I think pretty much every lesser known Hitchcock film has a whole society of people who call it "one of Hitchcock's great unsung masterpieces," and The Wrong Man is no different. The wrong man theme is one of Hitchcock's favorites and he has used it a great many times to create some of his most suspenseful films, and he uses that and almost nothing else to create the considerable suspense in this film.
Hitchcock had a genuine fear of the police, and you can see it in many of his films, this one more than most. Henry Fonda delivers a wonderful performance as a regular man who just wants to be a good man and a good husband, but suddenly finds himself embroiled in this case of mistaken identity. The film is structured differently from a lot of his other films, which often showed a man forced into isolation by misplaced accusations, only to slowly reveal himself to be a hero and gradually get the girl, who paid him no attention at the beginning of the film.
(spoilers) In this film, Christopher Balestrero (Henry Fonda) is never a hero nor does he try to be, and his wife not only does not gradually grow more and more fond of him despite the accusations against him, but she grows more and more distant due to the accusations.
Hitchcock personally introduces the film in his only speaking role in any of his movies (he introduced his television series episodes, but mostly as comic relief), and warns that the movie is completely true and absolutely frightening. It is a successful adaptation of a true story, although clearly highly polished to satisfy the studio. Definitely one of Hitchcock's more notable efforts.
Hitchcock had a genuine fear of the police, and you can see it in many of his films, this one more than most. Henry Fonda delivers a wonderful performance as a regular man who just wants to be a good man and a good husband, but suddenly finds himself embroiled in this case of mistaken identity. The film is structured differently from a lot of his other films, which often showed a man forced into isolation by misplaced accusations, only to slowly reveal himself to be a hero and gradually get the girl, who paid him no attention at the beginning of the film.
(spoilers) In this film, Christopher Balestrero (Henry Fonda) is never a hero nor does he try to be, and his wife not only does not gradually grow more and more fond of him despite the accusations against him, but she grows more and more distant due to the accusations.
Hitchcock personally introduces the film in his only speaking role in any of his movies (he introduced his television series episodes, but mostly as comic relief), and warns that the movie is completely true and absolutely frightening. It is a successful adaptation of a true story, although clearly highly polished to satisfy the studio. Definitely one of Hitchcock's more notable efforts.