Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

While on the telephone, an invalid woman overhears what she thinks is a murder plot and attempts to prevent it.

Director:

Anatole Litvak

Writers:

Lucille Fletcher (radio play), Lucille Fletcher (screenplay)

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Leona Stevenson
Burt Lancaster	...	Henry J. Stevenson
Ann Richards	...	Sally Hunt Lord
Wendell Corey	...	Dr. Philip Alexander
Harold Vermilyea	...	Waldo Evans
Ed Begley	...	James 'J.B.' Cotterell
Leif Erickson	...	Fred Lord
William Conrad	...	Morano
John Bromfield	...	Joe - Detective
Jimmy Hunt	...	Peter Lord
Dorothy Neumann	...	Elizabeth Jennings
Paul Fierro	...	Harpootlian

Storyline

Leona Stevenson is sick and confined to her bed. One night, whilst waiting for her husband to return home, she picks up the phone and accidentally overhears a conversation between two men planning a murder. She becomes increasingly desperate as she tries to work out who the victim is so the crime can be prevented.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | police | telephone | invalid | psychosomatic illness | 

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Taglines:

The prize-winning radio suspense drama that thrilled 40,000,000 people ... now electrifies the screen!

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Du lebst noch 105 Minuten

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Wallis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

For Barbara Stanwyck's scenes in her apartment, cinematographer Sol Polito utilized the confined spaces and dark shadows of the black and white photography to make the posh Manhattan apartment seem like her prison.

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Goofs

When Fred Lord tears out the newspaper clipping about Henry, he rips with gusto, yet the tear manages to go straight and makes right angles, resulting in a perfect extraction of the news item. The paper must have been perforated.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Leona Stevenson: Operator! Operator! Operator!
Voice of Operator: Your call please?
Leona Stevenson: Operator, I've been ringing Murray Hill 35097 for the last half hour and the line is always busy. Will you ring it for me, please?

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Connections

Referenced in Granada Workshop: Sorry, Wrong Number (1957)

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Soundtracks

My Ideal
(1930) (uncredited)
Music by Richard A. Whiting and Newell Chase
Lyrics by Leo Robin

User Reviews

Complex noir plot builds and builds...and builds, until...!!!!

Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)

You can tell this thriller was once a radio play--it is mostly talk, and often over the telephone. But what drama can be built on a string of conversations around the office, in cars in the rain, out on a lonely beach on Staten Island, and on the telephone, often filled with mystery and doom.\

Not that it's not a visual movie, either. There is a big gloomy house, and lots of dark city streets. Shadows and moving camera and close-ups of faces and telephones, all keep you glued and increasingly worried. By the end, the really jarring, memorable end, you are ready for what you can never be ready for.

Beware, the plot is confusing. Even seeing it twice I had to pay attention to who was who, and what turn of events had just taken place. Part of the reason is there is a bewildering use of flashbacks, even flashbacks within flashbacks, told by all kinds of different characters. The plot is laid out methodically, but take notes as you go, or at least take note. The initial overheard phone call is key to it all, and it gets reinforced later somewhat, but pay heed there.

And the person on the phone? A sharp, bitter, convincing Barbara Stanwyck, who really knows how to be steely and vulnerable at the same time. Burt Lancaster is more solid and stolid, and maybe less persuasive overall, but he carries a more practical part of the story. It keeps coming back to Stanwyck in bed, and the telephone which is her contact with the facts, as they swirl and finally descend.

Director Anatole Litvak has some less known but thrilling dark dramas to look for, including Snake Pit. But this is his most sensational winner, partly for Stanwyck, and partly for the last five minutes, which is as good as drama gets.