Rear Windowis a 1954 American suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock , written by John Michael Hayes and based on Cornell Woolrich 's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures , the film stars James Stewart , Grace Kelly , Wendell Corey , and Thelma Ritter .

The film is considered by many filmgoers, critics and scholars to be one of Hitchcock's best.The film received four Academy Award nominations and was ranked #42 on AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies list and #48 on the 10th-anniversary edition . In 1997,Rear Windowwas added to the United States National Film Registry .