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:

Trial | Bank | Brother Brother Relationship | Broken Mirror | Inn

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:

UK:PG (1988) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | 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:

According to Book "It’s only a movie", Hitchcock asked John Michael Hayes to work on the treatment and screenplay of The Wrong Man, also without a fee, but for a percentage of the profits. Hayes declined, and their four-picture relationship ended.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: 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 Serenity (2005)

A Very Sad Drama Based on a True Story

In New York, the Catholic Italian musician of the Stork Club Christopher Emanuel "Manny" Balestrero (Henry Fonda) is a simple man, married with his beloved wife Rose (Vera Miles) and having two sons. On 14 January 1953, his wife needs an expensive teeth treatment, and Manny goes to the insurance company, trying to raise a loan. However, he is wrongly identified by a clerk as the man who robbed the place twice, being arrested and sent to jail. His friends pay the bail and he tries to prove his innocence. Meanwhile, Rose has a nervous breakdown, caused by her mistrust on his innocence, and is sent to an institution for treatment.

"The Wrong Man" is a very sad and touching story of the injustice against an innocent man, affecting the health of his family. Henry Fonda is amazing in the role of an ordinary man, who accepts passively the situations, believing on God and praying for strength and justice. Vera Miles is fantastic in the role of a wife who believe she has part of the guilty for the action of her beloved husband. This movie was filmed in many authentic locations, and is a very different work of Alfred Hitchcock. Maybe due to the theme be so serious, Hitchcock appears only introducing of the story, and does not have any other small participations as he usually does in his movies. The black and white photography, with shadows, and the score of Bernard Herrmann, complete the magnificence of this great underrated movie. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Homem Errado" ("The Wrong Man")