Sorry, Wrong Number

''Sorry, Wrong Number'' is a 1948 American thriller and film noir directed by Anatole Litvak, from a screenplay by Lucille Fletcher, based on her 1943 radio play of the same title.

The film stars Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster. It follows a bedridden woman who overhears the plot of murder while on the telephone. By phone, she attempts to contact switchboard operators, police, or others who might help her prevent the crime. Stanwyck was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

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).

Radio play

Lucille 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.

Plot

Mrs. Stevenson, an imperious invalid, 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 is the intended victim.

Broadcast history

The play was performed seven more times, on August 21 of the same year and again in 1944, 1945, 1948, 1952, 1957 and 1960. The final broadcast was on February 14, 1960. Orson Welles called ''Sorry, Wrong Number'' "the greatest single radio script ever written". In 2014, the broadcast was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

Movie Plot

The film version of ''Sorry, Wrong Number'' is about three times as long as the original radio play and includes flashbacks to previous events in Mrs. Stevenson's life and marriage, as well as scenes showing events involving other characters.

In the film, Leona Stevenson is a spoiled, bedridden daughter of wealthy businessman James Cotterell. Using her phone, she tries to reach her husband, Henry. The servants are absent and she is alone in the apartment. On a crossed telephone connection, she overhears two men planning a murder. The call is cut off without Leona learning much, other than the deed is scheduled for that night at exactly 11:15 when a train will be passing by the murder location, drowning out any screams of the person being murdered. When she calls the telephone company and the police, they do not believe her about the murder.

While attempting to reach Henry, Leona recalls her past. Through various telephone calls, she learns that the secretary 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, who at the time was poor and working in a drugstore. Leona took Henry from Sally, and married him against her father's wishes. Sally later married Fred Lord, a lawyer in the district attorney's office. From overheard conversations, Sally learns her husband was close to resolving an investigation about Henry. Sally is concerned; she follows Henry and two associates to a mysterious meeting of three men, including Henry, at an abandoned house on Staten Island. The house sign indicates the owner is Waldo Evans, later revealed to be a chemist working for Leona's father. Sally arranged to meet Henry to warn him about what she had seen, but he received a phone call, left the table and did not return. Sally later learns that the house was destroyed, "Morano"--an apparent gangster--has been arrested by the police, and Waldo escaped them.

Leona receives a message from Henry, stating he left town to complete some work he had forgotten about and 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 Henry kept from her. A flashback shows Leona had occasional cardiac episodes for a number of years before she married Henry, something Henry realized a few years into their marriage, when she suffered a cardiac arrest during a quarrel. It becomes clear Leona tries to use Henry, insisting he work for her father even though he is bored. As their troubles become severe, Leona's attacks become more 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.

Waldo calls Leona with a message for Henry. He 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 coerced Henry into signing an IOU for $200,000 in three months to compensate for a lost profit. When Henry protested he had insufficient money, Morano pointed out that Leona had 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 she discovers it is the city morgue. The clock is shown as being 11pm. The distraught Leona calls a nurse at the hospital requesting a private nurse, but is told they can't provide her with one. A frantic Henry calls Leona from a telephone booth as Leona hears an intruder lurking inside the house. Leona tells Henry she knows about his stealing from her father's company, that Waldo has conveyed that there is no longer any need for Henry to obtain the money (from Leona's life insurance) and that she knows she is the victim of the murder plot. Henry tells Leona she has 3 minutes to get to the open window in her bedroom and scream as loudly as she can for the police. However, paralyzed by fear, she is unable to move, and--as a train is seen and heard approaching nearby--the phone line goes dead. As the police prepare to arrest Henry, he re-dials the phone, which the killer answers, replying curtly: "Sorry, wrong number."

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. The film is shot in very dark light, 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'' listed the film as one of the top grossers of the year, earning $2,850,000 in the U.S. 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, 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''. Stanwyck and Lancaster recreated their screen roles.
* The original May 18, 1943 broadcast of the radio program '' Suspense'' featured Agnes Moorehead in the role. It was repeated no fewer than seven times.
* ''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.
* A second live teleplay was broadcast on November 4, 1954, as the fourth episode of the anthology series '' Climax!'', starring Shelley Winters and adapted by Fletcher, with music provided by Fletcher's former husband Bernard Herrmann.
* A version was produced for Australian television in 1958 starring Georgie Sterling. Sterling had performed in the play on radio in 1948.
* The concept of the film was used as the basis for the ''Murder, She Wrote'' 1987 episode "Crossed Up".
* A television film aired in 1989 (as an original production for the USA Network), starring Loni Anderson, 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 Show"
''The Old Time Radio Network Library''. 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'', the 1991 thriller '' Dead Again'' and the 2014 action-thriller '' Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit''.

See also

* List of films featuring home invasions
* '' Locke'', 2013 British film in which all characters besides protagonist are heard over the phone and not shown.

References

External links

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''Sorry, Wrong Number'' at AllMovie
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Streaming audio

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

''Sorry, Wrong Number''
West Coast Broadcast on ''Suspense'': May 25, 1943, starring Agnes Moorehead
''Sorry, Wrong Number''
on ''Suspense'': August 8, 1943, starring Agnes Moorehead

''Sorry, Wrong Number''
on ''Suspense'': September 6, 1945, starring Agnes Moorehead, broadcast to coincide with the release of the film

''Sorry, Wrong Number''
on '' Lux Radio Theatre'': January 9, 1950, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster
''Sorry, Wrong Number''
on ''Suspense'': February 14, 1960, starring Agnes Moorehead 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
Films set on the New York City Subway
Paramount Pictures films
Films about telephony
United States National Recording Registry recordings
1940s American films
English-language thriller films