Plot: What’s it about?
Based on the immensely popular radio show by the same name, Sorry, Wrong Number was then transformed into a best-selling novel and was then made into the film we see here. Starring Burt Lancaster and Barbara Stanwyck, the once radio play was brought to the screen with devastating force. Though we might consider it tame by today’s standards, it was, at the time, a very moving and tense film noir. I suppose that my main problem with the film was the fact that it’s told mostly in flashbacks; and sometimes even flashbacks within flashbacks. They’re hard to follow and it takes a little while to figure out if you’re in the present or the past. Then again, that may be the allure of the film…it forces you to concentrate and therefore you get that much deeper into the storyline. And speaking of the storyline, it’s essentially another tale of greed, love and betrayal. An old Hollywood tradition. Like another film of its time and same genre, The Third Man, we find that prescription drugs are at the heart of this love lost tale. But the real question is…will they get away wit it?
We first see Leona Stevenson (Barbara Stanwyck) as she is confined to her bed, a tray of pills next to her bed. As she is talking to the operator, she accidentally gets linked in on another phone call. While this might not be a big deal, the two men are talking of a murder that is to happen that night at 11:15. Terrified, helpless and not knowing what to do, she frantically tries to get the operator or the police to help them. After having no luck, she then starts to worry about her husband, Henry (Burt Lancaster) with whom she hasn’t seen all day. It turns out that Henry got a visit from an old girlfriend of his, met her for lunch and now he has not been seen by anyone since. With the tension building, Leona starts to find out some information about her husband that she finds hard to believe.
A little background on the couple (this might make the movie make more sense if you’re watching it for the first time). Henry is an uneducated man, never went to college and never finished high school. Leona is the daughter of a rich family, who owns the country’s largest pharmaceutical chain. After Henry and Leona are married, he gets a cushy desk job as Vice President of the company. He’s unhappy with his job and he wants to make something of himself on his own merit. But as they live under the roof of her father, it’s soon evident that Henry is at the whim of his wife and/or his father in law. Add to this the fact that Leona is starting to have chronic heart attacks every time that she is upset, and Henry is in a world he’d rather be without.
For me, Sorry, Wrong Number was about 85 minutes of build up and plot with the last three making it worthwhile. I found it a bit difficult to follow, but in hindsight, I think it would play a lot better the second time around. I suppose I’ve become spoiled to the action movies of today, but it’s movies like this that paved the way for them. While I don’t think the film was nearly as successful as the trailer touted, and it didn’t win any major awards (though Stanwyck was nominated for Best Actress for her role here), it’s a good movie for a rainy day. Then again, some people can’t get enough of those film noirs! The movie, as short as it is, doesn’t move as slowly as I have made it out; but there are certainly better works of film out there. I prefer Lancaster in From Here to Eternity and Stanwyck in Double Indemnity, but again…that’s just me.
Video: How does it look?
As with the movies of the time, Sorry, Wrong Number is shown in it’s original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The Black and White transfers of the time do date the movie, but it looks surprisingly good on DVD. I have seen bits and pieces of the movie on cable, but I was pretty satisfied with the transfer here. There’s no real artifacting here, but the film does have a constant grain that is with it from beginning to end. Still, the lack of color eliminates a lot of the errors that plague some of the color films of the time. All in all, I have no major complaints, it’s most likely better than when it came out at the time, so sit back and enjoy it.
Audio: How does it sound?
Again, the original mono track is used and for a movie based on a 22 minute radio play, one wouldn’t really expect a strong soundtrack. We don’t get it. Seriously, the audio of most movies before 1980 really isn’t a factor like it is today. We’re used to little tiny sounds coming out of our 6 speakers, but if you really want to watch a movie and pay attention, then the center one is all you need. Sorry, Wrong Number has a basic soundtrack that more than serves its purpose. You essentially get what you expect without any of the hiss associated with some of the older movies.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Paramount has included the original theatrical trailer.
