James Stewart is a reporter who becomes involved in an old murder case in "Call Northside 777," directed by Henry Hathaway and costarring Lee J. Cobb and Richard Conte. The film is done semidocumentary style, in black and white, and is based on a true story.
Much of the movie is done in a low-key, realistic way, with most of the energy coming from Stewart. It takes us through, at some length, certain procedures, such as the administration of a lie detector test. But the movie isn't about that. It's about a reporter's passion for the unjust imprisonment of a young man, who at the time he takes up the cause, has been in prison for 11 years. His wife divorced him at his own request, and his mother has been scrubbing floors to make money to offer a reward. The viewer becomes very engrossed in the story along with Stewart.
Stewart gives an excellent performance which hearkens back to "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in a sense - the second half of the film calls for Mr. Smith's commitment, passion, and anger, and Stewart delivers. In the beginning, he's a cynical reporter who doesn't even want to do the story, and then as the facts emerge, he realizes there has been a gross injustice. What an actor. He's surrounded by strong performances from Helen Garde, Kazia Orzazewski, Cobb and Conte, who is very convincing as an innocent man.
The most exciting part of the film is at the end, and here's where the spoiler comes in. To prove Conte's innocence, a very early version of a fax machine is used in the form of the AP wire, and it is suspenseful and fascinating to watch the increasingly enlarged photos come off the roll. The final moment, of course, as the last picture is developed, is thrilling. I had just one problem with the scene. The Stewart character is determined to enlarge the photo enough to see the date on a newspaper - when in fact, the headline would have been enough, as one could have gotten the date by researching the headline. It's a minor point. It's a great story and a wonderfully atmospheric movie, taking us into the seedy side of Chicago.
Unfortunately, not has much has changed today in the justice system. If you have no money and no advocates, all too often what happened to Frank Wiecek is repeated over and over. But as Stewart tells Conte - I'm paraphrasing - "A state has admitted it made a mistake. That's no small thing. And it wouldn't happen anywhere else in the world." True enough.
Much of the movie is done in a low-key, realistic way, with most of the energy coming from Stewart. It takes us through, at some length, certain procedures, such as the administration of a lie detector test. But the movie isn't about that. It's about a reporter's passion for the unjust imprisonment of a young man, who at the time he takes up the cause, has been in prison for 11 years. His wife divorced him at his own request, and his mother has been scrubbing floors to make money to offer a reward. The viewer becomes very engrossed in the story along with Stewart.
Stewart gives an excellent performance which hearkens back to "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in a sense - the second half of the film calls for Mr. Smith's commitment, passion, and anger, and Stewart delivers. In the beginning, he's a cynical reporter who doesn't even want to do the story, and then as the facts emerge, he realizes there has been a gross injustice. What an actor. He's surrounded by strong performances from Helen Garde, Kazia Orzazewski, Cobb and Conte, who is very convincing as an innocent man.
The most exciting part of the film is at the end, and here's where the spoiler comes in. To prove Conte's innocence, a very early version of a fax machine is used in the form of the AP wire, and it is suspenseful and fascinating to watch the increasingly enlarged photos come off the roll. The final moment, of course, as the last picture is developed, is thrilling. I had just one problem with the scene. The Stewart character is determined to enlarge the photo enough to see the date on a newspaper - when in fact, the headline would have been enough, as one could have gotten the date by researching the headline. It's a minor point. It's a great story and a wonderfully atmospheric movie, taking us into the seedy side of Chicago.
Unfortunately, not has much has changed today in the justice system. If you have no money and no advocates, all too often what happened to Frank Wiecek is repeated over and over. But as Stewart tells Conte - I'm paraphrasing - "A state has admitted it made a mistake. That's no small thing. And it wouldn't happen anywhere else in the world." True enough.