By MARK KENNEDY
By MARK KENNEDY
Associated Press
NEW YORK — A producing team has won the theatrical stage rights to “Rear Window,” the noir tale that Alfred Hitchcock made into a classic film.
Producer Charlie Lyons, director Jay Russell and actor Tim Guinee announced Wednesday that their two-year hunt for the rights have been successful and they’re hoping to mount the show on Broadway.
“Rear Window” is based on a Cornell Woolrich short story, “It Had to Be Murder,” that was first published in February 1942 in Dime Detective Magazine.
The 1954 film version, starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, tells the story of a wheelchair-bound witness to a possible murder.
Literary agent Sheldon Abend in 1971 purchased a copyright to the short story on which “Rear Window” was based. The new producing team bought the first stage option ever granted by Abend’s trust.
Lyons has produced such films as “The Water Horse,” ”The Guardian” and “Ladder 49.” Russell directed “Ladder 49” and “My Dog Skip.” Guinee stars on NBC’s “Revolution” and Showtime’s “Homeland.”
No timetable was revealed.
“We are assembling a world-class team of artists to bring this timeless thriller to the stage.” Russell said in a statement.