Sorry, Wrong Number
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Movie Reviews of Sorry, Wrong Number
Movie Review: Hitchcockian, with a lame ending.
Summary: 4 Stars
Sorry, Wrong Number won the lead actress Barbara Stanwyck an Oscar, and she deserved every bit of it. Burt Lancaster did superbly as well.
It is based on a radio drama of the same title that was basically a monologue. It is about an woman who is confined to her bed. While calling her husband, the operator dials the wrong number and she hears two men planning her murder.
Sorry, Wrong Number takes the plot of the radio drama even further by layering it with backstory. Frankly, the plot is pretty much the same as the radio drama (which is probably because the screenplay was written by the same person that did the radio drama) only there is just so much more depth to the movie.
This movie almost seems like it was done by Hitchcock because of the firm reliance on the visual. The cinematography was brilliant-many shots are taken in continuous, beautiful movements. The shots are well done, as is the movie.
The only detracting point is the ending; I was expecting something better. What happened in the ending was similar to what Hitchcock regretted doing in Sabotage-the suspense is built up to a furious level then disappointingly squashed.
Regardless, it remains a strong movie with a stellar Academy Award-winning performance by Stanwyck and an equally good one from Lancaster. This is a well-done mystery movie, even if the ending is somewhat disappointing.
Movie Review: Stanwyck At Her Best
Summary: 4 Stars
Barbara Stanwyck was Oscar nominated for Best Actress for her role as a neurotic, controlling heir in Sorry Wrong Number, but lost to Jane Wyman's performance in Johnny Belinda. Stanwyck's screen performance as Burt Lancaster's domineering yet vulnerable wife is brilliant. The last five minutes of the film still gives me chills. Anatole Litvak who directs this 88 minute noir, successfully draws every ounce of Stanwyck's desperate emotions to film. Many critics thought that Lucille Fletcher's play would not transmitt as well on film, but Litvak's dark vision succeeds in every way. Slow camera tracking that increases Stanwyck's isolationism, effective use of shadows, and flashback narratives all add tension to the film's climatic finale. In Gary Fishgall's autobiography of Burt Lancaster, he points out that Lancaster lobbied hard for the role of Stanwyck's weak, corruptable husband. The role offered Lancaster a chance to expand his range as an actor by playing a character that departed from his tough-guy image. In Sorry Wrong Number the noir protagonist is no match for Stanwyck's dominating presence, even though she plays a woman whose neurotic fears confine her to a bed. If you are a fan of film noir the Paramount Collection DVD is crisp and the black and whites never looked better. Unfortunately the DVD does not have any production features except the original theatrical trailer.Movie Review: Stanwyck is sad but Lancaster is very handsome
Summary: 4 Stars
Burt Lancaster, visage d'ange et épaules d'athlète, est un mari blessé dans son amour-propre parce que sous-estimé par sa femme et son beau-père. Alors il prévoit de trucider sa femme....Pauvre Barbara, très riche mais très malade, qui doit se battre avec un téléphone (pas encore "portable" à cette époque) et d'étranges soupçons de plus en plus menaçants.... Thriller original, bien tortueux et pas mal "nasty" dans des décors somptueux comme les aiment les américains fortunés. Assez convaincant!Movie Review: Sorry for not having seen "Sorry, Wrong Number" DVD
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm actually writing because I wanted to inform the previous reviwer that the radio broadcast of "Sorry, Wrong Number" starring Agnes Moorehead MAY be available through www.radiospirits.com. I actually own a recording of a radio broadcast of "Sorry, Wrong Number" performed by Stanwyck and Lancaster a year or so after the movie was released. Anyway, I do love the movie and Barbara's performance (isn't hard to believe she never won an Oscar other than the Honorary Award she was given in March '82?). I intend to buy the DVD soon!Movie Review: No Oscar for Stanwyck here
Summary: 4 Stars
Another customer wrote that Barbara Stanwyck won an Oscar for "Sorry, Wrong Number." She did not. In fact, Jane Wyman won that year for "Johnny Belinda." Barbara received four nominations during her career but never won (1937, 1941, 1944, and 1948). The Academy gave her an Honorary Oscar in 1981. In fact, it was presented by John Travolta - on the very night that Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn won Oscars for "On Golden Pond."