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The Wrong Man (1956)
In Alfred Hitchcock's stark, film-noirish crime drama
filmed in semi-documentary style - based upon a true story of a man
falsely accused of armed robbery; it was taken from author Maxwell
Anderson's The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero,
who was commissioned by Hitchcock to write the screenplay; it was
notable as the only Hitchcock film based on a "real-life" story:
- in the opening (before the title
credits), in a rare sight, director Hitchcock, seen in silhouette
within a deep triangular-shaped shadow at a distance on a movie
soundstage and lighted in extreme chiaroscuro, spoke
directly to the audience: "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"
- Stork Club string bass player-musician
Christopher Emanuel "Manny" Balestrero (Henry Fonda) was
a devoted family man who was living in the Jackson Heights (Queens)
neighborhood of New York City
- after visiting the office of the
Associated Life Insurance Company, to obtain
a loan from his wife Rose's (Vera Miles) policy, to pay for her expensive
$300 dental work, the three suspicious female
clerks in the office were certain that he was the man who had twice
robbed the same office; he was mistakenly identified
as a suspect for robberies (at gunpoint)
- Manny was detained and
intensely questioned for armed robbery without a lawyer (Manny
called the grilling a "meatgrinder")
in the 110th Precinct - when unusual coincidences caused police to
believe that he was responsible for a string of robberies
- during questioning, Manny mis-spelled the word "drawer" as "draw" -
the same mistake made by the robber in his hold-up note - Manny was
arrested for assault and robbery and ultimately put in jail - he
was utterly dejected as he leaned back against his cell wall in the
oppressive and nightmarish space; his confinement and disorientation
were depicted by the camera's rotation (moving in rapid, clockwise
circles) - a subjective shot from an objective POV
- innocent 'everyman' Manny protested the charges,
claiming he was "the wrong man" - after being bailed
out for $7,500 after a night in jail, inexperienced criminal attorney
Frank D. O'Connor (Anthony Quayle) was hired to defend Manny; his
alibi was that he was at a resort hotel in Cornwall, NY with Rose
during one of the earlier robberies, but it couldn't be substantiated
- there was a brief, kinetically-filmed bedroom sequence
between Rose and Manny when she completely lost control, pushed
the comforting Manny away, and struck him with a hairbrush - she
broke a mirror and lacerated his forehead - seen in a fragmented
mirror image
- due to the stress of the case, Manny's strained
and guilt-ridden wife Rose fell into depression, became totally
apathetic, and was institutionalized in a mental hospital in Ossining,
NY
- during the trial, Manny was convincingly prosecuted,
although it was judged a mistrial due to a juror's remarks; meanwhile,
the real robber was caught while Manny awaited a second trial; the
case against him was ultimately dismissed, but his life and the life
of his family had been shattered
- the most memorable sequence was when falsely-accused
Manny began to pray for strength, following the advice of his mother
(Esther Minciotti) at the kitchen table ("My son, I beg you
to pray") - he began to pray in the kitchen, then moved to his
bedroom to pray more (as he clutched his rosary), in front of an
iconic painting of Jesus; as his lips moved in prayer, there was
an astonishing match-cut scene in which the face of the actual look-alike
robbery criminal (wearing a hat and overcoat) became super-imposed
and merged onto Balestrero's transparent face - there was an unmistakable
resemblance between the real armed robber and Manny
The Miraculous Double-Exposure Prayer Shot
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- in a heartbreaking sequence,
Manny visited Rose in the sanitarium where she calmly rejected
him: ("Nothing can help me. No one. You can go now")
- in the film's epilogue, Rose was "completely
cured" two years later, left the sanitarium, and the couple
moved to Florida: "Today, she lives happily in Florida with
Manny and the two boys...and what happened seems like a nightmare
to them - but it did happen..."
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Director Hitchcock's Introduction
Three Suspicious Insurance Company Office Clerks
Questioning by Police About Hold Up Note
Confrontation Between Manny and His Wife Rose - She Struck Him With Hairbrush
Fragmented Broken Mirror Image
Trying to Comfort His Depressed Wife
Manny Rejected By Wife in Sanitarium
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