THE WRONG MAN (1956)

A master of film and publicity, one self-defining Alfred Hitchcock quote says, ‘Some films are slices of life, mine are slices of cake.‘  A motto ignored in this emotionally involving fact-based story which puts a Neo-Realism spin on a favorite subject: The innocent man charged with a crime he didn’t commit.  A core idea given outlier treatment, the film’s somber tone & near-documentary elements (a close look reveals plenty of Hitchcockian stylistics) are easy to appreciate now, but unsettled audiences & critics at the time.  Now, what’s unsettling are the lack of rights afforded the accused; it’s a defacto plea for Miranda Rights!  (A Line-Up with witnesses who have just seen the suspect at their workplace particularly egregious.)  Henry Fonda is quietly superb as the nightclub musician picked up for a series of local robberies thru circumstantial evidence and numerous eye-witness misidentifications, the real guilty man not only a doppelgänger for Fonda, but also for the lead in Vittorio De Sica’s BICYCLE THIEVES.  (A visual touchstone Hitchcock undoubtedly had in mind, along with the Catholic iconography repeatedly used here.*)  Vera Miles also very good as the wife falling slowly into serious mental depression; and there’s a truly nice turn from Anthony Quayle as a lawyer taking on a case outside of his field of expertise.  Maxwell Anderson’s screenplay, sticking closely to the facts, makes for some abrupt, even awkward moments, but they mostly ring true.  One odd character quirk is that Fonda almost never removes his overcoat, even inside.  Fonda’s own behavioral touch?

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Look for an impressively real shot of an enormous freight ship in the background when Fonda & Miles are looking for someone to vouch for Fonda.  (At the 107" mark.)  It shows just how the famously misjudged waterfront matte effect shot in MARNIE/’64 might have worked without getting a ‘bad’ laugh.  ALSO: If you watch on DVD, an excellent EXTRA with the usual suspects (Peter Bogdanovich; Richard Schickel), but also on set insight on Hitchcock the man & his method from art director Paul Sylbert.

READ ALL ABOUT IT: The groundbreaking interview book HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT is at its best discussing THE WRONG MAN, with a rare disagreement between François Truffaut, who feels that a less talented man might have been a better fit for this grounded story, and Hitch left to defend a film he has decidedly mixed feelings about.  (Had Truffaut seen the film since its original release?)

DOUBLE-BILL/LINK:  *Complete your Hitchcock Catholic Guilt/Prayer/Redemption trilogy with two more underrated titles; I CONFESS/’53 and FAMILY PLOT/’76. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2014/03/i-confess-1953.html