THE WRONG MAN is a virtually forgotten Hitchcock movie, made with a relatively low budget and never spoken about compared to the director's other films from the same era: DIAL M FOR MURDER, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, etc. I never even knew it existed until I saw it on the TV schedules.
Having watched it, I can see why it's so unknown. It's played deadly straight - there's no light humour from Cary Grant-alikes or anything to soften the drama. It tells a true story, which is unusual for a Hitchcock film. There's no action, no thrills and explicit scenes of danger or excitement.
Instead, this is a tense, realistic piece of human drama about a miscarriage of justice perpetrated by the New York Police Department on an unsuspecting man. Yes, Hitchcock was very fond of the 'wrong man' type story, but this is the narrative at its most pure and undiluted, a thorough exploration of the flaws in the justice system.
Henry Fonda is outstanding as the innocent man caught up in a growing nightmare, and he's lent excellent support by both Vera Miles as his suffering wife and Anthony Quayle as his inexperienced lawyer. The tale is gripping throughout, from the first case of mistaken identity, through one of the most horrifying courtroom scenes I've ever witnessed, to the bittersweet conclusion. THE WRONG MAN is a great film - one of the director's best!
Having watched it, I can see why it's so unknown. It's played deadly straight - there's no light humour from Cary Grant-alikes or anything to soften the drama. It tells a true story, which is unusual for a Hitchcock film. There's no action, no thrills and explicit scenes of danger or excitement.
Instead, this is a tense, realistic piece of human drama about a miscarriage of justice perpetrated by the New York Police Department on an unsuspecting man. Yes, Hitchcock was very fond of the 'wrong man' type story, but this is the narrative at its most pure and undiluted, a thorough exploration of the flaws in the justice system.
Henry Fonda is outstanding as the innocent man caught up in a growing nightmare, and he's lent excellent support by both Vera Miles as his suffering wife and Anthony Quayle as his inexperienced lawyer. The tale is gripping throughout, from the first case of mistaken identity, through one of the most horrifying courtroom scenes I've ever witnessed, to the bittersweet conclusion. THE WRONG MAN is a great film - one of the director's best!