The Wrong Man (1956)

You won't be disappointed!

Why so much hype?

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Would be interesting to know how Hitchcock viewed religion. Here's a lovely film that shows the the power of prayers--with an obvious Catholic element (rosary, Jesus painting on the wall, etc.) It is also a film that reflects the director's childhood fear of prisons.

A Kafkaesque narrative, based on a story that actually happened, starring the highly expressive and excellent Henry Fonda along with a very good, and particularly beautiful Vera Miles alongside him. The classic theme: a man wrongfully accused, his trial and tribulations, and the lingering question, seemingly forever - is he even really innocent at all ? What a man can lose when he is being convicted, often far more than just material loss. His perseverance in this personal battle against what seems to be the entire world. The glimmers of hope, the devastating news, and Fonda's character's world that seems to come apart bit by bit, something almost of a Job's parallel from the Bible.Very well made, constantly compelling and suspenseful in its own way. And an ending worthwhile.

The Wrong Man lacks a lot of great aspects one would expect from a director as legendary as Hitchcock. The main problem is that the title of the film can easily be applied to other Hitchcock films. This movie takes a plot device Hitchcock recycled a few times in his career (the wrong man is accused of a crime) and sets it into a film which lacks the energy and suspense that Hitchcock is known for.In films like North by Northwest and Saboteur, Hitchcock takes this notion of the wrongfully accused man and puts him on a thrilling journey to find the people who had set him up and prove his innocence. In The Wrong Man, we have the innocent Henry Fonda - an actor so often playing the role of the good guy in cinema that it gets monotonous - fill the role of the wrongfully accused and he is put through the process of justice. He is questioned, arrested, bailed out, attends trial - you know, the opposite of what happens in North by Northwest and Saboteur. It proves to be a really boring story to watch as the protagonist is not fighting for his life, but rather simply denying the crimes he is accused of and hoping for the best.To be honest, Henry Fonda feels out of place in a Hitchcock film. He is more of a passive actor, more subtle than famous Hitchcock actors like Cary Grant and James Stewart. Those actors play their roles in Hitchcock films with true passion, clearly portraying fear and desperation. Fonda's performance in The Wrong Man lacks the passion we expect from a protagonist in a Hitchcock film.While Bernard Herrmann usually creates really interesting and powerful scores for films - especially for Hitchcock films like North by Northwest and Vertigo - here his music, like the film as a whole, lacks energy, and it specifically seems to repeat the same two-note theme over and over again. It fits the tone of the movie - this film is more of a drama than a typical Hitchcock thriller - but at the same time it is overly monotonous and hardly adds any feeling to The Wrong Man.Not a waste of time to watch, but The Wrong Man is simply disappointing compared to the rest of Hitchcock's canon, which is filled with masterpiece thrillers that will continue to be discussed for decades to come.2.5/4.0

Excellent (true) crime-drama.Based on a true story. In a case of mistaken identity, a musician is arrested for armed robbery. All the evidence is circumstantial but his prospects look grim. Pretty soon the trial starts to affect his family too...Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a great story of injustice and its consequences. More a drama than a thriller, for once, as we see the affects on family life and relationships. More character depth, subtlety and human drama than most Hitchcock movies. However, Hitchcock still uses his skills as a master director of thrillers to create a great feeling of claustrophobia and helplessness. Henry Fonda puts in a solid performance in the lead role. However, he is miscast, being far too old for the character. Good support from Vera Miles and Anthony Quayle.Proof that fact is often stranger than fiction...