The Wrong Man (1956)

In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Maxwell Anderson (screen play), Angus MacPhail (screen play)

Stars:

Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero, "Manny" to his friends, is a string bassist, a devoted husband and father, and a practicing Catholic. His eighty-five dollar a week gig playing in the jazz combo at the Stork Club is barely enough to make ends meet. The Balestreros' lives will become a little more difficult with the major dental bills his wife Rose will be incurring. As such, Manny decides to see if he can borrow off of Rose's life insurance policy. But when he enters the insurance office, he is identified by some of the clerks as the man that held up the office twice a few months earlier. Manny cooperates with the police, as he has nothing to hide. Manny learns that he is a suspect in not only those hold-ups, but a series of other hold-ups in the same Jackson Heights neighborhood in New York City where they live. The more that Manny cooperates, the more guilty he appears to the police. With the help of Frank O'Connor, the attorney that they hire, they try to prove Manny's innocence. ...

---

Plot Keywords:

innocence | trial | new york city | mistaken identity | based on true story | 

---

Taglines:

HITCHCOCK'S FIRST REAL-LIFE THRILLER! (original print ad - all caps)

---

Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to a Scientific American Magazine article from 2010, "Since the 1990s, when DNA testing was first introduced, Innocence Project researchers have reported that 73 percent of the 239 convictions overturned through DNA testing were based on eyewitness testimony. One third of these overturned cases rested on the testimony of two or more mistaken eyewitnesses." (Scientific American, "Why Science Tells Us Not to Rely on Eyewitness Accounts")

---

Goofs

When the two detectives book Manny, they tell the Lieutenant that they are booking Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero". The lieutenant writes it down without asking how to spell the last name.

---

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.

---

Connections

Spoofed in The Wrong Guy (1997)

User Reviews

Unusual Hitchcock gem

Based on the true story of a quiet family man falsely indicted for armed robbery, "The Wrong Man" may not be in Hitchcock's top echelon, but it contains many of the master's touches and deserves to be better known. What is so unusual for Hitchcock is that he filmed it in a somber documentary style (in keeping with the non-fictional source of the story). He even cut out his traditional cameo, and there is not a flicker of wit anywhere, either in dialogue or image. But the film effectively explores some of Hitchcock's favorite themes (like how easily our seemingly secure lives can be disrupted) and it is marked by some masterful visual touches. Note how effortlessly Hitchcock can film a scene inside a car, seeming to expand the space. I also liked the expressionistic camera movements to suggest Fonda's emotions in a jail cell. Most memorable of all is the dissolve that reveals the real culprit. Francois Truffaut held Hitchcock to task for tainting the pure documentary style of this movie with these more cinematic flourishes, but without them, I think it would have been way too grim to watch (it's pretty grim as it is). Henry Fonda gives a fittingly unshaded performance in the title role. And Bernard Herrmann's score is subtly effective, especially in the title sequence.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Spanish

Release Date:

26 January 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wrong Man

Filming Locations:

Catalpa Avenue, Ridgewood, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1