Call Northside 777

Year: 1948
Genre: True-Crime
Directed: Henry Hathaway
Stars: James Stewart, Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, Helen Walker, Betty Garde, Kasia Orzazewski, Joanne De Bergh, John McIntire, Howard Smith
Production: 20th Century Fox

Call Northside 777 is one of those movies that probably created a bit of a row when it was released in the cinemas of Chicago in 1948. It's the type of movie those old enough to remember the 40's and lived in the City with big shoulders would no doubt look upon fondly like many who remember the 80's look at Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). It was, after all, the first movie to be shot on location in Chicago and features the iconic Merchandise Mart along the river as well as interiors of the Chicago Times building. As an adopted son of the Windy City, I found the city added a certain je ne sais quoi; a feeling that I can't quite describe yet brought depth to the story.

Not the official movie of Chicago! Stop thinking that!

It does help that the story begins with a brief historical narration; first of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, then Chicago's most dangerous period, prohibition. Thus the plot unravels within that context. A speakeasy owned by a Polish immigrant (Garde) is robbed at gunpoint by two masked men. In the chaos a police officer is killed and days later, two men are arrested claiming innocence. One of them, Frank Wiecek (Conte) cannot recall his whereabouts on the day of the shooting and is sentenced to 99 years in prison. Ten years have passed before reporter P.J. McNeal (Stewart) is assigned to investigate the case further. The reason for the investigation; in desperation Wiecek's mother (Orzazewski) placed an ad for a $5,000 reward for information on the case. She saved that money by scrubbing floors. McNeal is at first reluctant but as he digs deeper he realizes a major injustice has indeed occurred.

While categorized as a film noir by some, Call Northside 777 is much less stylized, approaching the subject with the earthy realism of a docudrama. It's a gamble to be sure considering on-location shooting and deconstructed noirs were a new popular innovation. Jules Dassin would use a similar technique in The Naked City (1948) later that year transplanting Chicago with New York City. Hitchcock would then master this delicate balance between realism and true-crime with The Wrong Man (1956) which is a masters course in art imitating true life.

Call Northside 777 Is not an absolute masterpiece but it is a superb little gem about intrepid news reporting. James Stewart has always been a reliable source of trustworthiness, idealism and grit thus his character is perfectly on point. The real show-stopper however is Lee J. Cobb whose blustering Chicago Times editor Brian Kelly (based on real editor Karin Walsh) is the balance between practical and cynical that we need to keep the story from falling into abject moral-ism. He's much more subtle then in 12 Angry Men (1957); I'd say Call Northside 777 is edged out only by On the Waterfront (1954) as his best performance.

While a little dated, Call Northside 777 is nevertheless an interesting film worthy of a watch or re-watch if you're so inclined. It features a strong true-to-life story about a man falsely convicted of murder and a reporter willing to stake his reputation on the man's innocence. Furthermore it is a story of a city that can be as cruel as it is mighty and majestic. For me, it was a reminder on how much things can change given time; One minute there's a speakeasy on Ashland Ave. the next there's an American Apparel. Or to put it in more salient terms; one minute you're proven guilty, the next you're given a second chance.

Final Grade: C+