This was a paper I wrote in an Alfred Hitchcock course I took in the fall of 2013. In this paper I discuss one of Alfred Hitchcock's most interesting films, The Wrong Man, because it is rather different stylistically from the films he had made prior. His style in the film is relatively stripped down compared to his work previously and afterward. It was because of that particular style that it caught the eye of certain writers from the French Film magazine, Cahier du Cinema, specifically Francois Truffaut. In the paper I cited several instances in Nicholas Haeffner's book, simply titles "Alfred Hitchcock", where he discusses the film. There are also several references to other Hitchcock films, so spoiler alert if you have not seen most of his work.
A misconception can start a chain reaction that can have dire consequences for the innocent person. That is the case in Hitchcock’s 1956 film “The Wrong Man”. In the film Hitchcock creates a portrait of a man who is accused of a crime he has not committed and the effect it has on him and his family. The film abandons Hitchcock’s usual use of the “wrong man” and in its place provides a film based in the concept of realism. The usual exciting moments that can be found in several of Hitchcock’s films are gone and in there place is a bleak film that portrays one of Hitchcock’s greatest fears come true, the power of law enforcement. He also portrays a different side of the 1950s America that we as modern viewers are not accustomed to seeing.
The begins much differently than any other Hitchcock film, instead of making his usual cameo Hitchcock appears before the camera addressing the audience about the film they are about to see. What I find striking about his address is not so much the words he is saying but the manner in which he is doing it. Hitchcock is addressing us from a long shot in which he is a hidden shadowed silhouette, something that reminds me of a shot from of a noir film. Haeffner mentions the contract that Hitchcock had with his audience and you can tell that he is very aware of that, hence why he would make such a direct address. I think the reason for the address is almost a way to convince his long time audience to not abandon the film because it is not the type of film that they are used to seeing from him. In a way it acts as both a warning and a plea to keep the audience in the seats. Also by saying that the events of the film is based on true events, perhaps he was trying to reach the audience on a more real level? He wants to instill a sense of reality within the viewers mind. The events in this film could indeed happen to them, in a way it places them in the perspective of the antagonist. The idea that the events in the film are real as opposed to several of his other films that are based on books is another instance where Hitchcock is taking this film in a different direction.
A misconception can start a chain reaction that can have dire consequences for the innocent person. That is the case in Hitchcock’s 1956 film “The Wrong Man”. In the film Hitchcock creates a portrait of a man who is accused of a crime he has not committed and the effect it has on him and his family. The film abandons Hitchcock’s usual use of the “wrong man” and in its place provides a film based in the concept of realism. The usual exciting moments that can be found in several of Hitchcock’s films are gone and in there place is a bleak film that portrays one of Hitchcock’s greatest fears come true, the power of law enforcement. He also portrays a different side of the 1950s America that we as modern viewers are not accustomed to seeing.
The begins much differently than any other Hitchcock film, instead of making his usual cameo Hitchcock appears before the camera addressing the audience about the film they are about to see. What I find striking about his address is not so much the words he is saying but the manner in which he is doing it. Hitchcock is addressing us from a long shot in which he is a hidden shadowed silhouette, something that reminds me of a shot from of a noir film. Haeffner mentions the contract that Hitchcock had with his audience and you can tell that he is very aware of that, hence why he would make such a direct address. I think the reason for the address is almost a way to convince his long time audience to not abandon the film because it is not the type of film that they are used to seeing from him. In a way it acts as both a warning and a plea to keep the audience in the seats. Also by saying that the events of the film is based on true events, perhaps he was trying to reach the audience on a more real level? He wants to instill a sense of reality within the viewers mind. The events in this film could indeed happen to them, in a way it places them in the perspective of the antagonist. The idea that the events in the film are real as opposed to several of his other films that are based on books is another instance where Hitchcock is taking this film in a different direction.
The opening shot of the film is inside Stork Club where there is a slow pan camera shot of people dancing or sitting at tables, accompanied by opening credits in large white lettering. Then there is a cut over to the protagonist Manny Balestrero, portrayed by Henry Fonda, playing in the club band. As the song ends he packs away his instrument and then there is a cut to him leaving the club. As he leaves the club there happens to be two police officers walking the street. They do not play any particular attention to him, but as he is heading towards the subway there is a shot of them walking behind him. They are walking behind him in a similar position to a way police officers would walk someone they had just arrested, one on each side. In my opinion Hitchcock did this on purpose to foreshadow what the future would have in store for Manny. It is interesting that so early in the film we are already seeing the presence of the police. Upon re-watching that sequence I also could not help but get an airy feeling by looking at their presence. I also find it interesting that the first appearance of the police in the film is that in a non-threatening way, a contrasting way into which Hitchcock would show them in the future. Especially the menacing appearance a police officer would make in “Psycho”, creating an oppressive feeling for Marion as she awoke in her car.
The next appearance of the police, dealing with Manny directly, is when the detectives pick him up in front of his house. I would not say they are particularly harsh in the way they treat Manny at first, although not allowing him to walk a few feet and inform his wife I found to be odd. They could have walked him to the door themselves if they had feared he would run. After he is taken around to two stores in which the crimes he was accused of committing had taken place they return to the station and proceed with questioning him. This is where I think Hitchcock really shows the power of law enforcement, specifically in how they have the ability to manipulate what you say into making you look guilty. They try to manipulate Manny’s words into portraying him as a man who has problem with debts and therefore committing a crime to obtain money is something he would do. Then there is the penmanship comparison test which I think they further shows their manipulative tactics, by trying to make the case that Manny is their man because of how he wrote “drawer” on his second attempt. Now whether or not they think he is the man they are looking for or not they seem to be trying to pressure manny into admitting he is. After he is positively identified by the women from the insurance agency and in the face of some pretty convincing evidence, he is arrested.
The next appearance of the police, dealing with Manny directly, is when the detectives pick him up in front of his house. I would not say they are particularly harsh in the way they treat Manny at first, although not allowing him to walk a few feet and inform his wife I found to be odd. They could have walked him to the door themselves if they had feared he would run. After he is taken around to two stores in which the crimes he was accused of committing had taken place they return to the station and proceed with questioning him. This is where I think Hitchcock really shows the power of law enforcement, specifically in how they have the ability to manipulate what you say into making you look guilty. They try to manipulate Manny’s words into portraying him as a man who has problem with debts and therefore committing a crime to obtain money is something he would do. Then there is the penmanship comparison test which I think they further shows their manipulative tactics, by trying to make the case that Manny is their man because of how he wrote “drawer” on his second attempt. Now whether or not they think he is the man they are looking for or not they seem to be trying to pressure manny into admitting he is. After he is positively identified by the women from the insurance agency and in the face of some pretty convincing evidence, he is arrested.
Then the procedure plays out in a very real way, paperwork is filled out, items are placed are removed from his pockets, and he is escorted to a holding cell. But, during his processing, his finger prints are taken, the dark ink represents a false stain on his character and his life. It besmirches the essence of an honest man because of a mistake. If this were one of Hitchcock’s typical thrillers, he would probably find a way to break away from the police and go on the run. But, that is not the case here. What is portrayed is the reality of a man being places in a holding cell. The detectives portrayal are also different from Hitchcock’s other films because while they are indeed a force against the protagonist, in this case they are doing their jobs as opposed to previous films like “The 39 Steps” or “Saboteur” where they seem to be connected to the antagonist. But as an audience we are suppose to feel an animosity towards them.
After Manny awakes in his cell he is transported along with other men to a hearing that I am not really sure what the purpose is? It seems to be to establish the past crimes of those arrested. After that he is transported for arraignment at felony court. After that he is sent to Long Island City jail where he is placed in a cell. At that time Hitchcock employs an interesting camera shot where the camera shot goes through the slot and we see Manny with his back towards us. I mention all this plot because throughout it Manny has very few lines and Henry Fonda is able to tell us so much by the look in his face and the demeanor by the way he walks. I see a confused, lost, sad, scared, fatigued, and disheveled individual who does not belong where he is. I think that that is what Hitchcock was going for, we are supposed to feel sorry and angry for this person. The justice system that we are supposed to trust has beaten has wronged an innocent man. Not because they have misinformation, because they do, but because they have the power to enforce the law based on that misinformation. I think that is what scares Hitchcock and what we should be scared of as an audience.
I must also make mention of what Haeffner said in his book about Truffaut criticism of the scene in the holding cell, specifically the camera moving around and around to show the audience how Manny’s world was literally spinning. I personally like the effect that the camera motion has on the audience, in the sense that it makes their heads spin as much as Manny’s is. But, I understand the point Truffaut is trying to make, by having Henry Fonda just sitting in the cell, you keep the consistency of the realism in the film intact. In the sense that up to that point in the film the camera had not been any of that type of camera movement, everything had been shot in a very consistently documentary style way, which maintained the films realism. I love how Hitchcock’s reaction to that was that it would be dull and that he thought Truffaut wanted him to work in the arthouses. As much I love Hitchcock as a film maker, I do not think he could have ever made a film in the same style as the Italian Neo-realists like Roberto Rossellini or Vittorio De Sica. The way in which he moved the camera and his aesthetics were part of what made Hitchcock great. Although I will say The Wrong Man was his attempt at that style of film.
In Haeffner’s book, he mentions the critique of the 1950s culture that is apparent within the film. For example early on in the film Manny is reading a newspaper and sees ads for cars and banks. Haeffner mentions that in the 1950s American consumerism was on the rise, which would explain the ads for the car and the bank to be near each other in the newspaper. One could get a loan from a bank to pay for the car. Coincidentally, Manny wanting to borrow against his wife’s insurance policy is what starts his problems, with the women working their misidentifying him as the person who robbed them. Money seems to play a big role in the film, specifically its importance to people. Manny has a wife, two children, and a home, typically what is perceived as living the American dream in the 1950s. But they seem to just get by financially with having to take out a loan to go on a vacation, for Rose’s oral surgery, and general bills they have to pay. But contradictory to the ideal 1950s American dream, they do not live in a nice suburban, white picketed fence home, but a small seemingly cramped house for four people in the city. They do not own a car because I assume they can not
afford it.
afford it.
Also one of the pivotal moments of the film that ties directly to finances is the scene where Vera Miles mind reaches its breaking point and she blames herself for what happened to Manny. It is not only about the need for $300 for the dentist but she also blames herself for all their financial woes. Although specific amounts are not mentioned in the film we can assume that the financial debts are mounting up as Manny gets deeper and deeper involved in his case. Things like Lawyer fees, court fees, and having to pay back the bail put up by his brother-in-law, adds up not only in money but in mental stress. Rose’s mental breakdown shows that the family unit can be broken down by money. In a way Hitchcock is displaying the idea that becoming so dependent on financial solvency is the cause of so much hardship. Money seems to be both the key to happiness and also the key to sadness as well.
When Haeffner writes that, "The view of the world presented in ..The Wrong Man, as in so many Hitchcock dramas, is located at the crossroads between seeing, feeling, truth and illusion." I think he means that they encompass all these aspects. Hitchcock’s films manipulate our perception so that we see the world within his films the way in which he wants us to see it. It is through the way in which we see the world in his films also elicit an emotional response, like gasping in horror in “Psycho” during the shower scene. His films also depict hints of truth to them, some say that his contain cathartic elements for him as an artist. Throughout his career he delivers to an audience a sense of illusion, his Hitchcockian twists have become legendary to film fans. I think the main point is that his films have many different aspects to them and operate on several different levels of meaning.
