{"id":20523,"date":"2011-11-14T11:40:46","date_gmt":"2011-11-14T18:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20523"},"modified":"2021-01-18T16:37:38","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T23:37:38","slug":"wrong-man-the-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20523","title":{"rendered":"Wrong Man, The (1956)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;An innocent man has nothing to fear &#8212; remember that.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Poster-210x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-20524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Poster-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Poster-89x128.jpg 89w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Poster.jpg 280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA musician (Henry Fonda) is falsely accused of being a thief, and struggles to assert his innocence; meanwhile, his wife (Vera Miles) descends into a mental breakdown from the strain of the situation.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anthony Quayle Films<\/li>\n<li>Courtroom Drama<\/li>\n<li>Falsely Accused<\/li>\n<li>Henry Fonda Films<\/li>\n<li>Hitchcock Films<\/li>\n<li>Living Nightmare<\/li>\n<li>Mental Breakdown<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAlfred Hitchcock&#8217;s dramatization of the travails of falsely accused New York musician Christopher Emmanual Ballestreros is his most documentary-like feature &#8212; and also, perhaps not coincidentally, the most depressing film in his entire oeuvre. As Peary notes, the &#8220;first part of the picture, in which Fonda is arrested outside his home, questioned, fingerprinted, paraded in front of witnesses, and tossed in jail, is masterfully directed with a sense of precision that&#8217;s even above Hitchcock&#8217;s usual standards&#8221;, and &#8220;perfectly illustrates [his] lifelong terror of being arrested for a crime he knew nothing about.&#8221; Peary argues that &#8220;this Kafkaesque sequence is so frightening that everything that comes afterward seems anticlimactic&#8221;, positing that &#8220;Miles&#8217;s breakdown is bothersome rather than compelling because it takes time away from the mystery&#8221; &#8212; but I don&#8217;t quite agree; rather than finding Miles&#8217;s mental collapse distracting, I feel it actually deepens the power and heartbreak of the screenplay, given that it shows the truly irreparable harm done by the false accusation. <\/p>\n<p>Fonda is well-cast in the title role; he&#8217;s the ideal &#8220;everyman&#8221;, an &#8220;initially dull Hitchcockian hero whose every minute is planned out and whose life doesn&#8217;t vary at all from day to day&#8221; &#8212; and a rare Hitchcockian protagonist &#8220;without any sense of humor&#8221; whatsoever. Miles provides a nuanced, sensitive portrayal as his increasingly disturbed wife, and the supporting performances throughout the film &#8212; many by seemingly unknown actors &#8212; are finely rendered; note, for instance, the utter believability of the three terrified women in the Social Security office who initially accuse Fonda&#8217;s character. Meanwhile, Robert Burks&#8217;s stark cinematography perfectly captures the nightmarish <em>noir<\/em> milieu within which Fonda and his family find themselves, and fine use is made of authentic New York City locales. <\/p>\n<p>With all that said, I must now admit to postponing my revisit of this highly regarded Hitchcock title for as long as possible; as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1353wron.html\">DVD Savant puts it<\/a>, &#8220;There&#8217;s nothing wrong with this picture except that it breaks Hitchcock&#8217;s primary rule &#8211; it doesn&#8217;t please the audience.&#8221;  Hitchcock&#8217;s fidelity to the real-life story he was telling results in an oddly depressing and disturbing viewing experience; while <em>The Wrong Man<\/em> is undeniably a masterful film on many levels, it&#8217;s one which most film fanatics will probably want to consider a &#8220;once and done&#8221; title. At the very least, any viewer will come away with a heightened understanding of the importance of never, ever providing information to the police without first consulting a lawyer; Fonda&#8217;s best intentions here (giving lie to the oft-repeated quote that &#8220;an innocent man has nothing to fear&#8221;) do nothing but get him even deeper into trouble. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Henry Fonda as Manny Ballestreros<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Fonda.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Fonda.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Fonda.png 528w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Fonda-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Fonda-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Vera Miles as Ruth Ballestreros<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Miles.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Miles.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Miles.png 528w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Miles-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Miles-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Robert Burks&#8217; <em>noir<\/em>-ish cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Cinematography.png 528w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Cinematography-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Cinematography-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine use of authentic New York locales<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Authentic-Settings.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Authentic-Settings.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"288\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Authentic-Settings.png 528w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Authentic-Settings-128x69.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Wrong-Man-Authentic-Settings-300x163.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, once &#8212; but don&#8217;t expect to want to return to this one. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0051207\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1956\/12\/24\/archives\/screen-new-format-for-hitchcock-suspense-is-dropped-in-the-wrong.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/wrongman.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1353wron.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/96319\/the-wrong-man#articles-reviews?articleId=103572\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/the-wrong-man\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;An innocent man has nothing to fear &#8212; remember that.&#8221; Synopsis: A musician (Henry Fonda) is falsely accused of being a thief, and struggles to assert his innocence; meanwhile, his wife (Vera Miles) descends into a mental breakdown from the strain of the situation. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Anthony Quayle Films Courtroom Drama Falsely Accused Henry Fonda Films Hitchcock Films Living Nightmare Mental Breakdown Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Alfred Hitchcock&#8217;s dramatization of the travails of falsely accused New York&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20523\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20523"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64258,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20523\/revisions\/64258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}