CALL NORTHSIDE 777

CALL NORTHSIDE 777 - 1948

RATED - NR but probably G/PG for mature themes. Family friendly but probably not of interest for young children.

RATINGS - 39 Amazon (4.5/5), 17,476 Netflix (3.7/5), 2,393 IMDB (7.5/10).

STARRING - James Stewart, Lee J. Cobb, Helen Walker, Richard Conte.

AWARDS - 1949 EDGAR (Mystery Writers Association) for Best Motion Picture.

THEMES - Justice, relationships.

STORY - Based on a true story, this docudrama-like film is the story of how police corruption in 1930's Chicago resulted in the wrongful conviction of Frank Wiecek for killing a policeman. A newspaper reporter for the Chicago Times (Stewart) responds to a two line personal ad offering a $5000 reward (a large sum then) for information helping to overturn the verdict 11 years later. He finds a hard working, floor scrubbing woman who is the mother of Wiecek. Since his conviction she has worked and saved every penny to free her son. Stewart is initially unconvinced but writes a sympathy article to promote her cause. Little by little, things come to light that indicate there may be some truth to her beliefs. Once convinced, he is relentless in his pursuit of freeing this man he now believes to be innocent. He reaches dead end after dead end but, finally, with time running out, he finds what he's looking for. Will it be enough and will it be in time? In addition to a very interesting story (and great acting by Stewart, etc) much of the film is shot on location in and around Chicago. Definitely an overlooked gem of Jimmy Stewart's great career. If you like law & order and courtroom dramas you will enjoy this. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 01/01/2010.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, WIKIPEDIA.