jeff's attention is concentrated on an apartment we have not seen before. this belongs to a single woman, about forty years of age. she lives alone. her apartment is below that of the salesman with the invalid wife.
a nearer view show us a more intimate picture of the woman jeff is concentrating on. she is thin and unattractive. at the moment, she is putting on her make-up in front of the bedroom mirror. she gives a half turn and picks up a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, which she puts on, and leans nearer to her mirror. she picks up a lipstick and proceeds to paint her lips carefully.
having finished her drink, the lonesome woman pours herself another one. then she starts to take a sip, smiling across the table at her imaginary guest. she lowers the glass onto the table. the smile fades from her face as her head drops. suddenly she buries her head in her arms over the table and starts to sob.
the salesman's apartment. we see both the living room and the bedroom. the salesman has prepared a dinner tray, and is carrying it from the kitchen, through the lining room, into the bedroom. he places it on the lap of his wife, sitting up in bed. he puts a couple of pillows behind her back to make her more comfortable.
through the studio window of the song-writer's apartment we see the man at work again on his original melody, and he is farther along the line of the melody than before.
the camera slowly sweeps over the various apartments with an odd window lit here and there. in the distant street there is still some traffic passing, with one or two pedestrians going by. the camera completes its sweep, and starts to move back again. somewhere a dog howls. the panning camera comes to a sudden halt.
the street corner, lighted by a lamp, is deserted. a moment later, the salesman, still carrying the suitcase, moves diagonally across the corner, head down against the rain.
the salesman is again leaving his apartment with his aluminum suitcase.
a brief moment or two. then the salesman, carrying his aluminum case, crosses the street.
the street is deserted. at the right hand side of the screen a light goes on. the camera pans over and we see that miss torso has returned from her date. she is wearing a three- quarter length coat over her evening dress. she is inside, with the door two-thirds closed, but she leans out to kiss someone goodnight. then it takes some coaxing to get the door completely closed.
the little dog emerges reluctantly from the shadows, and steps into the basket. it begins to move upward, and the camera follows it. when the basket reaches the fire escape, the camera pans on to the apartment of miss torso. she is in the bathroom brushing her long hair, while her thoughts seem to be far away.
the salesman's apartment, just as we saw it a moment ago. the shades drawn and lights out in the bedroom, the shade up and lights on in the living room and kitchen. still no one in sight.
miss torso is lying, face down, on her divan bed. the only light in the apartment is from a reading lamp. she is reading a book held in one hand, while eating a sandwich in another.
at last the salesman is seen coming along the corridor.
as seen though the binoculars, the salesman comes out of the bedroom, to the kitchen, where he gets a carving knife. he turns around and goes back to the bedroom.
the shades in the bedroom are now up. both beds are empty, and stripped of their linen, the mattresses thrown up over the end of the beds. the salesman, sweating heavily, stands over a large, square trunk in the center of the room. it is stoutly bound by the heavy rope we previously saw him bring into the apartment. he wipes one forearm across his brow, and then heads for the kitchen. in the kitchen, he produces a bottle, pours himself two or three straight drinks, then leans with a display of exhaustion against the kitchen sink.
the lights are out in thorwald's bedroom, and thorwald is in the act of pouring himself out a drink in the living room. he comes to the window, glass in hand, and looks down into the garden, nonchalantly. over this, we hear lisa's voice, questioningly:
thorwald is standing at the window with his drink in his hand. then he turns, puts his unfinished drink down on a table, and goes to the door. he puts the light out in the living room and goes out the door. he walks briskly down the corridor.
the party at the song-writer's has grow considerably larger. an assortment of well-dressed people have now crowded into the studio. they are drinking, eating, etc. at the moment, a number of them are crowded around the piano, listening to the composer's newest song -- which isn't quite completed. however, the melody has become more beautiful than ever. during the following scene, we hear the melody being played a number of different ways on the piano.
the window of thorwald's apartment, completely dark.
miss torso's apartment has the door closed, and all that we can see of her, as she is lying on the divan, is her legs swinging in arcs as she exercise to record music.
a light has gone on in miss lonely hearts' apartment.
thorwald's apartment. it is dark. the only light that can be seen in it is the glowing end of a cigar in the center of the room, back from the window -- as if thorwald was sitting quietly on his sofa, smoking.
thorwald's apartment. still dark, and only the unmoving glow of a cigar showing in the center of the apartment.
thorwald, in the bedroom, methodically folding a suit into a suitcase. another suitcase, unopened, is visible.
lisa approaches the door of thorwald's apartment. the salesman comes into the living room. he finds a package of cigarettes, extracts one, and lights it. lisa kneels down, and carefully slides the letter under the door.
as thorwald dashes down the corridor, we hear jeff's voice. he cries out instinctively, but almost to himself:
lisa suddenly appears at the ground floor door below thorwald's. she hides, pressing back against the wall tensely. in the corridor above, thorwald returns, frustrated. he comes out onto the fire escape directly above lisa. she is aware of him, and immediately retreats into the doorway. she disappears down the lower corridor, as thorwald searches his fire escape.
thorwald is now passing through the living room into the bedroom. he picks up a shirt and puts it on. he then returns to packing his suitcases, moving unhurriedly.
thorwald's apartment. he comes out of the bedroom toward the phone. he wears a light summer coat and tie, despite the heat. in the bedroom, everything is packed with the exception of one open suitcase. we see another suitcase, his sample case, and a couple of topcoats across the bed. he approaches the phone hesitantly, undecided whether or not to answer it.
lisa has climbed over the wall and is helping stella down into thorwald's yard. the shovel is lying on the ground beside lisa. jeff's conversation continues over the action of the two women.
in the songwriter's apartment, several of his musician friends have gathered. one plays a guitar, another a clarinet, and so on. one by one they try out the theme of the songwriter's new melody, running through it in turn to become familiar with the notes. we, therefore, hear the melody played informally in different ways with different instruments.
stella is busy, expertly handling the shovel. lisa has her back to the nurse, but looks apprehensively over her shoulder. she then looks up toward jeff's apartment.
miss lonely hearts is sitting on the sofa, writing a note with a pad on her knee. next to her, on the table, the pills are still in evidence.
lisa glances up to thorwald's apartment. she turns and gestures some instructions to stella. then she looks up at jeff and gestures her intention to enter thorwald's apartment. she turns and dashes toward thorwald's fire escape as stella makes a fruitless grab to restrain her.
while lisa starts up the fire escape, we see stella running toward the wall in the foreground to climb over it. stella has abandoned the shovel and left the flowers and dirt strewn over the walk.
lisa climbs the fire escape to the second floor and the outside of thorwald's apartment.
lisa has dropped the bag on the bed and is now looking around the bedroom, looking for some place to start searching for the jewelry. she moves quickly to the dresser and begins opening the drawers to check them.
a quick flash of the song-writer's apartment, and his musical group gathered around the piano.
thorwald at the door, unlocking it with his key. we see that lisa has heard the sound, and looks toward the door, all but frozen with alarm. the policeman on the phone repeats with studied irritation:
thorwald crosses the living room, and goes into the bedroom. suddenly he looks onto the bed. he picks up the open alligator handbag. he turns, facing the window, looking down at the bag. he looks up in the direction of the living room. then suddenly his whole frame stiffens, his head turns a little further around to his right. he is looking directly at lisa who is out of our sight in the corner of the bedroom. he holds out the bag, and without moving, starts to question the unseen lisa. he takes a little step forward, and his head begins to turn slightly to the left as lisa begins to emerge into the living room, backing away slowly. by her gestures, and nervous laughter, she appears to be offering a lame excuse for being found in his apartment.
two policemen move quickly and professionally up the corridor toward thorwald's apartment. they stop at the door, listen a moment, and then push the buzzer insistently. inside the apartment, lights go on, and thorwald is in the center of the room looking toward the door. lisa staggers away from him, trying to rearrange her clothes and her hair. she is as surprised at the interruption as thorwald. he listens, looks back questioningly toward lisa, then goes to the door. he passes into the kitchen.
after a moment's hesitation, thorwald goes to the door and opens it.
thorwald is displaying indignation and complaint to the police as he nods his head vigorously toward lisa. at this the police start to advance into the apartment, going directly for lisa. she flashes a quick look toward jeff's window. she turns back as the first policeman reaches her. he starts to question her.
as thorwald's attention is drawn back to the second policeman to answer further questions, the first policeman takes lisa by the arm and leads her out of the apartment. he goes down the corridor pushing the curious people away from the door.
thorwald's apartment. completely dark. no movement, or glow of a cigar. the corridor outside lighted, but empty.
miss lonely hearts is standing in the yard outside her apartment, looking up to the porch of miss torso. the ballet dancer is in high heels and a fresh summer dress.
two detectives appear behind thorwald and grab him. the startled thorwald stops his attack on jeff as he looks wildly around to find the source of his new attack.
at that moment, a man appears leaning out of jeff's window. he looks down to the patio.