The Boy who cried wolf!

The Window (1949)
Another obscure film noir from the past. This time, it involves a child, a precocious child actor, Bobby Driscoll, who grew too big for his shoes too fast that he subsequently died a nobody by the street at the age of 31.
Normally, I do not really fancy child actors who are too smart alecs as it is reminded me of how Amma used to admonish us for not being assertive on our speech.
This film tells of a tween boy who is always full of tall stories that when he tells his parents that their seemingly nice neighbours actually killed a man, none of them believes this boy who cried wolf.
Of course, it is all true. Even the killers did not realise that their nefarious act had a witness. This blabber mouth boys acts of informing the police just made him a target for the killers to seal his fate.
On a fateful night when the father is out on night shift and mother is out of town to visit an ailing uncle, the killers have their chance. The boy's endeavour in dodging his assailants in a disused building forms the crux of the climax of the movie. Scenes which would normally frowned upon in today's standards made it here - like the hero dangling by the spike of the window and he jumping off three storeys to a mat.
At the time of release of this film, the concept of child witnessing a crime, being ridiculed and finally proving tp be true must have been new. This theme of story must have repeated again and again in many Disney. Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew shows!
Another interesting thing notable watching these classics are the evolution of how we lead our lives. In this movie, the children are wondering about at their free own will enjoying their childhood and learning as they go on. Adults, here, appear so hard working especially in the post WW2 era. The wife is so happy cooking, serving and appearing trim and proper. Drying clothes in the neighbourhood is on the clothes line hanging across buildings. Guess these buildings in New York would not be too friendly to their neighbourhood watchman, Spiderman!