Ted Tetzlaff Collectors Guide: The Window (1949)

by Brent Reid
Brent Reid
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  • A universally acclaimed film noir that’s criminally underseen today
  • No charade: this is probably the best film Alfred Hitchcock never made!
  • Masterpiece of misdirection that would make maestro of suspense proud
  • Tight, taut, and suffused with nerve-shredding tension from start to finish
  • It prefigures and ranks alongside Rear Window, from the same source writer
  • There are just a handful of official releases – but all the best are from the States
  • It’s been remade twice and inspired many similar films, including a Bette Davis classic

The Window: Film Noir Terror Through the Eyes of a Child | Film Noir File: Cast and Crew, Part 2 | Collectors Guide

The Window (1949, dir. Ted Tetzlaff) US 1954 re-release insert poster

US 1954 re-release insert poster

Contents

Production

TCM, intro

Little Tommy Woodry is home alone, and someone is trying to kill him! Tommy (Bobby Driscoll) has a wild imagination, full of outlandish stories and made-up characters. Imagine his parents’ reaction, then, when he tells them he has just witnessed their neighbors murdering someone in cold blood. No one believes him. His parents even make him apologize to the neighbors for his accusation. Now they know that he knows. And Tommy also knows they will kill him to keep him quiet. The suspense builds to a shattering climax as the murderers pursue Tommy through an abandoned house teetering on the brink of collapse! This is a heart-stopping thriller that will keep you nervously poised at the edge of your seat. – US TCM VHS (1991)

Until 1949, there had been a clear pattern in Hollywood’s use of Cornell Woolrich material. “A” pictures with decent production values had been made out of the novels, and “B” quickies out of the shorter fiction. The next Woolrich-based film may have been intended to stay within the pattern, but in the hands of director (and former Alfred Hitchcock cinematographer [of Notorious]) Ted Tetzlaff, it was so well-made and successful that it broke the tradition, proving that a big hit could indeed be adapted from a Woolrich short story [“The Boy Cried Murder” (1947), later renamed “Fire Escape” for anthology publication]—and thus, in a sense, paving the way for the biggest-budget Woolrich adaptation of them all, Hitchcock’s Rear Window in 1954. Lacking any major stars and running a scant 73 minutes, The Window transcended its modest beginnings to become a runaway box-office success. Though neither as visually innovative nor as existentially multileveled as the masterpieces of Hitchcock, it stands as a contender in the Hitchcock (and Woolrich) tradition of nonstop, nail-biting terror. – Kevin Johnson, The Dark Page: Books That Inspired American Film Noir, 1940-1949/signed ltd ed (2007) | The Dark Page II, 1950-1965 (2009)

The Window and Black Angel – Leandro Matos

The Window/Part 2 – Glenn Erickson

A 1950 US comic adaptation followed: no. 7 in the 13-issue series “Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated” published by Seaboard, which also includes The 39 Steps. You could also do worse than checking out Alfred Hitchcock Presents S4.E2 “Don’t Interrupt” (1958) in which a young boy believes he’s seen an escaped mental patient aboard a blizzard-bound train… or has he? It’s a different take on the premise that tends to divide fans of the series but makes for an interesting entrée to a viewing of The Window.

Stanley Donen’s Charade always – always – tops any of the endless ‘best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made’ lists, predicated largely on its makers’ deliberate intent but also on account of its ongoing high profile and A-list cast and crew, many of whom are Hitchcock alumni themselves. However, I’m going to stake a claim for this woefully underseen and underappreciated little gem being the true holder of the title. Although they’re very different beasts, The Window and Rear Window share much of the same DNA, and the former is undoubtedly a much tighter, relentlessly suspenseful watch. Don’t believe me? Just check it out for yourself then try telling me I’m wrong. In fact, it’s pretty much a perfect film with the only mark against it being the annoyingly bland, nondescript title, which even creative contemporary publicity gimmicks couldn’t do much to liven up. Even so, it was still singled out for attention even when initially placed on the bottom half of a double-bill, as originally intended. The title of its source text sums both up perfectly, so why on earth it was changed right at the beginning of production, I’ll never know.

Hitchcockian Thrillers: Must-See Films in the Style of the Suspense Master (2026) – Stephen Rebello

Home video

The Window (1949, dir. Ted Tetzlaff) US Warner Archive Blu-ray

Blu-ray with US one sheet poster artwork

  • Warner BD (2021)

The best release available features the Warner Archive’s digitally-restored transfer on a region-free, plays-anywhere Blu-ray that looks and sounds well-nigh perfect. Like all Warner Archive restorations it’s exclusive to this disc which, apart from English subtitles, is unfortunately barebones. A close second best is Warner’s remastered transfer of a gorgeous pre-print element, available on a region 0 DVD-R and various HD streaming services.

Rights to the RKO library are split worldwide, meaning though all transfers are decent, those on the handful of other DVDs range from older theatrical prints in NTSC-PAL standard definition right up to (possibly) Warner’s remastered transfer, so caveat emptor. Disc extras are almost entirely absent across the board; even the original trailer, if there ever was one, appears to be lost. However, Odeon Entertainment’s UK DVD, a limited edition of 2,000 copies, has a substantial essay booklet; and the French DVD has a 2½-minute, unsubbed French intro. But most importantly, ensure you avoid the bootleg DVDs from Italy (A&R, DNA) and many cheapo, supposedly public domain DVD-Rs on eBay, iOffer, etc.

  • UK: Odeon DVD (2012)
  • France: Editions Montparnasse DVD (2006)
  • Spain: Manga DVD (2013)
  • Portugal: Costa do Castelo DVD/alt (2006), also in 4-DVD/6-film Film Noir 2
  • Brazil: Versátil 3-DVD/7-film Filme Noir Vol. 19 (2021)
  • Japan: Broadway DVD (2013)

Screenshots: Editions Montparnasse DVD, Warner Archive DVD-R/BD

The Boy Cried Murder (1966)

The Boy Cried Murder (1965) US one sheet poster

US one sheet poster

Illustrierte Film-Bühne/centre

The first screen remake is a 1966 Anglo-German-Yugoslavian co-production under its original title, which sees our young protagonist witness a murder whilst on holiday in sunny Montenegro. Sadly, it’s only been released on a German-dubbed, non-subtitled DVD which comes with a four-page repro booklet of the tie-in Illustrierte Film-Bühne programme.

Cloak & Dagger (1984)

Cloak & Dagger (1984) US one sheet poster

US one sheet poster

E.T.’s Henry Thomas teams up with Dabney Coleman in this suspenseful action/drama about a boy whose vivid fantasy life mixes with reality until the two become inseparable. Davey Osborne (Henry Thomas) is an imaginative 11-year-old who enjoys make-believe and devises a multitude of role-playing games to amuse himself and his friends. He often enlists the aid of his best friend, an imaginary super-spy named Jack Flack (Dabney Coleman), when he is faced with a difficult mission. One day, while on a “secret mission,” Davey unexpectedly witnesses the real life murder of an FBI agent by a spy ring. Before the man dies, he gives Davey a video game called Cloak & Dagger, in which a secret code is hidden that the enemy agents want. Davey escapes, but not before he is recognized by the head agent, Rice (Michael Murphy), who sends hitmen after the youngster. Soon Davey finds himself up to his neck in hairbreadth escapes, kidnappings, bullets, bombs and unrelenting terror as the hitmen close in on him.

Davey manages to prevail with the help of Jack Flack, until finally all the hitmen are dead and Davey is alone in a kill-or-be-killed face- off with Rice. As Rice closes in, Jack tells him to use a real gun to shoot his rival. Davey resists, but at the last minute gives in and blows the agent into a nearby lagoon. In a slam-bang climax, Davey comes of age, goes it alone and emerges a hero. Produced by Alan Carr and directed by Richard Franklin, Cloak & Dagger is in a class by itself if you’re looking for high-powered excitement and warm human emotions. – US MCA CED and LD (1985)

The second and final remake to date is much lighter fare with a fourth title, Cloak & Dagger, not to be confused with Fritz Lang’s 1946 noir. It returns the action to the US and rode the popular wave of films centered on video games, being released as a tie-in with an eponymous arcade title. The few earlier DVDs are barebones with acceptable A/V but recent discs have a 4K remastered transfer and extras out the wazoo.

The Nanny (1965)

The Nanny aka Nanny, la governante (1965) Italian four sheet poster

Italian four sheet poster

“A first-rate, class thriller!” – The Hollywood Reporter

Two-time Academy Award winner Bette Davis gives a “chillingly polished” (Boxoffice) performance in the spine-tingling suspense thriller, The Nanny. Blamed for the drowning death of his little sister, ten-year-old Joey Fane (William Dix) has finally returned home after being institutionalized for two years. Placed once again under the care of his devoted nanny (Davis), Joey is soon accused of trying to poison his own mother. But when he swears it was the nanny who committed the crimes, his tormented pleas lead some to wonder: is Joey the disturbed killer everyone thinks he is, or is this dear old nanny hiding some murderous secrets? “Engaging, disturbing and often frightening” (The Motion Picture Guide, 1985-99), The Nanny is “a superior psycho-thriller” (Variety) that will keep you guessing! – US DVD

Nanny (Bette Davis) has been with the Fane family for many years. She cared for Virginia (Wendy Craig) and her sister, Penny (Jill Bennett), before looking after Virginia’s children Susy (Angharad Aubrey) and Joey (William Dix). When Susy drowns in the bath, Joey is blamed for her death. Virginia suffers a breakdown and Joey is sent to a special school where he is analysed by psychologists. Shunned by her exasperated husband, the grief-stricken Virginia needs Nanny more than ever. Unfortunately Joey’s stay in the institution has done little to mellow him. When he returns he insists that he was not involved in Susy’s death, and maintains that his sister was actually murdered by the evil Nanny. After, a further ‘accident’ in the house, Penny arrives to look after the obnoxious Joey. Soon, however, Penny begins to suspect that the boy may have been telling the truth all along… The result of a sometimes uneasy collaboration between the legendary Bette Davis and two of Hammer’s greatest talents, writer Jimmy Sangster and director Seth Holt, this disturbing thriller was described by the Sunday Express as ‘riveting entertainment’. – UK Optimum DVD

TV spots, clips, Trailers from Hell

Based on Evelyn Piper’s 1964 novel, this brilliant film gave me nightmares for years after watching it on late-night telly as a kid. Pitch black, an undisputed late-career highlight for its seasoned star and centred on another naturalistic, nuanced child performance; it’s rife with tension, misdirection and complex, unsettling characterisations more than worthy of the Master. In all, essential viewing for anyone captivated by The Window.

This batch have the same theatrically-accurate 1.85:1 aspect ratio transfer from 20th Century-Fox. The US DVD has a few minor extras: a “Restoration Comparison” featurette, US pressbook, trailer, two TV spots and photo galleries; the other Fox DVDs just have the trailer. The Oz Shock BD is the best A/V option of all with LPCM 2.0 mono audio, while both BHQL discs have 2.0 mono Dolby Digital tracks; all three are single-layered and completely barebones. Though its case says region B, the Oz is region 0 with no subs; the French are region B/2-locked with optional French subs. However, the latter do have a 24-page essay booklet by Marc Toullec: Bette Davis : Les vingt dernières années (BD: The Last Twenty Years). The same booklet is packaged with individual releases of label BHQL’s other three Davis films.

The UK Warner DVD has no extras and a tube TV-filling open matte transfer but the Optimum has a slightly opened out 1.78:1 AR and exclusive audio commentary by writer-producer Jimmy Sangster, continuity supervisor Renée Glynne and cult film historian Marcus Hearn.

Eyewitness (1970)

Eyewitness (1970) poster

This original poster artwork adorns the US BD’s reversible sleeve

Ziggy (Mark Lester of Oliver!) is an 11-year-old boy living on the island of Malta with an overactive imagination and the habit of telling wild lies. But when he sees the brutal assassination of a visiting African president by two rogue policemen, nobody will believe his story. Can Ziggy convince anybody that he is telling the truth before the psychotic cops are able to hunt down and murder the only Eyewitness? This is no ordinary ‘boy who cried wolf’ story, Released in America as Sudden Terror, director John Hough (The Watcher in the Woods, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry) packs Eyewitness with plenty of tense style, stunning locations and startling violence. Susan George (Straw Dogs) and Lionel Jeffries (The Quatermass Xperiment) co-star in this shocking suspense thriller that also features music by legendary British art-rock bands Fairfield Parlour and Van Der Graaf Generator. – US: Anchor Bay DVD (2002)

Bootlegs: Italy (Sinister Film), Spain (Llamentol, Mon Inter Comerz BD-R).

Although based on John Harris’s novel The Eyewitness (1966), published under his Mark Hebden pseudonym, both exhibit many overt parallels with Woolrich’s short story. The recent remastered releases with various differing extras are the way to go, as opposed to the earlier barebones discs.

The Window: Film Noir Terror Through the Eyes of a Child | Film Noir File: Cast and Crew, Part 2 | Collectors Guide

I started Brenton Film because I love film – quelle surprise! The silent era, 1930s and 1940s especially get my literary juices flowing, so you'll see a lot about those. For more, see the About page and read this before emailing.

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