Fritz Lang did some wonderful Hollywood films in the early forties after he escaped from Hitler's Germany...the silent auteur made a great transition to American talkies and The Woman in the Window is a wonderful example. Like much of Lang's work (and of course Alfred Hitchcock's) we begin with a simple man in simple circumstances that become more and more complicated as the choices he makes transforms his life with often twisted and dark consequences to those choices. In Woman, Lang begins with a simple middle-aged man longing for adventure and excitement outside his often staid and mundane life. He will get much more than he bargained for....

I am becoming more and more a fan of the great Edward G. Robinson who takes a more sedate turn not as his usual heavy or gangster, but as a meek and mild assistant professor who takes an unexpected dark path for his mid life crisis. Joan Bennett, a favorite of Lang's, is gorgeous but reveals a talented acting depth to her enormous glamour.

Be careful, though! Lang will take you into some interesting dark corners with this one...there is a wonderful twist at the end that almost makes this dark comedy...along with the almost textbook Noir touches. Fritz Lang is as good as Hitchcock was in dropping in little revealing details that drop dark hints as to mood, motivation, and relationship. Dan Duryea shows up as a slimy, blackmailing hood (did he ever play a nice guy?!) and you have a marvelous

little dark confection for your Noir appetites!

TH Reviews Rating: An easy to grant five of five stars!!