On W List of Movie Reviews
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The Wrong Man (1956)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
11/08
11/08:
The Wrong Man is a forgettable picture that doesn't feel Hitchcockian in any shape or form.
There isn't much of suspense in this, either. Heck, any episode from Law & Order will do instead.
The first fifteen minutes gets me in the mood. Then, the momentum starts to dissipate as soon as I'm
introduced to the sidewalk, the wall, back to the sidewalk, the steel bars, back to the sidewalk again, and the steel bars.
The other problem is Henry Fonda who can only express himself in three ways: scared stupid, clueless stupid, and both
of them at the same time. It gets tired after a while. When Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero (jeez...what a mouthful his name is)
got bailed out of jail and the way he looked scared, I was like, "You hadn't suffered for a second."
By the time his case arrives in court, the sight of Anthony Quayle trying to orchestrate his argument has me yearning for James
Stewart who did it better in Anatomy of a Murder. After Christopher's wife suffers
a nervous breakdown and is placed in the "insane asylum," the film is ready to die. Dragging its feet toward the
finish line before collapsing and dying of thirst, I get a good look at the culprit and can't believe how different these
two look. My only suggestion for Christopher is to sue the witnesses for false identification.
All in all, The Wrong Man is disappointing by Alfred Hitchcock's standards.