Characters / Rear Window

Jeff

L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies

Played By: James Stewart

• Jerkass Ball: Most of the time he's mild-mannered and well-intentioned, but he can be spiteful and resentful to those closest to him.
• Last-Name Basis: Everybody calls him "Jeff".
• Never My Fault: One of his character flaws. In addition to being too stubborn to admit that he's wrong.
• No Name Given: His first name is never revealed, only the initials.
• Nosy Neighbor: Jeff is this, but he isn't the usual malicious or gossipy kind. He's just bored, and doesn't pass judgment on his neighbours. He even feels sorry for Miss Lonely-Hearts.
• Pajama-Clad Hero: He spends the entire film in his pajamas and leg cast.
• The Peeping Tom: He turns his apartment complex into his own personal entertainment, spying on his neighbours.
• Right Place, Right Time, Wrong Reason: Jeff only discovers the shady happenings in Thorwald's apartment because he's become a voyeur.
• Window Watcher: A photographer by nature, when Jeff finds himself bored and unable to work he quickly becomes this. And then the movie happens.

Lisa

Lisa Carol Fremont

Played By: Grace Kelly

• Fashionista: As played by style icon Grace Kelly, she's always decked out in the latest couture and works at a fashion magazine.
• Girl Friday: She really is his girlfriend, but at the moment, she feels as though there is Unresolved Sexual Tension and they even discuss the trope.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's very beautiful with blonde hair to match, she's just as loving and virtuous too.
• Heroic Seductress: She's very virtuous and sensual, she uses the promise (events prevent fulfillment) just to distract Jeff from his rear window activities (like checking out Miss Torso).
• Nice to the Waiter: Lisa gets along well with hired nurse Stella. Additionally, in her first scene, she apologizes to the waiter bringing her and Jeff dinner for making him wait in the hall longer than expected, and then gives him money for a taxi.
• Socialite: Comes from a wealthy family and hob nobs at very posh parties when she isn't visiting Jeff at his apartment.
• Spoiled Sweet: She comes from a very wealthy family and is seen dressing in couture, is sweet and kind to people around her; Doyle and Stella think she's perfect for Jeff.
• Unlimited Wardrobe: With ample funds and a job at a fashion magazine, Lisa fulfills this part of the trope.
  Jeff: Is this the Lisa Fremont who never wears the same dress twice?
  Lisa: Only because it's expected of her.

Doyle

NYPD Det. Lt. Thomas J. Doyle

Played By: Wendell Corey

• Dad the Veteran: Was in "the War" with Jeff and is a father.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Done twice while he's at Jeff's apartment; once by Miss Torso, and once by Lisa when he meets her.
  Jeff: (watching him watch Miss Torso) How's your wife?
  Doyle: (snaps out of it) Oh, she's fine.
• Friend on the Force: Works as a detective for the NYPD and is close to Jeff.
• Police Are Useless: Doesn't believe Lisa and Jeff regarding Thorwald but the latter man did cover his tracks well.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: He dismisses Lisa's theories regarding Thorwald and Mrs. Thorwald's jewelry since "that women's intuition stuff may sell magazines" but doesn't work in real life. Coincides with values dissonance since casual sexism was very much the norm in the 1950's.

Stella

Stella

Played By: Thelma Ritter

• Cool Old Lady: One of the older characters in the cast, along with being very witty and intuitive when she's not being friendly with Lisa and Jeff.
• Deadpan Snarker: Even more so than Jeff.
  Stella: No thanks. I don't want any part of her. *gasps at realization*
• Happily Married: She and her off-screen husband are a couple of "maladjusted misfits" who've been happy for over 20 years.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Will talk at length about how Thorwald might have disposed of his wife's body, even while Jeff is trying to eat.
• Servile Snarker: She works for Jeff and snarks at his remarks and inability to really commit to Lisa.

Thorwald

Lars Thorwald

Played By: Raymond Burr

• Big Bad: He's willing to take whatever lengths to cover up the murder of his wife. Whether by assaulting (and possibly trying to kill Lisa), threatening Jeff, and killing a dog.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Played with, while the bespectacled man killed his wife and a little dog along with attempting to murder another woman more than half his size and a skinny, disabled man, he comes off as quite desperate and pitiful when he confronts Jeff.
• Henpecked Husband: He's rather put-upon by his wife, and it drives him to murder.

Miss Hearing Aid

The Sculptress

Played By: Jesslyn Fax

• Cool Old Lady: She seems a bit middle-aged, yet is very creative and kindly.
• Nice Girl: Given from what we know about her, she is protective of the dog and courteous.

The Newlyweds

The Newlyweds

Played By: Rand Harper and Havis Davenport

• Bridal Carry: They're in the apartment but the husband does this after the wedding is completed.
• Insatiable Newlyweds: Kissing and kissing, they're practically the only neighbors that kept their shades down for a good reason.
• Unable to Support a Wife: To the Missus's chagrin, her husband quit his job around the time of the wedding.

Miss Torso

Miss Torso

Played By: Georgine Darcy

• Big Eater: She's referred to as the "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry" girl. She's first seen practicing her dancing while munching on a chicken leg from the fridge.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Her concern for the dog and its owners and her love for Stanley show her a sweetheart.

• Huge Girl, Tiny Guy: Her boyfriend is shorter than her.
• Ms. Fanservice: Practices her dancing in her bra and panties and shows off her legs.
• Really Gets Around: Jeff seems to think so.
  Jeff: She's like a queen bee with her pick of the drones.
• Shaking the Rump: During one of her many instances of fanservice, she bends over to get something out of her refrigerator and shakes her butt back and forth while Jeff looks on.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl: It's a heatwave, why shouldn't she wear skimpy outfits in her apartment?
• Toplessness from the Back: While she's getting dressed in the morning, Jeff gets a glimpse of her bare back before she puts on her bra. Notably, this is often cited as the first shot of a topless woman in an American film.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: She is devoted to a shlubby army boyfriend.

Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts

Played By: Judith Evelyn

• Driven to Suicide: Had she not been entranced by the songwriter's score, she would've succeeded.
• Fire-Forged Friends: As explained above in Driven to Suicide and likely met up with the Songwriter while out in the courtyard after witnessing Jeff and Thorwald fighting.
• Lady Drunk: She often drinks alcohol alone to drown her sorrows.
• Old Maid: To her chagrin, she's over 35 and unmarried.
• Redhead In Green: Wears green a lot which goes well with her auburn hair.

The Couple with the Dog

The Couple with the Dog

Played By: Frank Cady and Sara Berner

• Beware the Nice Ones: They are a couple that didn't bother anyone and loved their dog, but when the dog was killed, the Wife soon delivers a scathing speech directed at her neighbors.
• Broken Tears: The Wife has this when the dog is discovered dead.
• Closer to Earth: Averted. The Husband seems the more calmer half of the couple, aside from an argument while they were moving the mattress inside their apartment.
• Happily Married: In great contrast with the Thorwalds.
• Heroic Dog: The little dog was the only one aside from Jeff, Lisa, and Stella to suspect something wrong with that flower bed....
• MacGyvering: They use a rope and a basket as an elevator for their dog.
• Pink Girl, Blue Boy: She wears some pinks while he's seen in blue.
• Precious Puppy: Practically a child for the couple and small enough to fit into the basket they lower down for him.
• Quirky Curls: Likely a perm, but the wife has a curly Lucy Ricardo-like hairdo that fits the quirky activities of her and her husband what with sleeping on the fire escape and making an elevator for their dog.

The Songwriter

The Songwriter

Played By: Ross Bagdasarian Sr.

• Everyone Calls Him Bar Keep: He's a songwriter and called "The Songwriter".
• Fire-Forged Friends: After his music saves her from attempting suicide and after the chaos of the confrontation between Jeff and Thorwald, he befriends Miss Lonelyhearts.
• Singer-Songwriter: He writes songs, but sings "Lisa" at the end of the film.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: One scene shows the songwriter stripped down to his boxer shorts while doing some cleaning.

Anna Thorwald

Anna Thorwald

Played By: Irene Winston

• Asshole Victim: She's a jerkass from what we see of her, so the audience doesn't have to feel too upset by the prospect of her being murdered.
• Jerkass: We don't see much of her, but what we do see isn't pleasant. She throws away a flower her husband gives her with her dinner, and when she overhears a phone conversation with her husband and (what is implied to be) his mistress, rather than get angry or sad, she laughs at him.

Sunbathers

The Sunbathers

Played by: Sue Casey and Jonni Paris (both uncredited)

• Naked People Are Funny: They are sunbathing naked (albeit with a Scenery Censor) on the roof when a helicopter flies over, with the wind blowing their discarded clothes away right as they're trying to keep the pilot from looking at them.
• Out of Focus: They're only seen in the opening scene, as Jeff mainly focuses on spying on people who live on lower floors.

The Family

The Family

Played by: Three unknown actors

• Out of Focus: The family (two parents and a young girl) only have a few seconds of screen time, as a single Tracking Shot passes over them and when the parents listen to the woman on the fire escape yelling about her dead dog. While they live on the other side of the courtyard than Thorwald, Miss Torso, and the other more prominent neighbors, it's also subtly implied that Jeff prefers spying on people who conform with his negative opinions about marriage.

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