Der falsche Mann

Although the theme of "The Wrong Man" could apply to several of Hitchcock's more famous thrillers, this movie is unique in holding closely to a series of events as they actually happened. That means there is a lot less of some of the usual Hitchcock features, such as his famous set pieces or his subtle humor. They are replaced by a different kind of suspense, still done with Hitchcock's usual craftsmanship.

Henry Fonda and Vera Miles play a factual ordinary couple whose lives are thrown into turmoil when the police confuse the husband with a man who has been committing a series of robberies. The first part of the movie concentrates on the nightmare he undergoes in being interrogated, jailed, and arraigned. Fonda's convincing acting, along with Hitchcock's detail-oriented filming, enable the viewer to feel the anxiety and helplessness of an innocent man being horribly misjudged. In the second part of the movie, as Fonda gets ready to go to trial, the ordeal finally starts to take its toll on his wife.

Although this has to be ranked as a minor work compared to Hitchcock's long list of masterpieces, it is a worthwhile film in its own right, as long as you have the right expectations in watching it. It can be quite uncomfortable to watch these things happen when you know that it all really occurred, and Hitchcock uses his skill to help us see just what an ordeal it was.

THE WRONG MAN has to be the scariest film made by Alfred Hitchcock. The driving force is it's realism. Based on a true story, we follow a struggling Queens musician (Henry Fonda) falsly accused of local robberies. We don't have suave Cary Grant dodging cropdusters or Mount Rushmore. There is no darkly funny Robert Walker making quips about murder. It's all frightfully real- the arrest process, the breakdown of Fonda's family (An incredible performance by Vera Miles as his wife) and the grueling courtroom process. The opening hour of unsmiling detectives checking Fonda's story, and watching Fonda become more defenseless is outright chilling.

Based pretty much on the actual events & people of a miscarriage of justice that took place in Queens County, New York in the early 50's. The names of most of the people who took part in the event are unchanged in the movie and the location shots where the actual events took place add a touch of dark realism to the movie. The basic plot revolves around a musician who worked at the world famous Stork Club who was mis-identified by witnesses and arrested because he resembled an armed robber. Hitchcock dwells on the slow descent into helplessness and powerlessness that a citizen endures as he wends his way through the NYC (or any other) criminal justice meat grinder. There are chilling shots of his transport , by paddy wagon, into the Ridgewood Felony court and the Long Island City House of Detention. The lawyer he hired, Frank O'Connor, (his real name) went on to become District Attorney of Queens county and was later heavily involved in the infamous Kitty Genovese case. Not your typical Hitchcock film but one well worth seeing if for no other reason than to see one of Henry Fonda's better performances as the quietly stunned Christopher Emmanuel (Manny) Balestrero who sees his life, career and family endangered by forces he has little control over.

The Wrong Man (1956)

There's no question Alfred Hitchcock has pulled off something amazing here, a kind of experiment. Entirely based on true events, and without any sense of chase, romance, or high intrigue, and without special effects or even witty dialog, he makes you feel for the main character, Henry Fonda, a man accused of a crime he did not commit.

It's often pointed out that Hitchcock had an enormous fear of the police, and of being accused when innocent. This shows up in many of his films, but never more clearly or more painfully than here. To watch is an adventure in frustration, almost to the point you have to turn it off. But of course, you can't just get up and leave. You have to know what happens.

And the turns of events are so reasonable and yet so unbearable, you just want to get up there and say, do this, do that! It's weird to say, this is not an enjoyable movie. But it's a very good one, maybe flawless in its attempt to trap you as much as the main character was trapped. The surrounding cast is terribly believable, the cops, the wife, the kids. And it unfolds with such dramatic relentlessness. The camera angles (thanks to Robert Burks) are psychologically intense (and edited for discomfort). And the music (Bernard Herrmann, soon to score Psycho) only adds more tension.

Beautifully. As an exercise in precision, and in sticking to the facts, this is as good as a dramatic (non-documentary) film can get. Wikipedia has a small amount of helpful information, and tcm.com has a lot (click on articles or reviews on the left for a range of texts). But of course, watch it straight. See some period New York City scenes (from streets to jails to what looks like the amazing 57th St. bridge at dusk). A wonderful, if not uplifting, movie.

The name of Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense, is and will be eternally linked to his most well-known masterpieces such as "Psycho" or "The Birds"; sadly, this has left "The Wrong Man" in the obscurity as an overlooked gem that in fact deserves to be seen and appreciated by film enthusiasts worldwide.

The true story of Emmanuel Ballestrero (played superbly by Henry Fonda) and his unfair imprisonment when he is accused of a crime he did not commit, is represented faithfully in Hitchcock's "The Wrong Man", with all its frightening realism.

The most important thing about this movie must be the fact that it is based on a real life tragedy, this is a big difference from the rest of the Hitchcock's work. The Master adds more realism to the movie by keeping a low profile direction, almost in a documentary style. Gone are the camera tricks, the contrived plots and the suspense; in "The Wrong Man" we have a scary noir-esquire tale of crime in its more realistic way. In fact, Hitchcock himself decided to turn his cameo into an "introductory speech" because he felt that a cameo would take away the realism of the movie.

As I wrote above, the script is very simple, and without plot twists or a clear McGuffin to look at; nevertheless, the master guides us through the suffering of this man as he is humiliated by the police in sheer realism. Hitchcock takes away his characteristic dark humor and gives us a grim tale of injustice, probably fueled by his own terrible fear of police. This fear is latent in every frame, and the fear of imprisonment is particularly shown in all its scary magnitude when Ballestrero is locked for the first time, the camera gives depth to his prison and Fonda's expression is superb.

Henry Fonda gives one of his best performances ever, as the quiet every man who works as a musician in a bar. It is a very realistic performance that alone worths the price of the movie. I dare to say that this is probably Fonda's best role. The rest of the cast is average but its understandable because the movie is completely focused on Fonda, all of them give very natural acting that fits the tone of the movie. Notable exception is Vera Miles, who gives a Tour-De-Force in his representation of Ballestrero's wife, who suffers a nervous breakdown when his husband is in jail. Vera's acting is outstanding and her performance shows the mental decay that Mrs. Ballestrero suffered in real life with scary realism.

As you probably have noticed, the perfect description for this movie is "scary realism", that is what "The Wrong Man" is, a realistic portrait of a tale of injustice and how a man had to go through hell just because the justice had picked, the Wrong Man 9/10. Overlooked gem.