The Wrong Man (1956)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Maxwell Anderson (screenplay) and
Angus MacPhail (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 January 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

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:

Insurance | Innocence | Musician | Robbery | Trial

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Manny Balestrero
Vera Miles	...	Rose Balestrero
Anthony Quayle	...	Frank D. O'Connor
Harold J. Stone	...	Det. Lt. Bowers
Charles Cooper	...	Det. Matthews
John Heldabrand	...	Tomasini
Esther Minciotti	...	Mama Balestrero
Doreen Lang	...	Ann James
Laurinda Barrett	...	Constance Willis
Norma Connolly	...	Betty Todd
Nehemiah Persoff	...	Gene Conforti
Lola D'Annunzio	...	Olga Conforti
Kippy Campbell	...	Robert Balestrero
Robert Essen	...	Gregory Balestrero
Richard Robbins	...	Daniel - the Guilty Man
Dayton Lummis	...	Judge Groat
Peggy Webber	...	Miss Dennerly
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Aidman	...	Jail Medical Attendant (uncredited)
Sammy Armaro	...	Suspect (uncredited)
Michael Ann Barrett	...	Mrs. Daily (uncredited)
John C. Becher	...	Liquor Store Proprietor (uncredited)
Henry Beckman	...	Prisoner at Arraignment Hearing (uncredited)
Ray Bennett	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Harold Berman	...	Court Stenographer (uncredited)
Sherman Billingsley	...	Himself (uncredited)
Mary Boylan	...	Curious Customer (uncredited)
Claudia Bryar	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Paul Bryar	...	Interrogation Officer (uncredited)
Ed Bryce	...	Court Officer (uncredited)
John Caler	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Leonard Capone	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Paul Carr	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Dee Carroll	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Gordon B. Clarke	...	Police Attendant (uncredited)
William Crane	...	Juror (uncredited)
Spencer Davis	...	Prisoner's Lawyer (uncredited)
M'el Dowd	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Josef Draper	...	Juror (uncredited)
Richard Durham	...	Department of Corrections Employee (uncredited)
Olga Fabian	...	Mrs. Mank (uncredited)
Bonnie Franklin	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Chris Gampel	...	Department of Corrections Employee (uncredited)
Earl George	...	Delicatessen Proprietor (uncredited)
Will Gregory	...	Department of Corrections Employee (uncredited)
Charles J. Guiotta	...	Court Officer (uncredited)
Irene Harbor	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Cherry Hardy	...	Waving Woman (uncredited)
Will Hare	...	Raymond McKaba (uncredited)
Rhodelle Heller	...	Stork Club Customer (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Prologue Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
William Hudson	...	Police Lieutenant from 110th Precinct (uncredited)
Anna Karen	...	Miss Duffield (uncredited)
Barbara Karen	...	Giggly Girl (uncredited)
Mike Keene	...	Department of Corrections Employee (uncredited)
David Kelly	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Werner Klemperer	...	Dr. Bannay (uncredited)
Walter Kohler	...	Manny's Felony Court Attorney (uncredited)
William LeMassena	...	Sang (uncredited)
Maurice Manson	...	District Attorney John Hall (uncredited)
Barney Martin	...	Juror (uncredited)
Donald May	...	Arresting Patrolman (uncredited)
Marc May	...	Tomasini's Assistant (uncredited)
John McKee	...	Police Turnkey (uncredited)
Dallas Midgette	...	Customer at Bickford's (uncredited)
Silvio Minciotti	...	Mr. Balestrero (uncredited)
Patricia Morrow	...	Young Girl (uncredited)
Thomas J. Murphy	...	Court Officer (uncredited)
Daniel Ocko	...	Felony Court Judge (uncredited)
Natalie Priest	...	Delicatessen Proprietor's Wife (uncredited)
Fred Purcelli	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Allan Ray	...	Suspect (uncredited)
Frances Reid	...	Mrs. O'Connor (voice) (uncredited)
Maria Reid	...	Spanish Woman (uncredited)
Rossana San Marco	...	Mrs. Ferraro (uncredited)
Penny Santon	...	Spanish Woman (uncredited)
Frank Schofield	...	Department of Corrections Employee (uncredited)
Elizabeth Scott	...	Waving Woman (uncredited)
Helen Shields	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
Otto Simánek	...	Mr. Mank (uncredited)
Oliver Stacey	...	Stork Club Customer (uncredited)
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Department of Corrections Employee (uncredited)
John Stephen	...	Stork Club Customer (uncredited)
Clarence Straight	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Ruth Swanson	...	Small Role (uncredited)
Dino Tarronova	...	Mr. Ferraro (uncredited)
Dan Terranova	...	Mr. Ferraro (uncredited)
Emerson Treacy	...	Mr. Wendon (uncredited)
John Truax	...	Suspect (uncredited)
Don Turner	...	Detective (uncredited)
John Vivyan	...	Det. Holman (uncredited)
Tuesday Weld	...	Giggly Girl (uncredited)
Maurice Wells	...	Department of Corrections Employee (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Maxwell Anderson		(screenplay) and
Angus MacPhail		(screenplay)
Maxwell Anderson		(story)

Produced by
Herbert Coleman	....	associate producer
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann

Cinematography by
Robert Burks		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George Tomasini

Art Direction by
Paul Sylbert

Set Decoration by
William L. Kuehl

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Daniel McCauley	....	assistant director (as Daniel J. McCauley)

Art Department
Fred Ballmeyer	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Earl Crain Sr.	....	sound
Monty Pearce	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Arthur H. Pullen	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Paul Reuting	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Lucky Kargo	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Alan Stetson	....	key grip
Frank J. Calabria	....	additional photographer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Sam O'Steen	....	assistant film editor (uncredited)

Other crew
George Groves	....	technical advisor (as George Groves Sergeant New York City Police Department Ret.)
Frank D. O'Connor	....	technical advisor (as Frank D. O'Connor District Attorney Queens County New York)

Thanks
Sherman Billingsley	....	grateful acknowledgment (as Mr. Sherman Billingsley)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. (presents) (A Warner Bros.-First National Picture)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (A Warner Communications Company)
• Warner Bros. (1957) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1957) (France) (theatrical)
• Sociedade Importadora de Filmes (SIF) (1957) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Action Gitanes (1999) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Bros. Finland (1957) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1985) (Finland) (TV)
• Phoenix (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (DVD) (5-disc Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense)
• TV3 (1988) (Finland) (TV)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD) (6-disc Alfred Hitchcock Prestige Collection)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (200?) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1968) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Department of Commerce and Public Events, City of New York  acknowledgement: this picture made with the cooperation of

Also Known As:

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | Peru:14 | USA:Approved (PCA #18117) | West Germany:12 (f) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:A (1957) | UK:PG (1988) | Brazil:16 | Canada:14A (video rating) | Sweden:15 | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Germany:16 (DVD re-rating) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros.

Trivia:

The scene where Henry ("Manny") Fonda is taken to prison was filmed in a real prison. As he is led to his cell , you can hear one of the inmates yell out "What'd they get ya for, Henry??", and a bunch of other prisoners laughing.

Goofs:

Continuity: Manny walks in the corridor of the prison carrying the pillow with nothing on it. When he is inside the cell a cannikin appears on the pillow.

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 "Hancock's Half Hour: The Wrong Man (#4.10)" (1959)

Disquieting, a steely Fonda, and amazing Hitchcock. But it might make you edgy.

The Wrong Man (1956)

There's no question Alfred Hitchcock has pulled off something amazing here, a kind of experiment. Entirely based on true events, and without any sense of chase, romance, or high intrigue, and without special effects or even witty dialog, he makes you feel for the main character, Henry Fonda, a man accused of a crime he did not commit.

It's often pointed out that Hitchcock had an enormous fear of the police, and of being accused when innocent. This shows up in many of his films, but never more clearly or more painfully than here. To watch is an adventure in frustration, almost to the point you have to turn it off. But of course, you can't just get up and leave. You have to know what happens.

And the turns of events are so reasonable and yet so unbearable, you just want to get up there and say, do this, do that! It's weird to say, this is not an enjoyable movie. But it's a very good one, maybe flawless in its attempt to trap you as much as the main character was trapped. The surrounding cast is terribly believable, the cops, the wife, the kids. And it unfolds with such dramatic relentlessness. The camera angles (thanks to Robert Burks) are psychologically intense (and edited for discomfort). And the music (Bernard Herrmann, soon to score Psycho) only adds more tension.

Beautifully. As an exercise in precision, and in sticking to the facts, this is as good as a dramatic (non-documentary) film can get. Wikipedia has a small amount of helpful information, and tcm.com has a lot (click on articles or reviews on the left for a range of texts). But of course, watch it straight. See some period New York City scenes (from streets to jails to what looks like the amazing 57th St. bridge at dusk). A wonderful, if not uplifting, movie.