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28 out of 31 people found the following review useful: A Story Of a City, 5 April 2001 Author: telegonus from brighton, ma
This is the last, and in my opinion the best, of director Henry Hathaway's so-called 'numbers' trilogy (the other two are House 0n 92nd Street and 13 Rue Madeline, both badly dated now). It was made at the height of the so-called semi-realist or semi-documentary movement in American film-making, which was just peaking (and soon to decline) when this picture came out. Filmed on location in and around Chicago, it tells the story of a newspaperman who comes to believe in the innocence of a convicted criminal when the man's aged mother places an ad in the paper asking for information about the by now almost forgotten crime her son was accused of.At first cynical, the reporter comes to believe the man's story, and arranges for him submit to a lie-detector test, which he passes. In short time the hunt is on the one person who can help prove the man's innocence. This is a very gutsy film for its day, and along with the much inferior The Naked City, released at about the same time, it is the one that makes the best use of urban locations. We see a long-gone Chicago, a city of brick and cement buildings that echo with the footsteps of busy men in heavy overcoats on their way to the 'office'. It is also a city with a huge, almost underground immigrant population, which we see only glimpses of early in the film, but whose members take on increasing prominence as the story progresses. The last part of the movie, with the reporter taking to the streets in tough authentic Polish neighborhoods, contains some of the best, most evocative and sympathetic views of the streets, saloons and dingy walk-up apartments of the urban poor I've ever seen. No pity is asked for and none is given. This is simply the way some people live; by beer, boiler-maker, song and crude humor. There is warmth, too, in these tight-knit communities, with their air of familiarity and loyalty, their rules of conduct unknowable to the outsider. Hathaway is often seen as a plain, almost prosaic director, even at his best. In Call Northside 777 his steady journeyman hand is most welcome. He shows us an American city landscape quite different from what one normally finds in movies. We are in a terrain very much of the interior, the heartland, an America most easterners scarcely know of, its cities just as big and bustling as any on the Atlantic seaboard, but also quite different in tone, style and flavor. The film captures this aspect its midwestern city to perfection.
23 out of 24 people found the following review useful: Engrossing Crime Drama, 15 April 2000 Author: harry-76 from Cleveland, Ohio
"Call Northside 777" is a well made crime drama shot in semi-documentary style. It benefits from a solid script, and tight direction (by Henry Hathaway). It also features a naturalistic James Stewart as a sharp investigative reporter; much of the success of the film is due to his thoroughly convincing performance. A fine support cast includes Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb and Helen Walker. What ages the film a bit is the now somewhat dated technology featured (a lengthy episode in which the lie detector is treated in detail, along with certain photographic reproduction and transference techniques). Yet, one can view these aspects as historically accurate representations, and enjoy the total production, which is on a commendably high level.
16 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Reliable Jimmy Stewart fighting for a cause, 8 April 1999 Author: David Diamond (davastav@yahoo.com) from Great Neck, NY, USA
Call Northside 777 is a genuinely engaging film. It has reliable James Stewart as an investigative reporter on a story about an alleged cop killer in prison. At first he believes that the prisoner is guilty but then becomes convinced otherwise and is willing to risk his professional reputation on clearing him. The pace of the film is told like a gritty docudrama with no dramatic musical underscore for effect. But more importantly, this film is interesting to watch for a time capsule of post WWII Chicago. The Chicago Times, the police precincts, the ethnic neighborhoods that existed then and a whole sequence of a wireless photo copier. This is generations before the fax machine was ever conceived. This film is important as Stewart was beginning his maturing film roles in the postwar period and taking on good narrative stories and less goodguy next door roles which were going out of fashion.
13 out of 14 people found the following review useful: Authentic Neighborhood, 16 January 2006 Author: roma_fiftytwo from United States
The neighborhood in the movie was authentic. The church seen in it was my childhood parish church, Holy Trinity. In the movie, the buildings across the street from the church were torn down to build one-story apartments. Behind the apartments, the expressway was built. This happened sometime after the movie's debut.Like many movie goers, i find the use of neighborhood scenes crucial to the story line. The director did a fine job blending in the story line with the use of Chicago area footage.Richard Conte's portrayal adds to the quality of the movie. Never disappointing, Jimmy Stewart did outstanding work. With the support of fellow cast members and film crew, "Call Northside 777" is a movie worth seeing. Even a second time.
10 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Nailing Down the Facts, 11 August 2006 Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York
Call Northside 777 has James Stewart patiently trying to nail down enough facts to get Richard Conte a pardon from a murder for which he was falsely convicted. The tale is told in the documentary style that Henry Hathaway developed post World War II and that Darryl F. Zanuck used in several 20th Century Fox films.On orders from editor Lee J. Cobb, Stewart checks out the source behind a small personal advertisement in the Chicago Sun-Times where he works. The ad is placed by Richard Conte's mother who works as a cleaning woman and saved enough money to offer a reward of $5000.00 for information clearing her son. Back during the last days of Prohibition, Conte and another man were sent up for killing a Chicago policeman in a grocery store that fronted for a speakeasy. Conte was convicted mainly on the eyewitness testimony of the owner of the establishment Betty Garde.Stewart gradually comes to believe in Conte's innocence and works tirelessly on his behalf. The best single performance in this film is by Betty Garde. A real portrait in evil that one is.This has always been a film I've had an identity with. I had a similar situation in my former job with NYS Crime Victims Board. I had a case where a man sustained multiple injuries including the loss of a leg when a car drove up on a sidewalk and hit him. The report was never written up as any kind of crime, just an accident. The driver was given a summons and that was that.I did a lot of work to prove the police were wrong in their action and it took two years, but I gathered enough evidence and my claimant was declared a crime victim and received the benefits from my former agency. The perpetrator was never charged with anything, but that was not in my mandate. Nevertheless I know exactly what Jimmy Stewart had to prove and how hard it is. The police even more than most of us do not like to admit they are wrong.Call Northside 777 is a nicely done documentary style feature which is a great lesson in what a man with determination can accomplish.
8 out of 10 people found the following review useful: Solid Cinematic Effort, 4 February 2006 Author: Lechuguilla from Dallas, Texas
Based on a true story, "Call Northside 777" follows P.J. McNeal, a newspaper reporter played by James Stewart, as he investigates a decade old murder case. The setting is Chicago in the 1930s and 40s.Frank Wiecek (Richard Conte) has been convicted of a cop killing and sentenced to 99 years in prison. Convinced of her son's innocence, Frank's mother, an elderly and lowly cleaning lady, takes out an ad in the newspaper for information that will help free her son. McNeal grudgingly looks into the case, but doubts Wiecek's innocence. As the film moves along, McNeal slowly changes his perception of Wiecek.Some viewers consider this to be a film-noir. To me, it is more of a docudrama, a staging of a real life story. The dialogue seems realistic. And the acting is low-key and credible. The film also highlights the technology of the era, including the use of the printing press, the polygraph, and a miniature camera.But what impressed me most was the use of the Chicago locations where the real life story took place. Further, the B&W visuals are appropriately drab, dreary, and depressing, which reflects the tone of the actual events. There's very little background music, which also adds authenticity to the film. The only downside is the matter-of-fact procedural style in which the story is told, especially relative to the fatherly VO narration at the film's beginning and end. The film comes across at times as dry, and lacking emotional depth.Devoid of cinematic hype, and told in a straightforward and plodding manner, "Call Northside 777" will appeal to people who seek realism in films. And, of course, the film's basis in fact, vis-a-vis fiction, adds to its credibility.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: reporter sets out to prove a convicted man is innocent, 18 June 1999 Author: helpless_dancer from Broken Bow, Oklahoma
An eyewitness to a cop killing sends a man to the pen for 99 years. Eleven years later the convict's mother offers 5 thousand dollars to anyone proving her son is not guilty. A newspaperman looks into the case and becomes obsessed with gathering information which he is convinced will exonerate the convicted man. Tense, dramatic look at the seedy side of life.
12 out of 18 people found the following review useful: A Decent, But Bland Noir, 7 December 2006 Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States
This was pretty good in that it was an involving story, based on a true-life incident. Jimmy Stewart provides his usual solid acting performance, but so does everyone. The rest of the cast includes stalwarts Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, Helen Walker and Betty Grable.It's the old story of an innocent man going to jail for a murder he didn't commit (redundant, I know) and then some digging out the facts to free the man. In this case, it's a newspaper reporter, "P.J. McNeal" (Stewart) .Here, the poor man "Frank Wiecek" (Conti) was in jail for 11 years. The story shows all the pitfalls and failures that went into the reporter's investigation. Hey, these sort of things don't come as easy as on an hour TV program. In fact, in this film it looked like it was a hopeless case for much of the time.The bad news is that the movie just wasn't good enough to add to my film noir collection. It's really not that much of noir anyway. The cinematography isn't much, no beautiful or at least floozy "dames," no funny lines, no fascinating characters, cool music or scenery. In other words, it's okay but too bland for a "keeper."
11 out of 17 people found the following review useful: A truly great film., 13 November 2000 Author: Julie-30 from New York City
Yes, almost every time I review a film, I say it's one of my favorites, but I tend not to review films I don't feel strongly about.This is a film I feel VERY strongly about. Jimmy Stewart is incredible, as always, in the role of a cynical newsman who is assigned to figure out what really happened in a 10-year-old murder case. I saw it years ago, well before fax machines existed, and was fascinated at how he figures out "the story behind the story."I make a point of watching it whenever it's on, and would love to see it released on DVD.
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Solid, Well-Made Forties Crime-Thriller With Excellent Performance From Stewart, 12 February 2006 Author: ShootingShark from Dundee, Scotland
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
McNeal is a reporter with a Chicago newspaper, investigating the conviction of two men for the murder of a policeman eleven years previously. Sceptical at first, he gradually becomes convinced of their innocence, but his column's campaign to highlight the injustice meets with hefty opposition from local government and police.Based on a true story, this is an extremely influential crime picture in terms of its style; there is neither any melodrama or film-noir stylings. Instead, it presents itself with simple straightforward sequences, authentic settings (it was one of the first Hollywood pictures to be shot chiefly on location) and naturalistic performances from the talented cast. As such, it was the model for hundreds of cop movies and TV shows in the fifties, and even though some of the plot devices seem dated - a polygraph test, a spy's camera, a photo enlargement - it still packs a punch. You want the wronged men to be exonerated, if only because all the city's political power and hired muscle seems to be against them. Typically, Stewart is the core of the film, his solid performance the epitome of audience identification, but there is strong support from Conte, Cobb and Garde (as a memorable Polish-American lush who holds the key to the case) and don't miss the bits by Marshall and Stander. Arguably the best film by the prolific Hathaway (the other contenders being The Lives Of A Bengal Lancer, Kiss Of Death and The Desert Fox) and a solid, old-fashioned, no-nonsense crime story.
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