Sorry, Wrong Number
| Sorry, Wrong Number | |
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| Directed by | Anatole Litvak |
| Produced by | Anatole Litvak Hal B. Wallis |
| Written by | Lucille Fletcher play and screenplay |
| Starring | Barbara Stanwyck Burt Lancaster Ann Richards Wendell Corey |
| Music by | Franz Waxman |
| Cinematography | Sol Polito |
| Editing by | Warren Low |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 1, 1948 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 89 min. |
| Language | English |
Sorry, Wrong Number is a 1948 American suspense film noir directed by Anatole Litvak. It tells the story of a woman who overhears a plot for murder. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Ed Begley, Leif Erickson and William Conrad.[1] The film was adapted by Lucille Fletcher from her radio play. It is one of the few pre-1950 Paramount Pictures films that remained in the studio's library (the rest are currently owned by Universal).
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[edit] Plot
Stanwyck plays Leona Stevenson, a spoiled, bedridden daughter of a millionaire. The telephone is her sole connection with the outside world. One day, while listening to what seems to be a crossed phone connection, she eavesdrops on two men planning a woman's murder. Leona calls the phone company and police, only to be ignored. Adding to Leona's dilemma is the fact that her husband Henry (Lancaster) is missing.
After a number of phone calls, the terrorized Leona begins to piece together the mystery. Her uneducated husband, who works for her wealthy father, turns out to be not all he seems. Finally, to her horror, Leona realizes she is the intended victim.
[edit] Production
Sorry, Wrong Number conforms to many of the conventions of film noir. The movie is shot in real time, with many flashbacks to flesh out the story.
Stanwyck's bedroom window overlooks the night skyline of Manhattan. The film is shot very dark, with looming shadows and circling camera shots used to maintain a high level of suspense.[2]
Hollywood's Production Code Administration initially objected to elements of Fletcher's screenplay, including its depiction of drug trafficking, and the script was significantly revised to win approval.[3]
[edit] Radio play
Fletcher's play originally aired on the Suspense radio program on May 25, 1943, essentially a one-woman show with Agnes Moorehead as Mrs. Stevenson. The play was reprised seven times, each starring Moorehead. The final broadcast was on February 14, 1960. However, there was another radio version: on January 9, 1950, Lux Radio Theater broadcast an adaptation of the film, with Stanwyck recreating her big screen role. The radio is now being broadcasted in many countries such as Guam, Ecuador, and India. [4]
[edit] Awards
For her role as Leona Stevenson, Barbara Stanwyck was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.[5]
[edit] Other adaptations
- Sorry, Wrong Number was made into a television play broadcast on station WCBW-TV (now WCBS-TV) in New York on January 30, 1946, starring Mildred Natwick and G. Swayne Gordon. [6]
- A second live teleplay was broadcast on November 4, 1954, as the fourth episode of the CBS anthology series Climax!, starring Lillian Bronson, adapted by Fletcher herself, with music provided by her then-husband, Bernard Herrmann.[7]
- Another television version aired in 1989, starring Loni Anderson, Patrick Macnee and Hal Holbrook. It was directed by Tony Wharmby and adapted by Ann Louise Bardach.[8]
- On 17 October 1948, Stanwyck did a parody of Sorry, Wrong Number on The Jack Benny Program.[9]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Internet Movie Database
- ^ Film Noir of the Week article
- ^ Turner Classic Movies' The Big Idea
- ^ Jay Space article on the radio program
- ^ Allmovie biography on Barbara Stanwyck
- ^ IMDB article on the 1946 TV broadcast
- ^ IMDB article on the 1954 TV broadcast
- ^ IMDB article on the 1989 TV broadcast
- ^ Jack Benny on the Old Time Radio Network
[edit] External links
- Sorry, Wrong Number at the Internet Movie Database
- Suspense and Lux Radio Theater broadcasts of "Sorry, Wrong Number"
