Real City, Real Error

If you're ever falsely imprisoned for a crime, you'd do well to have Jimmy Stewart be your advocate. In 1948's Call Northside 777, based on a true story, Stewart plays a reporter digging into the events that sent two men to prison with 99 year sentences. It's an interesting film with lots of amazing location footage of Chicago. But there's not much more to it than procedural.

Well, James Stewart is always worth your time. It'd been a while since I'd watched one of his movies and it was just nice to see him again. And he's great, first scoffing at the ridiculous idea that Frank Wiecek (Richard Conte) could be innocent.

Then we can see the evolution of feeling on his face as he listens to the man's devoted mother (Kasia Orzazewski), who's raising money, to offer a reward for the real killer, by scrubbing floors. Even Stewart's own sweet and beautiful wife (Helen Walker) gets on his case about it.

The film was directed by Henry Hathaway and there are a few atmospheric moments, most strikingly when Stewart finally tracks down a key witness in a miserable old apartment building.

Some of the politics in the movie feels oddly contemporary, as when the newspaper man assumes there's political and police corruption at play and the police he talks to are uncooperative because they're offended by a widespread perception of all cops being corrupt.

Call Northside 777 is available on The Criterion Channel in their November Noir collection. It's not a film noir by any means but it's a decent movie.

Twibytter Sonnet #1641

Conflicting dishes wrought a clatter sink.
Removing barrels brought the monkey down.
The looking glass revenge reversed the ink.
As ev'ry eye discerns across the town.
Confusion cut the coat a pocket less.
A printed face unites a town for cash.
Refreshing springs decided whom to bless.
The cookies threw that million dollar bash.
A counter crushed the napkin box to death.
Formica vision spurs the dream to kill.
Electric trams were choked with fire breath.
Reception checked the falling ice's will.
Redoubled print absolves the wanted soul.
Researching meant evolving ev'ry goal.