Rear window
1954 USA Color 122 Minutes
Within 30 days it would have been Grace Kelly`s (Lisa Fremont) 79th birthday.
* November 12, 1929
† November 14, 1982
The 3000 lamps (2000 to replace the sun and 1000 additional lightning) produced so much heat that one day the automatic sprinkler system was triggered.
Rear Window was filmed on one big soundstage at Paramount, with the biggest set they had ever built.
The songs heard on the soundtrack are all from earlier Paramount features, including Captain Carey, U.S.A., Mr. Music, en Red Garters.
Director Cameo: Alfred Hitchcock winding the clock in the songwriters apartment.
During the month-long shoot, Miss Torso lived in her apartment all day, relaxing between takes as if really at home.
Release date: August 1, 1954
Rear window ranks number 88 in the American box-office rankings.
Grossing adjusted for inflation -> $322.2 m
Source: www.boxofficemojo.comSource / More
This week 69 years ago Mr. Smith goes to Washington premiered (October 17, 1939)
May 20, 1908
James Maitland Stewart
July 2, 1997
James was born and grew up in Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA. He made his acting debut in a boy scout play.
After graduating from Princeton in 1932 with a degree in architecture, he joined the University Players whose members included such future stars as Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullavan.
His first motion-picture appearance was in 1935 in The Murder Man. Stewart's career gained momentum after his well-received Frank Capra films, including his Academy Award nominated role in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
James served in the US Army Air Forces in World War II and was heavily decorated.
After the war, Stewart returned to the theater in Harvey (1947) (he later re-created the role in the 1950 film version of the play).
During the 1950s, he took on more challenging roles and expanded into the western and suspense genres, thanks largely to collaborations with directors Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock (Rear window (1954), The man who knew too much (1956), Vertigo (1958)).
In the early sixties there were roles in three John Ford films, including the classic The man who shot Liberty Valance.
James undertook some television projects in the 1970s, but with little success. Late in life Stewart made a series of popular appearances on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, reading his own poetry.
1985 Honorary Award
1960 Nominated Best Actor for: Anatomy of a Murder
1951 Nominated Best Actor for: Harvey
1947 Nominated Best Actor for: It's a wonderful Life
1941 Won Oscar Best Actor for: The Philadelphia Story (1940)
1940 Nominated Best Actor for: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Michael Munn -> Jimmy Stewart : The Truth Behind the Legend
Donald Dewey -> James Stewart: A Biography (1996)
Jonathan Coe -> Jimmy Stewart : A Wonderful Life (1994)