The Woman in the Window (1944)

Let me just start by saying that Edward G. Robinson was awesome. If there's a movie with him in it on the TV, I will watch it. Such is the case with The Woman in the Window which I had never seen but was pleasantly surprised by. This early film noir is the story of a middle aged professor (Robinson) who becomes enamored with a woman who's photo he see's in a store window (hence the title). It's a story of murder, cover-ups and double crosses that feature great work from not only Robinson but also Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea. Combine the performance's with director Fritz Lang's (Metropolis, M) excellent use of odd camera angles and shadows and The Woman in the Window is a pretty fantastic noir. The only downside is the terribly stupid ending that was obviously tacked on to make the film work under the strict production codes of the time. This ending does keep the film from being a perfect film but for the better part of an hour and a half, it certainly is.

Rating: 4.5