The Wrong Man

Today is the 110th birthday of the great Alfred Hitchcock, and to celebrate a gave a rewatch to one of his most overlooked films, The Wrong Man (1956). Although a very atypical Hitchcock film - a docudrama about a real-life case - Hitchcock invests the film with his usual style and skill. The result is one of Hitchcock's very best films, deserving of far more praise than it usually receives.

Christopher "Manny" Balestrero (Henry Fonda) is a musician at New York's Stork Club. While trying take out a loan for wife Rose (Vera Miles)'s dental surgery, he is mistaken by an insurance clerk for a man wanted for several robberies. A chain of events sees Manny arrested by the police, who use witness testimony and circumstantial evidence to indict him of murder. While Manny struggles to clear his name, he notices his wife, wracked by grief and despair, is slowly slipping into dementia. Manny enlists the help of ambitious lawyer Frank O'Connor (Anthony Quayle) to help clear his name legally, but his wife may be beyond saving.

The Wrong Man is a combination of social problem films with Hitchcock's usual preoccupations. The wrong man theme is, of course, one of Hitchcock's favorite storylines, but rarely was it so pointedly explored as here. Similarly, Hitchcock's psychological musings, often obnoxious, overwrought and dated (Spellbound, Marnie), take on a wholly realistic tone, with not only Manny's plight but Rose's heartbreaking dissent into madness. By applying it to a real-life case, Hitchcock allows many of his to apply to fruition. The movie obviously isn't as fun or entertaining as, say, Psycho or North by Northwest, but it's a fascinating, thoughtful work in its own right.

Hitchcock's fear of police has made for many a memorable scene in his films (Mort Mills in Psycho perhaps epitomizing this), but his portrayal of the cold, police system is chilling. The title and the casting of iconic good guy Henry Fonda as Manny indicate that a question of guilt is not at stake; the film is not about guilt or innocence, or suspense in any meaningful way, but about how wrong the whole system inherently is. Manny is arrested without a warrant outside his own home, paraded in front of witnesses and interrogated, without having any rights provided to him, without even a lawyer. Though the cops (Harold J. Stone and Charles Cooper) patronizingly tell Manny that they're on his side, they immediately transform Manny into a criminal at the slightest provocation; indeed, it seems that the cops are taking advantage of a legally-ignorant man for their own sake. The whole scene is chilling, something that might be expected in a fascist state, but not 1950's America. The whole ordeal is, in its own way, as terrifying as Hitchcock's horror films; we can only hope that things have improved somewhat since the film was. The film would make "problem directors" like Sam Fuller, Robert Aldrich and Gillo Pontecorvo proud; arguably, it's even more pointed and venomous than their works.

The film is not nearly as stylish as most of Hitchcock's films, but the warped, surreal nightmare of Vertigo wouldn't suit the material. Drawing heavily on Italian neo-realism and the wave of American "kitchen-sink" drama, Hitchcock provides a stark, look, aside from a few style touches of mixed quality (the painfully obvious "spinning camera" as Manny languishes in jail) and Robert Burke's nice deep-focus photography that would make Orson Welles proud. Still, Hitchcock is to be commended for marrying his usual style to the film's docudrama tone with relative ease - a testament to his talent and versatility. Bernard Herrman provides a lively, nervous jazz score that perfectly counterparts the action.

Henry Fonda gives one of his very best performances as Manny. Fonda underplays the role wonderfully; his Manny is not a righteous Atticus Finch, giving speeches about social justice or the evil of his tormentors, but a normal guy trying to navigate through an unjust system without complaint or comment. Equally impressive is Vera Miles in her break-out role; so annoying as a comic relief foil in John Ford's The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, she shows a remarkable amount of range and subtlety, perfectly playing Rose's mixture of guilt, despair and anguish. The always-dependable Anthony Quayle gives a fine, layered performance as the lawyer Connor, though his English accent seems out of place; Harold J. Stone, Charles Cooper, Esther Mincotti, and Richard Robbins provide strong support. Hogan's Heroes star Werner Klemperer has a nice (uncredited) role as a psychiatrist.

The Wrong Man is a great film, and makes it into my top three Hitchcock movies. Those expecting a typical Hitchcock film (if there is such a thing) might be disappointed; expect a fine film and you will pleased.