Call Northside 777

The neighborhood in the movie was authentic. The church seen in it was my childhood parish church, Holy Trinity. In the movie, the buildings across the street from the church were torn down to build one-story apartments. Behind the apartments, the expressway was built. This happened sometime after the movie's debut. Like many movie goers, i find the use of neighborhood scenes crucial to the story line. The director did a fine job blending in the story line with the use of Chicago area footage. Richard Conte's portrayal adds to the quality of the movie. Never disappointing, Jimmy Stewart did outstanding work. With the support of fellow cast members and film crew, "Call Northside 777" is a movie worth seeing. Even a second time.

Call Northside 777 is a genuinely engaging film. It has reliable James Stewart as an investigative reporter on a story about an alleged cop killer in prison. At first he believes that the prisoner is guilty but then becomes convinced otherwise and is willing to risk his professional reputation on clearing him. The pace of the film is told like a gritty docudrama with no dramatic musical underscore for effect. But more importantly, this film is interesting to watch for a time capsule of post WWII Chicago. The Chicago Times, the police precincts, the ethnic neighborhoods that existed then and a whole sequence of a wireless photo copier. This is generations before the fax machine was ever conceived. This film is important as Stewart was beginning his maturing film roles in the postwar period and taking on good narrative stories and less goodguy next door roles which were going out of fashion.

An eyewitness to a cop killing sends a man to the pen for 99 years. Eleven years later the convict's mother offers 5 thousand dollars to anyone proving her son is not guilty. A newspaperman looks into the case and becomes obsessed with gathering information which he is convinced will exonerate the convicted man. Tense, dramatic look at the seedy side of life.

"Call Northside 777" is a well made crime drama shot in semi-documentary style. It benefits from a solid script, and tight direction (by Henry Hathaway). It also features a naturalistic James Stewart as a sharp investigative reporter; much of the success of the film is due to his thoroughly convincing performance. A fine support cast includes Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb and Helen Walker. What ages the film a bit is the now somewhat dated technology featured (a lengthy episode in which the lie detector is treated in detail, along with certain photographic reproduction and transference techniques). Yet, one can view these aspects as historically accurate representations, and enjoy the total production, which is on a commendably high level.

It's 1932 Chicago during prohibition. A policeman is murdered by 2 men in a speakeasy. Frank Wiecek (Richard Conte) is sentenced to 99 years. Eleven years later, Frank's mother offers $5k reward in a newspaper ad for the real killers. Cynical reporter P.J. O'Neal (James Stewart) is assigned the story. He is pushed to dig into the case by his editor Kelly (Lee J. Cobb). He starts to change his mind about the case and gets pressure from the establishment. The based-on-a-true-story worked on me a little in this movie. With the matter of fact narration and the trusted face of Stewart, it becomes quite compelling. Stewart especially is the perfect guy for the role. His early cynicism is a great starting point. This is a compelling rip-from-the-headlines story led by a great actor.