''Sorry, Wrong Number'' is a 1948 American thriller film noir directed by

Anatole Litvak Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Литвак; 21 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in vari ...

, from a screenplay by

Lucille Fletcher Violet Lucille Fletcher (March 28, 1912August 31, 2000) was an American screenwriter of film, radio and television. Her credits include ''The Hitch-Hiker,'' an original radio play written for Orson Welles and adapted for a notable episode of ' ...

, based on her 1943 radio play of the same name. The film stars Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster. It follows a bedridden woman, who overhears the plot of murder. While on the telephone, she attempts to help her husband solve the mystery and prevent the crime. Stanwyck was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

. It is one of the few pre-1950 Paramount Pictures films which remained in the studio's library (the rest are currently owned by

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primaril ...

Radio play

's play originally aired on the '' Suspense'' radio program on May 25, 1943, essentially a one-woman show with

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

as Mrs. Stevenson, an imperious invalid who accidentally intercepts a phone call between two men plotting a murder for that evening. She tries to enlist the help of the telephone operator, the police, and a hospital, becoming more frantic as the time passes. In the final moments of the play, she realizes that she herself is the intended victim. The play was reprised seven times (on August 21, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1948, 1952, 1957 and 1960). The final broadcast was on February 14, 1960.

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

called ''Sorry, Wrong Number'' "the greatest single radio script ever written". In 2015, the broadcast was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

and selected for inclusion in the

National Recording Registry The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservati ...

Plot

Leona Stevenson is a spoiled, bedridden daughter of wealthy businessman James Cotterell. She tries to reach her husband, Henry. The servants are absent and she is alone in the apartment. She overhears two men planning a murder on a crossed telephone connection. The call cuts off without Leona learning much other than it is scheduled for the night. She fails to call the telephone company and the police for a few details. While finding Henry, Leona recalls her past. She learns that the

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

met Henry that day with an attractive woman named Sally Lord and did not return to the office. Leona recognizes the woman as Sally Hunt, a college friend in love with Henry, and at the time was poor and working in a drug store. Leona took Henry from Sally, and married him against her father's wish. Sally later married Fred Lord, a lawyer in the district attorney's office. From overheard conversations, she learns her husband was close to resolving an investigation about Henry somehow. Sally is concerned she follows her husband and two associates to a mysterious meeting at an abandoned house on Staten Island. The house sign is owned by Waldo Evans, a chemist working for Leona's father. Sally arranged to meet Henry after warning him. He received a phone call, left the table and did not return. Sally concludes that the house was destroyed, Morano has been arrested by the police, and Waldo escaped them. Leona receives a message from Henry, stating he left the town for work he had forgotten about and he will return on Sunday. Leona calls Dr. Phillip Alexander, the specialist she came to New York to see regarding her lifelong heart troubles. Alexander reveals that he gave Henry her prognosis ten days ago, something that Henry kept from her. In a flashback, Leona had gone some years without any cardiac episodes, before marrying Henry. Henry learns about her health issues for a few years, when she suffered a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

during a quarrel. It becomes clear Leona tries to use Henry, insisting he worked for her father even though he is bored. As their troubles become severe, Leona's attacks become frequent, until she is bedridden. However, Alexander diagnoses the problems as purely psychosomatic; nothing is wrong with her physically, but he thinks she needs psychiatric help. Leona calls Waldo. He reluctantly discloses that Henry recruited him to steal chemicals from the Cotterell drug company and sell them for Morano. Henry tried to bypass Morano when Waldo was transferred. However, Morano and his thugs tricked Henry into signing an IOU for $200,000 for a lost profit in three months. When Henry protested he had insufficient money, Morano pointed out that Leona has a large insurance policy. With Morano in custody, Waldo stresses that Henry no longer needs to raise the sum. He gives Leona a number to reach Henry, but when she calls and discovers that it is for the

city morgue City Morgue is an American hip hop group from New York City which consists of rappers ZillaKami (Junius Rogers) and SosMula (Vinicius Sosa). History Prior to the formation of City Morgue in 2017, Junius Rogers, professionally known as ZillaKa ...

. The distraught Leona phones a nurse at the hospital. A frantic Henry calls Leona from a

telephone booth A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; usually the user steps into the booth and closes the booth ...

. She hears an unnamed intruder sneaking inside the house, and tells Henry that she is the victim of the murder plot. Henry tells Leona to leave the house, but she is killed by the intruder and the phoneline goes off. As the police arrest Henry, he re-dials the phone, only for the killer to pick it up and send a reply to him.

Cast

Production

''Sorry, Wrong Number'' conforms to many of the conventions of film noir. The film plays in real time with many flashbacks, and adds more characters and backstories. The bedroom window overlooks the night skyline of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. The film is shot very dark, with looming shadows and a circling camera used to maintain a high level of suspense. 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.

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' listed the film as one of the Top Grossers of the year, earning $2,850,000 in the domestic market alone. Although not as well received as the radio play, with some critics noting the plot is too padded out, the movie adaptation is considered a classic of the film noir genre. Its twist ending is often cited as one of the era's most memorable. Stanwyck's performance was highly acclaimed, and garnered her a fourth Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has a score of 86%.

Adaptations

* A one-hour radio adaptation of the film was broadcast January 9, 1950, on ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

''. Stanwyck and Lancaster recreated their screen roles. * ''Sorry, Wrong Number'' was made into a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

play broadcast on station WCBW-TV (now WCBS-TV) in New York on January 30, 1946, starring Mildred Natwick. * A second live teleplay was broadcast on November 4, 1954, as the fourth episode of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

anthology series ''

Climax! ''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS progra ...

'', starring

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

and adapted by Fletcher herself, with music provided by Fletcher's former husband,

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...

. * A version was produced for Australian television in 1958 starring Georgie Sterling. Sterling had performed in the play on radio in 1948. * A

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

aired in 1989, starring

Loni Anderson Loni Kaye Anderson (born August 5, 1945) is an American actress who played receptionist Jennifer Marlowe on the CBS sitcom ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' (1978–1982), which earned her three Golden Globe Awards and two Emmy Award nominations. Early ...

, Patrick Macnee and Hal Holbrook. It was directed by Tony Wharmby and adapted by Ann Louise Bardach.

Parody

On October 17, 1948, Stanwyck did a parody of ''Sorry, Wrong Number'' on ''

The Jack Benny Program ''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio-TV comedy series that ran for more than three decades and is generally regarded as a high-water mark in 20th century American comedy. He played one role throughout his radio and televis ...

''.Benny, Jack
''The Old Time Radio Network'', at the OTR.Network Library web site, December 8, 2011. Accessed: July 12, 2013.

Other media

Clips from ''Sorry, Wrong Number'' were used for the 1982 comedy-mystery ''

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid ''Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'' is a 1982 American neo-noir mystery comedy film directed, co-written by, and co-starring Carl Reiner and co-written by and starring Steve Martin. Co-starring Rachel Ward, the film is both a parody of and a homage to ...

'', the 1991 thriller '' Dead Again'' and the 2014 action-thriller '' Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit''.

References

External links

* * * * *

Streaming audio

''Sorry, Wrong Number''
East Coast Broadcast on '' Suspense'': May 25, 1943, starring

.
''Sorry, Wrong Number''
West Coast Broadcast on '' Suspense'': May 25, 1943, starring

.
''Sorry, Wrong Number''
on '' Suspense'': August 8, 1943, starring

.
''Sorry, Wrong Number''
on '' Suspense'': September 6, 1945, starring

, broadcast to coincide with the release of the film.
''Sorry, Wrong Number''
on ''

'': January 9, 1950. Starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster.
''Sorry, Wrong Number''
on '' Suspense'': February 14, 1960, starring

in the final radio broadcast of the play. {{Anatole Litvak 1943 plays 1946 television plays 1948 films 1940s English-language films 1940s psychological thriller films American black-and-white films American psychological thriller films Film noir Films about murder Films based on radio series Films directed by Anatole Litvak Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films scored by Franz Waxman Films set in Manhattan Films set in New York City Paramount Pictures films Films about telephony United States National Recording Registry recordings 1940s American films