I think this movie would have been universally praised if Hitchcock had used an assumed name to direct it, since a lot of the negative comments are to the effect that it is not a typical Hitchcock. And that is the case, since this is a straightforward telling of what is presented as a true story of a man falsely accused of robberies. And there is no twist at the end. However, there is some truly great work here. Consider the opening credit scenes that have Henry Fonda (as Manny Balestrero) playing the bass in a small orchestra in New York's Stork Club. At the start of the sequence there is a ballroom full of dancers and, as the credits go on, one scene morphs into another with each successive scene having fewer dancers. By the end of the credits we are down to closing time and Manny is heading home. Brilliant opening credits auguring good things to come.
The movie has some of the of the best black and white cinematography ever. Whether it is a car moving across a bridge through light and shadows or a close-up of a woman's eye peering suspiciously at us, the cinematography alone held my attention.
Fonda and Vera Miles do a great job in playing how a man and his wife react to false accusations, with Fonda playing the innocent who is trying to deal with a bad situation in a most responsible and rational manner and Miles cracking under the pressure. Fonda says a lot with his eye movements--a quick glance to the side or a disbelieving stare tell us a lot. I always wonder who gets the credit for such effective use of what movies can uniquely portray. Is it the director, the cinematographer, the art director, the actor?
For me the emotional involvement was established by considering how I would react to such a case of false accusation and arrest. And, equally importantly, how would I handle dealing with a wife buckling under the pressure. Probably not as well as the Fonda character. The backdrops are rather grungy--stark bare walls, crumbling plaster, exposed lamp cords, claustrophobic jail cells, sparsely furnished court rooms. Interesting to note that this was filmed a decade before the Miranda warning requirement. You get so used to seeing that in crime dramas that you miss it when it is not there.
The Bernard Hermann score is not as prominent as many of his are. Much of it is played on the bass; a tie-in to Manny's profession?
The movie has some of the of the best black and white cinematography ever. Whether it is a car moving across a bridge through light and shadows or a close-up of a woman's eye peering suspiciously at us, the cinematography alone held my attention.
Fonda and Vera Miles do a great job in playing how a man and his wife react to false accusations, with Fonda playing the innocent who is trying to deal with a bad situation in a most responsible and rational manner and Miles cracking under the pressure. Fonda says a lot with his eye movements--a quick glance to the side or a disbelieving stare tell us a lot. I always wonder who gets the credit for such effective use of what movies can uniquely portray. Is it the director, the cinematographer, the art director, the actor?
For me the emotional involvement was established by considering how I would react to such a case of false accusation and arrest. And, equally importantly, how would I handle dealing with a wife buckling under the pressure. Probably not as well as the Fonda character. The backdrops are rather grungy--stark bare walls, crumbling plaster, exposed lamp cords, claustrophobic jail cells, sparsely furnished court rooms. Interesting to note that this was filmed a decade before the Miranda warning requirement. You get so used to seeing that in crime dramas that you miss it when it is not there.
The Bernard Hermann score is not as prominent as many of his are. Much of it is played on the bass; a tie-in to Manny's profession?