Screenwriter: John Michael Hayes

Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

An all-time classic, Alfred Hitchcock’s delightful, voyeuristic thriller, starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, is endlessly watchable, perfect for a film that is itself all about watching.

Stuck in his apartment with a broken leg and telescopic lens, a photojournalist (Stewart in one of his defining roles) distracts himself by observing the neighbors across the way. Most are just living normal lives — the newlyweds, a lady with her dog, a dancer with lots of boyfriends — but what’s going on in the Thorwald’s place? The bedridden Mrs. Thorwald seems to have mysteriously disappeared, and Mr. Thorwald is acting mighty suspicious. Enlisting help from his socialite girlfriend (the dazzling Kelly) and his physical therapist (much love to Thelma Ritter), our voyeuristic hero tries to make sense of what he’s seen — or at least what he thinks he’s seen.