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Film noir, a classic film style of the '40s and '50s, is noted for its dark themes, stark camera angles and high-contrast lighting. Comprising many of Hollywood's finest films, film noir tells realistic stories about crime, mystery, femme fatales and moral conflict.
When a classified ad grabs the attention of Chicago Times editor Brian Kelly (Lee J. Cobb), he sends ace reporter P.J. McNeal (James Stewart) to dig up new evidence in the 11-year-old case of a cop killer: It appears that Frank Wiecek (Richard Conte) has taken a fall, and been wrongly imprisoned for the murder. Although hard-nosed McNeal is initially skeptical, he eventually believes that Wiecek was, in fact, a patsy. And although McNeal hits one dead end after another, the avid newsman never gives up the search for justice for the innocent Wiecek.
Member Reviews
Great story, mediocre movie - CaptainDave
There was the potential for a thrilling movie to be made here. An innocent man, Frank Wiecek, is sentenced to life in prison for a cop killing he didn't commit and a relentless reporter tries to establish the man's innocence against the odds.
You can sometimes see bits of that great movie. In the character performances: Kasia Orzazewski as Tillie, mother of the innocent man; Betty Garde as Wanda Skutnik, whose false testimony sends and keeps him in jail. In the few flashes of interesting direction, lighting, writing or set design: James Stewart as the reporter, Jim McNeal, lurking in a shabby apartment corridor; a uniformed policeman casually walking into a 1930s speakeasy and asking for a drink; a bunch of Polish immigrant men playing cards in a back room; a police force closing ranks to protect its own.
Alas, those bits are among the few, tiny spots of shine left in this dull film. Ten minutes of grinding setup and voiceover narration drag on until the movie really starts with the mother's classified ad in the newspaper offering a reward for information that will free her son. The film then plods along, like James Stewart's acting -- lazy, slow, reluctant, predictable -- draining the story of any suspense or interest. The movie is more interested in its own importance than in entertaining an audience: including howlers like an obviously symbolic jigsaw puzzle, and bells literally going off when McNeal figures out how to crack the case.
McNeal is an odd, unconvincing reporter, not just cyncial, but downright lazy and seemingly bored by his job. He doesn't find his own leads, he's apparently so sloppy at the start that he doesn't take notes and even tells his subjects how he's going to angle their stories.
Other bits of detail are just plain wrong: reporters don't write their own headlines, linotypes don't set type right-reading, you can't blow up a news photo to get the level of detail we ultimately see.
Skip it, don't Zip it.Stewart - Kubla_Conde
I like the Stewart character for the contrast he offers with the crusading journalists of, say, All the President's Men. We see Mac as a reporter most interested in selling newspapers, rather than necessarily telling the truth. Of course, by the end, his character has grown beyond this superficiality, but I was pleased to see that.Calling altruistic film heroes - CW--
This film has all the makings of a sharp, edgy whodunnit, resplendent with stock characters one comes to expect and enjoy from a 1940's film. However, by the time the conclusion plays itself your left scratching your head, wondering if you possibly missed something. Not because the film is confusing, but because the build up throughout leaves you to expect more. Jimmy Stewart makes for a peevish hero, a reporter assigned to a story he's not sure he believes in. But as the evidence starts to build in favour of the focus of the piece, Stewart becomes a figure of towering decency, stopping at nothing to right what's been done wrong. That's what makes it all the more disappointing when the final frame comes into focus. Yes, we've got an answer to our question, but what about all the other loose ends the film dangles before us? It's commendable the studio stayed faithful to the true story at hand, but here's one case where maybe a little dramatic license would have been appreciated.
Member Reviews
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Great story, mediocre movie - CaptainDave
There was the potential for a thrilling movie to be made here. An innocent man, Frank Wiecek, is sentenced to life in prison for a cop killing he didn't commit and a relentless reporter tries to establish the man's innocence against the odds.
You can ...Stewart - Kubla_Conde
I like the Stewart character for the contrast he offers with the crusading journalists of, say, All the President's Men. We see Mac as a reporter most interested in selling newspapers, rather than necessarily telling the truth. Of course, by the end, his character ...Calling altruistic film heroes - CW--
This film has all the makings of a sharp, edgy whodunnit, resplendent with stock characters one comes to expect and enjoy from a 1940's film. However, by the time the conclusion plays itself your left scratching your head, wondering if you possibly missed ...