Overview
A professor's life spirals into chaos after a chance encounter with a mysterious woman.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- tense
- brooding
- paranoid
- classic movie night
- noir double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Fritz Lang’s tightly constructed film noir as suspenseful and atmospherically controlled, with especially strong performances from its leading cast.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Professor Richard Wanley’s academic status and social reputation become obstacles after the fatal confrontation in Alice Reed’s apartment.
Windows, storefront portraits, clubs, apartments, and investigative spaces turn the city into a network of watched and watching locations.
Police clues and a blackmailer steadily intensify pressure on Wanley and Alice as they attempt to hide the killing.
Wanley’s fascination with Alice’s portrait leads him away from his controlled professor’s life and into an illicit encounter.
Films like The Woman in the Window, and why
Double Indemnity
shared film noir atmosphere, moral compromise, murder cover-up, and mounting psychological suspense
The Postman Always Rings Twice
shared classic noir fatalism, accidental killing, criminal entanglement, and pressure from investigators
Scarlet Street
shared film noir visual language, ordinary protagonist drawn into murder, and claustrophobic paranoia
Movie Details
- Director
- Fritz Lang
- Release Date
- 1944-10-25
- Runtime
- 99 min
- Rating
- 7.4 / 10 (400)
Cast
- Edward G. Robinson
- Joan Bennett
- Raymond Massey
- Edmund Breon
- Dan Duryea
- Thomas E. Jackson
- Dorothy Peterson
- Robert Blake
- Arthur Loft
- Frank Dawson
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- ScreenPix Apple TV channel, ScreenPix Amazon Channel , Bloodstream
- Rent
- Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Woman in the Window about?
- A mild-mannered college professor’s flirtation with a portrait’s mysterious subject plunges him into murder, concealment, and blackmail.
- What is The Woman in the Window like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Woman in the Window as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Woman in the Window violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Woman in the Window as mild.
- What did critics think of The Woman in the Window?
- Critics broadly regard Fritz Lang’s tightly constructed film noir as suspenseful and atmospherically controlled, with especially strong performances from its leading cast.
- Which films are like The Woman in the Window?
- Films with a similar feel include Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Scarlet Street.
- How long is The Woman in the Window?
- The Woman in the Window runs 99 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Woman in the Window?
- In United States, The Woman in the Window streams on ScreenPix Apple TV channel, ScreenPix Amazon Channel , Bloodstream.
