Edmond Town Hall Theater, 45 Main Street, will screen Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) on Thursday, September 29, at 1 and 7 pm. The special screenings, part of the ongoing Classic Cinema Series, are being presented by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission.

Tickets are $2, and donations for theater improvements will also be accepted.

"One important change we're making with this film screening," says Jen Rogers, the Cinema Series coordinator, "is that the matinee will be screened with subtitles for the benefit of deaf and hearing impaired patrons.

"I personally know several people who don't to go to the movies because they cannot hear the dialogue to follow the story," she added. "We don't want to exclude anyone who would like to enjoy these classic films, so from now on, we'll offer one screening with subtitles, if available."

The Chankow family is sponsoring this month's screenings.

"Rear Window was re-released in theaters in the early 1980s and that was the first time I saw it," says Susan Chanko. "I just remember loving the suspense! Before seeing it, I thought I didn't like 'scary' movies but I never realized how great a suspenseful movie could be. And seeing it on the big screen made the movie even better!

"Rear Window is a great introduction to Alfred Hitchcock, and the beautiful and glamorous Grace Kelly is the icing on the cake," she added.

Based on a short story by Cornell Woolrich, Rear Window takes place in the New York apartment of L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries (James Stewart) who has been trapped for weeks while laid up with a broken leg in a full leg cast. A photojournalist, he has all the tools he needs to peer closely into his fellow tenant's lives, in fact he's become an avid voyeur.

Focusing on what's going on "out there" helps him avoid dealing with his own problems.

Lisa (Grace Kelly), his "too perfect" girlfriend, chides Jeff about his nosiness (partly because she wants his attention). Jeff's observant visiting nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) is quick to advise that peeping could land him six months in the work house.

"What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change," she tells him.

Though Jeff has never met his neighbors, the longer he looks, the more familiar they become: the flirtatious "Miss Torso," who limbers up in skimpy outfits; "Miss Lonelyheart," who aches for a nice guy; the struggling composer; the upstairs couple with their little dog; and the salesman (Raymond Burr) across the courtyard whose wife suspiciously disappears one night.

Hitchcock's direction is masterful in building suspense throughout the film, culminating in a thrilling seat-gripping climax.

Rear Window was painstakingly restored from the original master, and will be shown in high definition, so Grace Kelly's entry, for instance, is breathtaking. The original film negative, which was used to make hundreds of distribution copies, was in considerably deteriorated by the early '60s, so it was quite a challenge for preservation experts. The yellow image dyes were barely detectable, so a new restoration technique had to be developed just for this film.

Upcoming on the Classic Cinema Series schedule is a double feature on October 30, with Bela Lugosi featured in both Dracula and Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein;  Scorsese's The Last Waltz on November 17; and White Christmas on December 18.

Visit newtownartscommission.org/sunday-cinema-series for show times.

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