Once upon a time, when you hit your forties you were firmly middle aged. Newspapers and magazines encouraged people hitting their forties not to despair. It is still safe to exercise! You can still have a satisfying sex life! Women were encouraged to rekindle theirs: "in a fortunate marriage," stated a New York Times article from 1955, "middle aged partners can return to a mature version of an earlier romance." In the age of pervasive Cialis TV ads, the quaint idea that people in their mere 40s used to be considered seniors is strange indeed.
The Woman in the Window sees three such "middle aged" men, all professionals, share drinks and discuss how their lives of sex and adventure are basically over. Edward G Robinson plays Professor Richard Wanley, whose wife and kids have left him in the city for some time in the countryside. He balks at the idea that any fun is off limits. How can this be true, now that he's finally off the leash? (The scenario of a husband abandoned by family obligations and left to sweat it out in New York is reminiscent of The Seven Year Itch). After his buddies call it a night, Robinson pulls down a copy of The Song of Solomon and dreams about a lovely portrait of a woman displayed in the window of his men's club.
Later that evening, Robinson serendipitously meets the subject of the painting (Joan Bennett). Agreeing to have a late evening drink with her, he strikes off into a series of bold decisions. Yes, he'll have the second drink. Yes, he'll go over to her apartment. He is soon implicated in a murder and the remainder of the movie sees him attempt to cover the crime, protect Bennett and cling to his middle-class, middle-aged respectable identity. This identity, strong at the outset, is whittled down by those that close in on him. In one exchange a policeman asks if he is a professor. "Assistant," he replies, deflating his status. In another exchange, a cop asks him "Wanley. What kind of name is that?"; "American," he replies. Each question chips away at the respectable facade he's built over his lifetime.
Newsreel interview with the husky boy scout who found the body. "I was not afraid! I will give my brother some of the reward money to go to a second-rate college, and I am going to HARVARD!"
Robinson's errors in judgement result in him using the hearth, the symbol of family life, as a place to burn the evidence of his crimes.
The Woman in the Window is an interesting contrast to Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street, which similarly tells a story of a bored, middle-aged man who becomes involved with a younger woman to his detriment. The three leads (Robinson, Dan Duryea and Joan Bennett) are the same in both films - yet their characters are not just duplicates. Bennett's Alice Read in The Woman in the Window is a gentler woman in richer surroundings. Robinson's performance is strangely subdued. His approach to his predicament is little more than clinical and analytical. He is constantly problem solving (whereas his character in Scarlet Street was a total emotional hostage to Bennett). The closest he gets to Bennett, after his Song of Solomon daydreams, is seen below - holding hands as they finally part ways.
One last still. Joan Bennett is so gorgeous in this film and beautifully dressed by American designer Muriel King. In the scene below, she wears a silky flowing outfit - wide pants and a white blouse with hand-painted graphics.
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