Rear Window and Three O'Clock

Rating:
Summary: Two of Woolrich's best short stories on tape
Review: Cornell Woolrich made his reputation writing short stories for the pulp magazines in the '30s and '40s. The two stories selected for the Audiotape presentation here are among his best. Keir Dullea does a wonderful job in bringing the stories to life and bringing out all the drama and suspense inherent in them.

"Rear Window" is the short story that formed the basis for Alfred Hitchcock's film of the same name. It is interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two (for example, Woolrich's protagonist remains relatively unknown to us, while we learn much about Hitchcock's version of him).

"Three O'Clock" is probably the best of the over 200 stories that Woolrich wrote. This is the noir story of a man who wants to kill his wife, even though he has no reason to. We are put into the skin of this man as he makes his preparations, and is ultimately trapped in his own machinations when an unforeseen circumstance places him across the room from the activated bomb, but unable to do anything to stop his destruction. We feel his mounting desperation and terror as 3:00, the time the bomb is set to explode, nears and he tries to somehow stop it.

Dullea's performance on both stories brings out the despair, the suspense, the excitement, that lie in the original stories for both. These audiotapes more ressemble the best of classic Old Time Radio theatre dramas than books-on-tape. It is hard to imagine better adaptations.

Rating:
Summary: Two of Woolrich's best short stories on tape
Review: Cornell Woolrich made his reputation writing short stories for the pulp magazines in the '30s and '40s. The two stories selected for the Audiotape presentation here are among his best. Keir Dullea does a wonderful job in bringing the stories to life and bringing out all the drama and suspense inherent in them.

"Rear Window" is the short story that formed the basis for Alfred Hitchcock's film of the same name. It is interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two (for example, Woolrich's protagonist remains relatively unknown to us, while we learn much about Hitchcock's version of him).

"Three O'Clock" is probably the best of the over 200 stories that Woolrich wrote. This is the noir story of a man who wants to kill his wife, even though he has no reason to. We are put into the skin of this man as he makes his preparations, and is ultimately trapped in his own machinations when an unforeseen circumstance places him across the room from the activated bomb, but unable to do anything to stop his destruction. We feel his mounting desperation and terror as 3:00, the time the bomb is set to explode, nears and he tries to somehow stop it.

Dullea's performance on both stories brings out the despair, the suspense, the excitement, that lie in the original stories for both. These audiotapes more ressemble the best of classic Old Time Radio theatre dramas than books-on-tape. It is hard to imagine better adaptations.

Rating:
Summary: Old Fashioned Entertaining Mysteries
Review: Sometimes it's fun to go back 50 or 60 years for some good, clean, non-violent fun, and these two stories fit the bill. "Rear Window" was famously adapted for the screen by Alfred Hitchcock--a mark of his genius is that he turned the hero's elderly "houseman" into Grace Kelly for the screen! "Three O'Clock" is a very well done psychological thriller--no matter that the story line is highly improbable.Why doesn't the wife report the burglary? And the answer to the mystery--it just never would have happened that way in real life. But never mind--this is not great literature, just entertaining listening, just the right length for a car journey.

Rating:
Summary: Old Fashioned Entertaining Mysteries
Review: Sometimes it's fun to go back 50 or 60 years for some good, clean, non-violent fun, and these two stories fit the bill. "Rear Window" was famously adapted for the screen by Alfred Hitchcock--a mark of his genius is that he turned the hero's elderly "houseman" into Grace Kelly for the screen! "Three O'Clock" is a very well done psychological thriller--no matter that the story line is highly improbable.Why doesn't the wife report the burglary? And the answer to the mystery--it just never would have happened that way in real life. But never mind--this is not great literature, just entertaining listening, just the right length for a car journey.