18 Scripts Wannabe Screenwriters Should Read Right Now

5. Rear Window (1954)

The Script: "A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder." - IMDb What You'll Learn: Rear Window's screenplay offers up a bonafide masterclass in writing a story confined to a singular location. Screenwriter John Michael Hayes successfully builds up the relationships between his characters in the apartment where Jeffries spies on his neighbours, whilst simultaneously inching the film's central mystery closer and closer to the inevitable climax. Hayes' ensures that we learn about our characters through the circumstances occurring in the movie, which helps to tie the script together beautifully. What could have lagged is gripping. You can read John Michael Hayes' script for Rear Window here.