The Wrong Man (1956)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Maxwell Anderson (novel)
Angus MacPhail (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 December 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

The police were convinced... The witnesses were positive ...Yet he was... THE WRONG MAN

Plot:

True story of an innocent man mistaken for a criminal.

Plot Keywords:

Father Son Relationship | Catholic | Grocery Store | Police Detective | Mother Son Relationship

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Christopher Emmanuel 'Manny' Balestrero
Vera Miles	...	Rose Balestrero
Anthony Quayle	...	Frank D. O'Connor
Harold J. Stone	...	Det. Lt. Bowers
John Heldabrand	...	Tomasini
Doreen Lang	...	Ann James
Norma Connolly	...	Betty Todd
Lola D'Annunzio	...	Olga Conforti, Manny's Sister
Robert Essen	...	Gregory Balestrero
Dayton Lummis	...	Judge Groat
Charles Cooper	...	Det. Matthews
Esther Minciotti	...	Mama Balestrero
Laurinda Barrett	...	Constance Willis
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Eugene 'Gene' Conforti
Kippy Campbell	...	Robert Balestrero

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:PG (1988) | UK:A (1957) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | Peru:14 | USA:Approved (PCA #18117) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue subway station, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The Victor Moore Arcade was torn down in the late 1990s as part of a project to build a new transport hub.

Goofs:

As Rose is being led up the stairs of the mental treatment facility, the shadow of someone's head appears in the bottom left corner behind the lamp. It seems as though someone walked past a bulb.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Prologue narrator: This is Alfred Hitchcock speaking. In the past, I have given you many kinds of suspense pictures. But this time, I would like you to see a different one. The difference lies in the fact that this is a true story, every word of it. And yet it contains elements that are stranger than all the fiction that has gone into many of the thrillers that I've made before.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

True story-authentic locations

Based pretty much on the actual events & people of a miscarriage of justice that took place in Queens County, New York in the early 50's. The names of most of the people who took part in the event are unchanged in the movie and the location shots where the actual events took place add a touch of dark realism to the movie. The basic plot revolves around a musician who worked at the world famous Stork Club who was mis-identified by witnesses and arrested because he resembled an armed robber. Hitchcock dwells on the slow descent into helplessness and powerlessness that a citizen endures as he wends his way through the NYC (or any other) criminal justice meat grinder. There are chilling shots of his transport , by paddy wagon, into the Ridgewood Felony court and the Long Island City House of Detention. The lawyer he hired, Frank O'Connor, (his real name) went on to become District Attorney of Queens county and was later heavily involved in the infamous Kitty Genovese case. Not your typical Hitchcock film but one well worth seeing if for no other reason than to see one of Henry Fonda's better performances as the quietly stunned Christopher Emmanuel (Manny) Balestrero who sees his life, career and family endangered by forces he has little control over.