses his ideas as merely coincidental. In a film that was contemporary to the era of McCarthyism, Doyle’s view is surprisingly pragmatic which offers the simple explanation that people’s behaviour may be free from ulterior motives. Ultimately, Doyle is proven wrong, which could in fact reinforce McCarthyism, that there may be value in spying on your neighbours so that if you do see something, you can report it. Doyle leaves, stating he will look into Mr Thorwald without officially reporting it.

Jeff looks out the window and sees the dog digging at the flowers and Mr Thorwald giving him a small push along before he repositions the soil. Doyle can be seen on the street.

Scene 8: Jeff’s report to Lieutenant Doyle Quotes

‘OK, chief. What’s my next assignment?’ (Lisa to Jeff) Scene 8

‘This happens to be my day off.’
‘I usually took my best pictures on my day off.’ (Doyle to Jeff) Scene 8

‘I can’t tell you what a welcome sight this is. No wonder your husband still loves you.’ (Jeff to Stella when she brings his breakfast) Scene 8

‘Well, I think you saw something there’s probably a very simple explanation for.’ (Doyle to Jeff) Scene 8