User Reviews

In a great cast, Steve Guttenberg is a standout in the role of Terry Lambert, a poor schlub who is caught up in a Kafkaesque nightmare of his own doing! Terry is having an affair with the wife of his boss, the formidable Collin Wentworth (Paul Shenar). But Sylvia, as deliciously played by Isabelle Huppert is a femme fatale all too willing to discard Terry when he becomes inconvenient to her.

The action of "The Bedroom Window" is driven by a killer on the loose, who is witnessed by Sylvia while she is in Terry's apartment. Terry tries to cover for her by identifying Carl Henderson as the perpetrator. But he botches his testimony and is made to look foolish in court by the sly defense attorney played by Wallace Shawn. The courtroom "experiment" in which Terry removes his contact lenses is hilarious.

The strength of the film is that it is character-driven, as opposed to a run-of-the-mill potboiler. Elizabeth McGovern is terrific in the role of Denise, Terry's neighbor, who was one of the victims of the psychopathic Carl. A romantic intrigue develops between Denise and Terry as they hatch a plan to entrap Carl.

The most outrageous sequence is when Denise adopts a "disguise" and lures Carl to her apartment while in a bar in the low-rent district. Through all of his blundering, Terry emerges as the lovable loser who takes on the persona of the knight in shining armor in this colorful and well-photographed thriller.

Steve Guttenberg, (Terry Lambert) plays the role as a guy who gets himself involved with a sexual romance with his boss's wife and while they are making out in bed, there is a scream from a woman outside their window. The woman goes to the window naked and observes a woman being attacked and identifies the rapist and tells her lover all about it. Terry decides to report the incident to the police and says that he observed the entire sexual assault because he doesn't want his boss to find out about his affair with his wife. Elizabeth McGovern, (Denise) is the woman who is attacked and she gets herself deeply involved with Terry Lambert and she even goes to bed with him. There is plenty of twists and turns to this mystery and I cannot go into more details without giving away some very dark secrets to this film. This is a good film and well worth spending your time to watch. Enjoy.

Baltimore architect Steve Guttenberg (as Terrance "Terry" Lambert) quickly hides a former bedmate's bra to prepare for a sexual visit from French blonde Isabelle Huppert (as Sylvia), who happens to be his boss' wife. The risky encounter is satisfying for both players. After copulating, Mr. Guttenberg shows off his buttocks while rising to visit the bathroom. Upon hearing a scream from outside the window, Ms. Huppert likewise shows her cheeky behind. The scream turns out to be barmaid Elizabeth McGovern (as Denise Connelly), assaulted by red-haired rapist-murderer Brad Greenquist (as Chris Henderson)...

Through "The Bedroom Window", Huppert gets a good look at the perpetrator. But she cannot go to the police because husband Paul Shenar (as Collin Wentworth) would discover her affair with Guttenberg. To solve the problem and help catch the criminal, they decide Guttenberg will claim he saw the attack and gives the police Huppert's description. Of course, things don't go according to plan...

This is an enjoyable homage to Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window" (1954) and others, with director Curtis Hanson, photographer Gilbert Taylor and Guttenberg contributing great flair. The segment visualizing Guttenberg's hearsay description of a murder could have been dropped, and the courtroom sequence reconsidered - but a few missteps do not detract from "The Bedroom Window" being a consistently engaging, entertaining and occasionally exciting thriller.

******* The Bedroom Window (1/16/87) Curtis Hanson ~ Steve Guttenberg, Elizabeth McGovern, Isabelle Huppert, Brad Greenquist

"The Bedroom Window" is an entertaining and well paced psychological thriller that's intriguing throughout and also successful in generating moments of real tension, especially towards the latter part of the film. Made ten years before Curtis Hanson's best movie (L.A.Confidential), this offering is distinctly Hitchcockian with components such as "the wrong man theme", "the disguise motif" and similarities to "Rear Window" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much". The plot contains a number of interesting twists and Hanson (who also wrote the screenplay based on Anne Holden's novel "The Witnesses") directs the action with great skill and subtlety and in the process creates a rather ominous atmosphere.

Baltimore businessman Terry Lambert (Steve Guttenberg) is having an affair with Sylvia Wentworth (Isabelle Huppert) who happens to be his boss' wife. One night after a company party, they go to Terry's apartment together and sometime during the early hours of the morning, Terry goes to the bathroom and Sylvia is attracted to the window when she hears screams outside. She sees a young woman being attacked by a red haired man who runs away as soon as he realises that he's being watched.

When the couple learn that another woman has been attacked and murdered a short distance away, they want to tell the police what they saw in the hope that the culprit will be arrested. Sylvia, however, doesn't want to be directly involved because doing so would threaten her marriage and jeopardise Terry's job.

Terry decides to report what they know to the police and pretends that he'd seen the attack. After giving a statement, he attends a line-up of apparent suspects but is unable to make an accurate identification for obvious reasons. At the line-up, the victim of the attack, Denise (Elizabeth McGovern), is also unable to identify her attacker. Terry's convinced from Sylvia's description that the attacker is a man called Henderson (Brad Greenquist) who he then starts to follow and keep under surveillance.

Later, when Henderson is brought to trial, his defence attorney easily discredits Terry's testimony and because he is being prompted in court by Sylvia, it becomes clear to both Henderson and Denise that Terry didn't actually witness the attack. Henderson is acquitted and it isn't long before Terry becomes the police's new suspect. He then joins forces with Denise who believes in his innocence and together they embark on a plan to prove the guilt of the real killer.

Terry seems confident and capable in his workplace and is a good natured guy who's anxious to do the right thing. He's also incredibly naive as he underestimates the professionalism of the police and the defence attorney and repeatedly gets out of his depth and puts himself in great danger. Steve Guttenberg conveys his character's gullibility convincingly and frequently looks as if he doesn't understand the seriousness of what's happening or the level of danger to which he's exposing himself.

Sylvia is a cold character whose only concerns are to look after her own interests and Isabelle Huppert looks suitably controlled and calculating in her role. Elizabeth McGovern is particularly good in portraying Denise's amusing combination of toughness and warmth as she falls for Terry and also takes part in a very dangerous scheme to reel in the killer.

Ultimately this is an enjoyable movie with a great set up, a number of nice twists and a good deal of suspense.

Nice guy architect Terry Lambert (a solid and likable performance by Steve Guttenberg) has a steamy fling with his boss' sultry wife Sylvia Wentworth (finely played with classy sexiness by the ravishing Isabelle Huppert). Sylvia witnesses vicious predatory rapist/killer Carl Henderson (a genuinely creepy portrayal by Brad Greenquist, who conveys a sense of real chilling menace although he barely speaks throughout most of movie) attacking his latest victim while looking outside the window of Terry's apartment. Terry decides to cover for Sylvia and tells the police he saw the assault. After his testimony falls apart in court, Terry finds himself being tailed by the cops as a possible murder suspect. Writer/director Curtis Hanson expertly crafts a taut, absorbing, and stylish thriller which moves along at a steady pace, builds a good deal of suspense, and offers a pleasingly twisty narrative which becomes more increasingly complicated as it unfolds. This film further benefits from sturdy acting from a capable cast: the delightful Elizabeth McGovern adds considerable charm and panache as spunky and appealing near victim Denise, Paul Shenar is totally credible as smooth CEO Collin Wentworth, Carl Lumbly and Frederick Coffin are excellent as the two no-nonsense detectives on the case, and Wallace Shawn contributes a stand-out turn as Henderson's shrewd and smug lawyer. Popping up in nifty bits are Maury Chaykin as a lecherous pool player, Leon Rippy as a seedy bartender, and Mark Margolis as a jerk in a phone booth. Gil Taylor's glossy cinematography gives the picture an attractive slick look. The moody score by Michael Shrieve and Patrick Gleeson never becomes too overbearing or obtrusive. The last third with Perry and Denise setting up a trap for Henderson is quite tense and exciting. While not always plausible and full of plot contrivances, this movie nonetheless still sizes up as a very satisfying and entertaining item.

An innocent man (Steve Guttenberg) has a one-night stand with his boss's wife (Isabelle Huppert). She spots a woman (Elizabeth McGovern) being attacked outside but she can't call the cops because it would blow her marriage to Gutenberg's boss (Paul Shenar). So Guttenberg, honest citizen that he is, when he discovers that another woman was attacked and killed nearby only half an hour later, comes forward and claims to have witnessed the first attack, merely intending to pass on the information given to him by Huppert. Well -- never bear false witness against thy neighbor, as they say.

This simple attempt to help the police nab a murderer turns rapidly twisted. When he meets the first near-victim, McGovern, she immediately twigs to what happened, but agrees to keep quiet for the moment. But then Guttenberg finds himself in court, supposed to identify the heavy (Greenquist) and we discover through cross-examination that he is NEAR-SIGHTED and can't identify objects at a distance, let alone faces. (Not that it matters because, after all, he never saw the creep in the first place.) The plot gets practically labyrinthine. Guttenberg winds up the chief suspect when Huppert is murdered too.

He barely escapes arrest and holes up with the now-sympathetic McGovern. Guttenberg and McGovern hatch a plan to trap the murderer. She will serve as bait. They'll follow the flagitious creep into one of his seedy haunt and McGovern will act like the doxy that the murderer is attracted to, just to get him to try to kill her. But everything will be okay, see, because not only will Guttenberg keep a close watch on her, and not only will he alert the police a few minutes after she enters this dive, but she will keep a can of mace handy -- just in case.

I ask you, the alert viewer, does this scenario unfold as planned? Elizabeth McGovern has a quirkily interesting bone structure. She seems all mandible and tiny mouth at times, but she's vibrant. Steve Guttenberg has hair on his brawn and that's about it. Otherwise he's as helpless as the character he plays. If Isabelle Huppert can act, it isn't evident in this film. The killer is so formed and so groomed that he looks like he's wearing one of those masks of deformity in that Twilight Zone episode about greedy heirs.

Didn't the director, Curtis Hanson, go on to make "L.A. Confidential"? That was a nicely done piece of work. Here, everything seems clumsy and contrived, down to the small bit parts. Just before the inevitable violent climax, a uniformed police officer is introduced to delay McGovern's rescue, and the scene is embarrassing to watch. Dick Olsen has a bit part as a late shopper. He's a neat guy and always reliable. Paul Shenar as the cuckolded hubby has a striking face that seems made for the stage and he does a fine job too.

That louche joint where McGovern attracts the attention of the murderer, where she plays pool with a couple of hairy apes, was shot at a bar in Carolina Beach, in North Carolina, not far from where I lived. The way the interior is set up, it's clear that this is supposed to be a dangerous and dirty dive. Actually it appears rather more elegant on screen than it did in reality.

Overall, this is Hitchcock territory and it brings tears to the eyes to imagine what he would have done with this story.

My review was written in December 1986 after watching the film at a Manhattan screening room.

"The Bedroom Window" is a thriller with an interesting premise and competent execution but lacking that pzazz which made its Alfred Hitchcok models such enduring hits. Credit filmmaker Curtis Hanson with avoiding the urge to directly ape the master but overall pic is less than riveting entertainment.

Cast against type, Steve Guttenberg plays a malleable young executive carrying on an affair with his boss' wife, the sexy Sylvia (Isabelle Huppert). During a tryst at Guttenberg's apartment one night after a party, Huppert, looking out the bedroom window, sees a girl (Elizabeth McGovern) being assaulted outside. Fearing complications with her husband, Huppert does not come forward as a witness, but civic-minded Guttenberg agrees to help the police, pretending that he witnessed the assault. He's coached by Huppert on details of what she saw and what the suspect looked like.

Because of the inconsistencies in his story and some guilty-seeming behavior, Guttenberg ultimately becomes a suspect in the rash of rape and murder cased, forcing him to prove who the real killer is. Of course, Guttenberg eventually becomes involved with McGoven, even using her as a willing decoy to trap the killer.

Hanson's screenplay involves several ingenious plot twists, notably a courtroom hearing in which the defense attorney (Wallace Shawn, surprisingly cast in a non-comedy role) totally destroys Guttenberg's credibility as a witness, allowing the killer to go free.

Structurally, Huppert carries the first half of the film, replaced by McGovern in the final reels, and both actresses are alluring and mysterious in keeping the piece suspenseful. The killer's identity is revealed very early on, but Guttenberg's behavior and too-good-to-be-true image help to keep the viewer guessing concerning his own possible involvement in wrongdoing. Unfortunately, a lot of coincidences and just plain stupid ations by Guttenberg are relied upon to keep the pot boiling.

Tech credits are impressive, though there is one repeated gaffe, as the building name where Guttenberg works is misspelled Wentworth Developement Corporation" onscreen consistently.

The bedroom window is a brilliant Hitchcock style thriller.Brad Greenquist is excellent as Henderson.He has an innocent look with some of his expressions that can make other people think that he doesn't look like the kind of person who would kill,but he quietly gives terrifying looks as well.It is amazing that he hardly speaks in the film,and yet gives such a powerful performance.I liked his look in the film,with his red hair and pale skin.I would like to see more of Brad's films,as this is the only film i have seen him in so far. Steve Guttenberg also gives a good performance as Terry Lambert.Elizabeth McGovern gives a very emotional performance as the victim,Denise,and Isabelle Hubert plays Terry's lover,Silvia,very well too.

* SPOILER *

I haven't seen many thrillers,especially in recent films,where there hasn't been any graphic,gory,and violent scenes to show the killings.There are no scenes like that in this film,it just mentions the killings but doesn't actually show them.The only killing it shows is of sylvia,but you only see her after she has been killed.The film is just full of suspense.I love that it is an old fashioned style thriller too.I think its much better than other thrillers that are around today.I don't think thrillers need to be graphic and violent. I also love the soundtrack to this film.I haven't seen it available to buy anywhere.I would love to buy it

I give this film 10/10 for amazing performances from superb actors,an interesting story and a great soundtrack

Warning do not read unless seen the film.

Doing the right thing isn't always as clear as day; sometimes we can mistakenly think we're are but inadvertently make things worse than better, and little knowing were just putting ourselves in more danger. This is one of my favorite suspense thrillers and neo noirs of all time and it's one that is under the radar. Curtis Hanson is one of my favorite suspense thriller directors and I feel a slightly underrated one, this film was his debut as it was a passion project from him and in my book it's my favorite film from him.

I really like the plotline which is pretty much your Hitchcock like plotline but I like that showing the legacy of him lives on, but most importantly the fact that's it's actually a good story told and this really is. It's true that this kind of plot most likely wouldn't happen in real life but same can be said about most other plots in suspense thriller, but it's the story and suspense in them that really matters and depending on how much it draws us in, we easily suspend our disbelief and feel like what happening in the film could happen.

I feel the story is well structured as it's a romance thriller but one that is done right because it maintains that balance of actually being both. Where the fundamental problem with most romance thrillers are their too much of one but never enough of the other. There are the occasional twists and turns but their done right because they each make sense as they keep themselves simple and consistent. Unlike certain serialized shows like "Once Upon a Time" (seasons 6 and 7 to be exact) have this stupid need to keep producing twist after twist or subplot after subplot to the point where you and the story become completely lost because certain details and new details presented don't all add up together.

The suspense is great there are the close shaves, nervous situations and even some excitement like Terry jacks a Police Car and making a getaway but also trying to get to where he needs to be on time, which I'll admit put me on the edge of my seat hopping he'll make it. It's also thought provoking and intriguing as we're all in the same boat as both protagonists Derek and Denise are slowly but surely uncovering the truth as to what in the heck is going on and how it all ties in to the big picture. But to me what also makes the film are the characters and the romance going on along the way.

Steven Gutenberg an underrated actor does great in his role, other than the "Police Academy" films this is my favorite film from him. Terry like most protagonists in the suspense thriller is a good-natured guy that seems to have a lot going for him and has lots of ambitions throughout life. He's has lots of charisma which makes him a likeable guy I could easily be friends with. I can sort of emphasize a little with him as he is a person that really does want to be in love, to have the one in his life. He's also a guy that isn't looking for trouble but unfortunately this is a rare case where he actually got himself into it and now he has to get himself out.

Another character I really like is Denise played well by underrated actress Elizabeth McGovern whom I'll admit had a little crush on as she lovely and kind of hot in a down to Earth sense. This character I really like because for one thing she's my type as she's a person that has this aggressiveness, fire and feistiness in her. She's the kind of person that isn't going to sit down and take things as they are, she does something about it.

Which is part of why both of them not just make a good team in solving the case, but also part of why both really are a better match together. Which is cool as I always like romantic danger duos as they always have the best chemistry let alone get the job done; these duos were actually were a big thing in the 80's with TV shows like "Moonlighting", "Hart to Hart", anime series "Macross" etc. There is a love triangle going on as Terry has two women in his life Denise and Sylvia (Isabelle Huppert) whom is also a lovely woman, though it's not quite a love triangle because we kind of already know the answer as to who he should be with, but the suspense is in the when.

One of the themes about the film is about dreams and reality. Like with most protagonists in suspense thriller Terry has an Achilles heel, the problem with him is that he's slightly naïve. He has some of the wrong idea/s about romance and what real love is much as a teenager can sometimes, which makes him a tad on the foolish side.

Obviously one of the delusions is being a hero for the one he loves. Nothing wrong with that as long at the execution is correct. Terry concoct this plan in both doing the right thing but also to cover up her affair with him at the same time. It seems simple on paper but of course reality catches up to Terry as his scam is getting unraveled. At that point Terry begins to realize he may 'be in over his head, that he might have made a bit mistake as an old saying goes good deeds don't go unpunished.

He starts to get a bit disillusioned about his relationship with Sylvia which he realizes isn't that good to begin with. Not that she's a bad person but she's really not all that great, she is cheating on her husband after all which isn't ok. She does care about Terry but not nearly enough, she sort of helps but not by much. We see a contrasting relationship going on with Terry and Denise. Both you do feel are right for one another because both are doing what people in a good relationship should do support and help one another though thick or thin.

Also, despite Terry's foolish scheme in a strange sense it lead him to good things from Denise but also self-growth. Terry in a way at first is almost like a teenager that is trapped in a man's body but throughout the dangerous ordeal we see him become more of a man, from taking charge and being more aggressive. Like utilizing his wits in the case, a lot harder, the fact he is an architect gives him an edge as architects are all about creating and analyzing all the details.

But also in taking charge in love, we see him actually genuinely interact with Denise and he doesn't just want to sleep with her, he wants to actually know and connect with her and as the film goes on we do see that connection get stronger, which give them an edge. Especially when one of them is in mortal danger, that connection is the very thing that will save his or her life.

Danger and desire can be as close as any romantic couple and are never far from sight.

Rating: 4 stars

The Bedroom Window is a decent thriller based on a novel by Anne Holden. This adaptation to the screen is written and directed by Curtis Hanson who, of course, would later go on to make the brilliant L.A. Confidential. The film has a fairly Hitchcockian story line, and even apes Hitchcock's favourite theme of an innocent man circumstantially framed for a crime he didn't commit. However, Hitch always went to great lengths to ensure his stories were logical (in North By Northwest, for example, he and script-writer Ernest Lehmann spent a year getting the credibility of the screenplay just right). In The Bedroom Window there are just too many plot holes, too many moments that defy plausibility, and therefore the film cannot be seriously likened in quality to a Hitchcock movie. That's not to say it doesn't have enjoyable features along the way.

Terry Lambert (Steve Guttenberg) has an affair with his boss's wife Sylvia Wentworth (Isabelle Huppert). While the pair of them are making love, they hear a disturbance outside the bedroom window. Sylvia goes to the window to see what is going on and witnesses a nasty thug assaulting a young woman. Later the same night, another woman is killed by the same thug. Terry knows that the police need to be informed about the crime but is worried that if Sylvia goes forward with her story, the truth of her sexual infidelity will get out and ruin her marriage. So, in an attempt to nail the thug but protect his lover, he tells the police that HE saw the attack. Alas, Terry's lies are quickly exposed in court and he inadvertently implicates himself as the attacker. Terry gets to know the woman who was originally assaulted outside the bedroom window, Denise Connally (Elizabeth McGovern), and she too realises that he has been lying about what saw. However, she decides that he has at least done the wrong thing for the right reasons and gives him a chance to make amends. Together they plan to trap the real thug, Carl Henderson (Brad Greenquist), by having Denise use herself as bait to lure him into a trap. But the plan is fraught with danger, and things don't go according to plan….

It is unusual to find Guttenberg is a serious role, and he struggles to shake his comic image. His mannerisms and personality seem too laid back for a guy who has been adulterous with his boss's wife, lied in court, and faces suspicion for serious crimes. The other actors fare better, despite the fact that many of their characters act and speak in a less than believable manner throughout the film. The Bedroom Window does succeed in other departments, though. Its suspense is quite nicely maintained, and veteran photographer Gilbert Taylor (of Star Wars fame) shoots the film with a nice feel for a moody night-time atmosphere. This is one of those films that is best enjoyed purely on a surface level – if you start scratching the surface, the flaws and discrepancies become rather obvious. But if you just watch it with your brain in neutral it passes the time pleasantly enough.

Start with a shaky premise, add some unlikely plot twists, some suspense, and a whole bunch of stupidity and what do you have? You have counterfeit Hitchcock. Well, at least the title is close, although The Bedroom Window (1987) is not anything near as interesting as, say, Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954).

I particularly did not like the far-fetched scheme that Terry and Denise came up with at the end to entrap the psycho. And Terry's insistence on that phone booth and only that phone booth from which to call the cops was silly and unnecessary. And his snatching of the police car, ditto.

Not to belabor the stupidities, but when only the defense attorney knows that Lambert wears contacts-not the prosecution, not Sylvia, apparently not himself, and certainly the audience wasn't clued in-then you've got Hitchcock rolling over in his grave as this very important bit of plot knowledge is exposed at the last moment. Director Curtis Hanson should know better. I hope he really did plant the contact lenses somewhere early on as Hitchcock would have, and I just missed them.

Worse offense though was making it appear even at the end of the movie that Terry still wasn't attracted to Denise, even though she was throwing herself at him. Shame on you, Curtis Hanson. Hitchcock would never do that. Not only don't you resolve your subplot, you offend those in your audience who identified with your heroine.

Nonetheless this is not a bad movie. Steve Guttenberg, while no James Stewart (or Cary Grant, for that matter) is agreeable as Terry Lambert, a kind of benign ladies man who seduces his boss's wife, Sylvia, played by the delicate French beauty, Isabelle Huppert. He learns that she was the wrong girl. The right girl is of course Elizabeth McGovern (Denise) although I would prefer it the other way around.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)