THE WRONG MAN
(1957)With Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle, Harold J. Stone, Charles Cooper
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Black and White
Reviewed by JL and JB
Certain elements of
several Hitchcock films (FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, ROPE, PSYCHO, et al)
were based on true incidents, but THE WRONG MAN was more than just
"based" on truth: its sad and powerful tale of a wrongly convicted man
(Henry Fonda) was completely faithful to the real-life events, to the
extent that Hitchcock took no dramatic license even when it might have
heightened the drama. There were few of Hitchcock's creative
visuals here; instead, the director's goal was documentary-like
realism, achieved in part by filming in the actual New York locations
where the events took place. The film was both suspenseful and
touching, a combination that succeeded largely because of Fonda's
superb performance. Made during Hitchcock's most fertile period,
it was perhaps the best of his experimental films. 
- JL
The premise is pure Hitchcock: an
average guy is accused of a crime he didn't commit. Usually,
Hitchcock will then allow such a character to run all over the world to
find the real killer, but since THE WRONG MAN is so solidly based on a
true story, Hitch concentrates on the legal process, which turns out to
be even
more of a nightmare than any of the usual wild scenarios Hitch cooks up
for
his films. THE WRONG MAN was obviously something of a pet
project for Hitchcock, and it was a box-office disappointment. It's
not really an entertaining film - nobody hanging off Lincoln's nose on
Mount Rushmore, no treks to exotic locales - but it is a minor
masterpiece, and features a beautifully understated yet
emotional performance by Henry Fonda in his only film with The Master. - JB
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Copyright © 2010 John V. Brennan, John Larrabee