The Wrong Man

The Wrong Man
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlfred Hitchcock
Screenplay byMaxwell Anderson
Angus MacPhail
Based onThe True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero
by Maxwell Anderson
Produced byAlfred Hitchcock
StarringHenry Fonda
Vera Miles
CinematographyRobert Burks
Edited byGeorge Tomasini
Music byBernard Herrmann
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • December 22, 1956 (1956-12-22) (US)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.2 million[1]

The Wrong Man is a 1956 American docudrama film noir directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles. The film was drawn from the true story of an innocent man charged with a crime, as described in the book The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero by Maxwell Anderson[2][3] and in the magazine article "A Case of Identity", which was published in Life magazine in June 1953 by Herbert Brean.[4]

It is recognized as the only Hitchcock film based on a true story and whose plot closely follows the real-life events.

The Wrong Man had a notable effect on two significant directors: it prompted Jean-Luc Godard's longest piece of written criticism in his years as a critic,[5][6] and it has been cited as an influence on Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver.[7]

  1. ^ Billheimer, John (2019). Hitchcock and the Censors. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. p. 214. ISBN 978-0813177410.
  2. ^ Harris, R.A.; Lasky, M.S. (2002). The Complete Films of Alfred Hitchcock. Citadel. ISBN 9780806524276 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "The Wrong Man". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  4. ^ Brean, Herbert (June 29, 1953). "A Case of Identity". Life. Vol. 34, no. 26. pp. 97–100, 102, 104, 107. ISSN 0024-3019 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Godard on Godard (translated by Tom Milne, Da Capo Press)
  6. ^ Kenny, Glenn (February 17, 2016). ""The Wrong Man": Hitchcock's Least "Fun" Movie Is Also One Of His Greatest". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Christie, Ian; Thompson, David, eds. (1989). Scorsese on Scorsese. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0571141036.