Runtime: 89 minutes
Directed by: Anatole Litvak
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Harold Vermilyea
From: Paramount
I return to the world of film noir for Norivember. Those have been watched by me for years now, not just exclusively to November; <a href="https://letterboxd.com/blairrussell/list/black-film-the-film-noir-ive-watched-since/">there's in fact a list made by me</a> for those that ever need any suggestions, especially those that are new to the genre. I'll check out at least one more genre example later this month.
This played last night on Turner Classic Movies; Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster are never bad reasons to see a motion picture. She is a bedridden woman who happens to be wealthy; there's no time wasted in getting the plot started. Babs is a bedridden woman alone in her bedroom who is unable to call her husband's office-we know that phone is off the hook. She attempts to have the operator assist her but by happenstance, she is spliced into a conversation w/ two men discussing a murder about to occur in a few hours. Her Leona Stevenson attempts to call that operator, the cops, etc. but the details are vague and plus it's 1940's sexism, so she isn't believed. Meanwhile, Burt is her husband.
Even if the viewer might be ahead of Mrs. Stevenson, Sorry, Wrong Number is quite the entertaining yarn. Evidently, this radio play was greatly expanded for the silver screen. There are flashbacks and even flashback within flashbacks—Stanwyck isn't always stuck in the bedroom and in fact used to be ambulatory until a bad heart ruined her health. We discover how the leads were an odd couple that fell in love; we also discover (to echo the thoughts of others on Letterboxd) Leona had some melodramatic moments irrelevant to her overhearing a murder plot, although she's that outside of the flashbacks as well.
Sorry, Wrong Number was filmed well, w/ moments where the camera didn't remain static-its movements helping to explain the plot without the usage of speech. The quality supporting cast (Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Ed Begley, Sr., Leif Erikson, etc.) were further assets. I was happy to have finally tackled this film noir; the hope is that by the end of the month, I'll view at least one more from the genre, and they likely will be famous examples that should have been viewed long before November, 2026.
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