The Wrong Man

Director: Alfred Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock

Overview

Director Alfred Hitchcock lets the audience know from the outset that this film is a painfully true story. Musician Christopher Balestrero's life takes a disastrous turn when he visits an insurance office and one of the employees identifies Balestrero as the man who recently robbed the office.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/04/2019
UPC:	0883929691104
Original Release:	1956
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:45:00
Sales rank:	27,716

Special Features

Making-of documentary Guilt Trip: Hitchcock and The Wrong Man; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Henry Fonda	Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero (Manny)
Vera Miles	Rose Balestrero
Anthony Quayle	Frank O'Connor
Harold J. Stone	Lt. Bowers
Esther Minciotti	Mrs. Balestrero,Mr. Balestrero
Charles Cooper	Det. Matthews
Nehemiah Persoff	Gene Conforti
Laurinda Barrett	Constance Willis,Miss Daly
Norma Connolly	Betty Todd
Doreen Lang	Ann James
Frances Reid	Mrs. O'Connor,Spanish Woman
Lola D'Annunzio	Olga Conforti
Robert Essen	Gregory Balestrero
Kippy Campbell	Robert Balestrero
Dayton Lummis	Judge Groat
John Heldabrand	Tomasini
Richard Robbins	Daniell
John Vivyan	Det. Holman
Will Hare	McKaba
Harry Stanton	Correction Officer
Werner Klemperer	Dr. Banay
Mel Dowd	Nurse
Mike Keene	Actor
Peggy Webber	Miss Dennerly
Anna Karen	Miss Duffield
Maurice Wells	Department of Correction Officer
Alexander Lockwood	Emmerton
Emerson Treacy	Mr. Wendon
William Hudson	Police Lieutenant
Marc May	Tomasini's Assistant,Arresting Patrolman
Leonard Capone	Court Clerk
Harold Berman	Court Stenographer
Chris Gampel	Department of Correction Guard
John Caler	Soldier
Barry Atwater	Mr. Bishop
Allan Ray	Suspect
Dino Terranova	Mr. Ferrero,Mr. Ferraro
Rosanna San Marco	Mrs. Ferrero
Daniel Ocko	Felony Court Judge
Clarence Straight	Policeman
Olga Fabian	Mrs. Mank
Maurice Manbson	DA Hall
Paul Bryar	Interrogation Officer
Don Turner	Detective
Penny Santon	Spanish Woman
Charles Aidman	Medical Attendant
David Kelly	Policeman
Helen Shields	Receptionist
Don McGovern	Waving Man
Cherry Hardy	Waving Woman
Elizabeth Scott	Waving Woman
Walter Kohler	Manny's Attorney
John Truax	Suspect
Spencer Davis	Prisoner's Lawyer
Ed Bryce	Court Officer
Henry Beckman	Prisoner
Paul Carr	Young Man
Maurice Manson	District Attorney
Tuesday Weld	Giggly Girl
Bonnie Franklin	Giggly Girl
Dallas Midgette	Customer at Bickford's
Pat Morrow	Young Girl
Gordon B. Clark	Police Attendant
John C. Becher	Liquor Store Proprietor
Earl George	Delicatessen Proprietor
John McKee	Police Attendant
Mary Boylan	Curious Customer
Natalie Priest	Delicatessen Proprietor's Wife
Rhodelle Heller	Stork Club Customer
Olive Stacey	Stork Club Customer
John Stephen	Stork Club Customer
Otto Simanek	Mr. Mank
William LeMassena	Sang

Technical Credits

Maxwell Anderson

Angus MacPhail

Alfred Hitchcock	Director,Producer
Maxwell Anderson	Screenwriter
Angus MacPhail	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Alfred Hitchcock's effort to remain true to fact-based source material is the only thing that prevents this gritty picture from rising above his middle-tier thrillers. Based on a story Hitchcock found in Life magazine, The Wrong Man is a pseudo-documentary version of the director's favorite theme: an innocent man blamed for a crime. Henry Fonda stars as the poor guy who finds himself the prime suspect in a series of robberies. The actor is solid in the role, but co-star Vera Miles (who later appeared in Hitchcock's Psycho) steals the show in the tragic role of Fonda's wife, who cracks under the stress of the false accusation and must be committed. The Wrong Man was a critical hit, but a commercial failure, and it would have benefited significantly if Hitchcock had taken some dramatic license to fire up the film's final act. Instead, the director went strictly for authenticity, going so far as to cast lesser-known actors and even people who were actually involved in the real-life case. He also shot many scenes on-location in Queens and Manhattan. The mental institution scenes were lensed in the actual building with the real doctors playing themselves. Bernard Herrmann's biting score adds a terrific additional dimension to the suspense -- as it does in every picture he collaborated on with Hitchcock. The director's cameo comes in the form of an introduction to the story that is reminiscent of his appearances at the opening of his TV show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He shot a more discreet cameo that would have been placed in the film's opening reel, but it was cut to avoid detracting from the film's documentary feel.

...a field day in his art of characterization and suspense. [...] Hitchcock drains the dramatic possibilities with often frightening overtones.

Variety