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Call Northside 777

January 26, 2023

Call Northside 777 is a 1948 reality-based newspaper drama directed by Henry Hathaway. The film parallels the true story of a Chicago reporter who proved that a man jailed for murder was wrongly convicted 11 years before. James Stewart stars as the persistent journalist and Richard Conte plays the imprisoned Frank Wiecek. Wiecek is based on Joseph Majczek, who was wrongly convicted of the murder of a Chicago policeman in 1932, one of the worst years of organized crime during Prohibition.

Call Northside 777
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHenry Hathaway
Screenplay byJerome Cady
Jay Dratler
Leonard Hoffman (adaptation)
Quentin Reynolds (adaptation)
Based on1944 Chicago Daily Times articles
by James P. McGuire
Jack McPhaul -- writer
Produced byOtto Lang
StarringJames Stewart
Richard Conte
Lee J. Cobb
Helen Walker
Narrated byTruman Bradley
CinematographyJoseph MacDonald
Edited byJ. Watson Webb Jr.
Music byAlfred Newman
Distributed byTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Release date
  • March 1948 (1948-03)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.7 million (US rentals)[1]

Plot

 
James Stewart in Call Northside 777 (1948)

In Chicago in 1932, during Prohibition, a policeman is murdered inside a speakeasy. Frank Wiecek (Richard Conte) and another man are quickly arrested, and in November 1933 are convicted and sentenced to serve 99 years imprisonment each for the killing.

Eleven years later, Wiecek's mother (Kasia Orzazewski) puts a classified ad in the Chicago Times, offering a $5,000 reward for information about the true killers of the police officer. This leads the paper's city editor, Brian Kelly (Lee J. Cobb), to assign reporter P.J. McNeal (James Stewart) to look more closely into the case. McNeal is skeptical at first, believing Wiecek to be guilty. But he starts to change his mind, and meets increased resistance from the police and the state attorney's office, who are unwilling to be proved wrong. This is quickly followed by political pressure from the state capital, where politicians are anxious to end a story that might prove embarrassing to the administration.

Eventually, Wiecek is proved innocent by, among other things, the enlarging of a photograph showing the date on a newspaper that proves that a key witness statement was false. (In actuality, innocence was determined not as claimed in the film but when it was found out that the prosecution had suppressed the fact that the main witness had initially declared that she could not identify the two men involved in the police shooting.[2])

Cast

Production

It was reported on January 24, 1947, that, according to the studio, the picture would be filmed in the documentary manner. Fox had obtained the necessary legal clearances from the persons involved in the story and had dispatched Otto Lang, producer, and Leonard Hoffman, writer, to Chicago to gather material for the film. Eventually, Quentin Reynolds and Jay Dratler joined Hoffman in writing the script.

Casting the film proved complex. According to a March 7 report in The New York Times, Twentieth Century-Fox had named Henry Fonda to play the newspaper reporter in Call Northside 777, which would precede Chicken Every Sunday and Lone Star Preacher on Fonda's schedule. However, after a month, another report pointed out that Fox had named Fonda for a leading role in the screen adaptation of Elizabeth Janeway's novel, Daisy Kenyon, which necessitated Fonda's replacement in Call Northside 777. Two months later, another report said that Twentieth Century-Fox was "negotiating for the services of James Stewart for the leading role in Call Northside 777." Lloyd Nolan was originally named to play the role of Brian Kelly, but Lee J. Cobb replaced him in the end. Leopoldine Konstantin was originally scheduled to play the wrongly convicted man's mother, but in the end the role went to Kasia Orzazewski.

This was the first Hollywood feature film to be shot on location in Chicago.[citation needed] Views of the Merchandise Mart as well as Holy Trinity Polish Mission can be seen throughout the film.

Reception

Critical response

The film received mostly positive reviews when it was first released, and again when it was released on DVD in 2004. In 2004, the Onion AV Club Review argued that the film may not be a true film noir, but is good nonetheless: "Outstanding location shooting and Stewart's driven performance turn a sober film into a vibrant, exciting one, even though the hero and the jailbird he champions are really too noble for noir."[3] The website DVD Verdict made the case that the lead actor may be the best reason to see the film: "Its value exists mainly in Stewart's finely drawn characterization of a cynical man with a nagging conscience."[4]

"By far the best documentary-style movie yet... Hands down the most expert, informative, gripping, and develops the most substantial audience rooting interest of them all"---AGER, PM.

"Calls for three cheers from every working newspaper man and, for that matter, for at least two from every moviegoer."---CREELMAN N.Y Sun

Awards

Wins

Nominations

  • Writers Guild of America: WGA Award; Best Written American Drama, Jerome Cady and Jay Dratler; The Robert Meltzer Award (Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene), Jerome Cady and Jay Dratler; 1949.

Marketing

Call Northside 777 was advertised by the Valerie Theatre in Inverness, Florida. The manager picked out random numbers from the phone book. If the party called answered by saying "Are you calling Northside 777," free tickets to see the show were given.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Adaptations

For an episode of CBS Radio's Hollywood Sound Stage, broadcast December 27, 1951, Harry Kronman adapted and directed a condensed 30-minute version of the film, casting Dana Andrews and Thomas Gomez in the leads. Tony Barrett, Bob Sweeney, Betty Lou Gerson, and Frank Nelson played supporting roles.

The April 17, 1951, audition episode of the radio program Defense Attorney (then titled Defense Rests) starring Mercedes McCambridge was based on the same plot, with some modifications.

Indian Hindi film Post Box 999 (1958) directed by Ravindra Dave was inspired by this film.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Top Grossers of 1948", Variety 5 January 1949 p 46
  2. ^ "J. Majczek; wrongfully imprisoned," Chicago Tribune obituary, June 1, 1983, p. B4.
  3. ^ Murray, Noel 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine. Onion AV Club Review, film review, March 29, 2005. Accessed: April 5, 2008.
  4. ^ DVD Verdict 2006-02-08 at the Wayback Machine. Film review, 2005. Accessed: April 5, 2008.
  5. ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  6. ^ Dave, Hiren B. (2019-04-16). "Tribute: Director Ravindra Dave, who was 'Ravinbhai' in Hindi films and 'Bapa' for Gujarati cinema". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2019-05-10.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Call Northside 777.

Streaming audio

  • Call Northside 777 on Screen Guild Theater: October 7, 1948
  • Call Northside 777 on Hollywood Sound Stage: December 27, 1951

January 26, 2023
call, northside, 1948, reality, based, newspaper, drama, directed, henry, hathaway, film, parallels, true, story, chicago, reporter, proved, that, jailed, murder, wrongly, convicted, years, before, james, stewart, stars, persistent, journalist, richard, conte,. Call Northside 777 is a 1948 reality based newspaper drama directed by Henry Hathaway The film parallels the true story of a Chicago reporter who proved that a man jailed for murder was wrongly convicted 11 years before James Stewart stars as the persistent journalist and Richard Conte plays the imprisoned Frank Wiecek Wiecek is based on Joseph Majczek who was wrongly convicted of the murder of a Chicago policeman in 1932 one of the worst years of organized crime during Prohibition Call Northside 777Theatrical release posterDirected byHenry HathawayScreenplay byJerome CadyJay DratlerLeonard Hoffman adaptation Quentin Reynolds adaptation Based on1944 Chicago Daily Times articlesby James P McGuireJack McPhaul writerProduced byOtto LangStarringJames StewartRichard ConteLee J CobbHelen WalkerNarrated byTruman BradleyCinematographyJoseph MacDonaldEdited byJ Watson Webb Jr Music byAlfred NewmanDistributed byTwentieth Century Fox Film CorporationRelease dateMarch 1948 1948 03 Running time111 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office 2 7 million US rentals 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 4 1 Critical response 4 2 Awards 5 Marketing 6 Adaptations 7 References 8 External links 8 1 Streaming audioPlot Edit James Stewart in Call Northside 777 1948 In Chicago in 1932 during Prohibition a policeman is murdered inside a speakeasy Frank Wiecek Richard Conte and another man are quickly arrested and in November 1933 are convicted and sentenced to serve 99 years imprisonment each for the killing Eleven years later Wiecek s mother Kasia Orzazewski puts a classified ad in the Chicago Times offering a 5 000 reward for information about the true killers of the police officer This leads the paper s city editor Brian Kelly Lee J Cobb to assign reporter P J McNeal James Stewart to look more closely into the case McNeal is skeptical at first believing Wiecek to be guilty But he starts to change his mind and meets increased resistance from the police and the state attorney s office who are unwilling to be proved wrong This is quickly followed by political pressure from the state capital where politicians are anxious to end a story that might prove embarrassing to the administration Eventually Wiecek is proved innocent by among other things the enlarging of a photograph showing the date on a newspaper that proves that a key witness statement was false In actuality innocence was determined not as claimed in the film but when it was found out that the prosecution had suppressed the fact that the main witness had initially declared that she could not identify the two men involved in the police shooting 2 Cast EditJames Stewart as P J McNeal based on real life reporter James McGuire Richard Conte as Frank Wiecek based on real life convict Joseph Majczek Lee J Cobb as Brian Kelly based on real life editor Karin Walsh Helen Walker as Laura McNeal Betty Garde as Wanda Skutnik based on real life witness Vera Walush Kasia Orzazewski as Tillie Wiecek based on real life mother Tillie Majczek Joanne De Bergh as Helen Wiecek Michael Chapin as Frank Wiecek Jr Howard Smith as K L Palmer based on real life manager K L Endecott Moroni Olsen as Pardon Board Chairman J M Kerrigan as Sullivan John McIntire as Sam Faxon Paul Harvey as Martin J Burns based on real life lawyer Martin J Scott George Tyne as Tomek Zaleska based on real life convict Theodore Marcinkiewicz uncredited Leonarde Keeler as Himself the actual inventor of the Polygraph uncredited E G Marshall as Rayska uncredited Thelma Ritter as receptionist uncredited Lionel Stander as Corrigan Wiecek s cellmate uncredited Truman Bradley as the narrator uncredited Samuel S Hinds as Judge Charles Moulton uncredited Production EditIt was reported on January 24 1947 that according to the studio the picture would be filmed in the documentary manner Fox had obtained the necessary legal clearances from the persons involved in the story and had dispatched Otto Lang producer and Leonard Hoffman writer to Chicago to gather material for the film Eventually Quentin Reynolds and Jay Dratler joined Hoffman in writing the script Casting the film proved complex According to a March 7 report in The New York Times Twentieth Century Fox had named Henry Fonda to play the newspaper reporter in Call Northside 777 which would precede Chicken Every Sunday and Lone Star Preacher on Fonda s schedule However after a month another report pointed out that Fox had named Fonda for a leading role in the screen adaptation of Elizabeth Janeway s novel Daisy Kenyon which necessitated Fonda s replacement in Call Northside 777 Two months later another report said that Twentieth Century Fox was negotiating for the services of James Stewart for the leading role in Call Northside 777 Lloyd Nolan was originally named to play the role of Brian Kelly but Lee J Cobb replaced him in the end Leopoldine Konstantin was originally scheduled to play the wrongly convicted man s mother but in the end the role went to Kasia Orzazewski This was the first Hollywood feature film to be shot on location in Chicago citation needed Views of the Merchandise Mart as well as Holy Trinity Polish Mission can be seen throughout the film Reception EditCritical response Edit The film received mostly positive reviews when it was first released and again when it was released on DVD in 2004 In 2004 the Onion AV Club Review argued that the film may not be a true film noir but is good nonetheless Outstanding location shooting and Stewart s driven performance turn a sober film into a vibrant exciting one even though the hero and the jailbird he champions are really too noble for noir 3 The website DVD Verdict made the case that the lead actor may be the best reason to see the film Its value exists mainly in Stewart s finely drawn characterization of a cynical man with a nagging conscience 4 By far the best documentary style movie yet Hands down the most expert informative gripping and develops the most substantial audience rooting interest of them all AGER PM Calls for three cheers from every working newspaper man and for that matter for at least two from every moviegoer CREELMAN N Y Sun Awards Edit Wins Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay 1949 Nominations Writers Guild of America WGA Award Best Written American Drama Jerome Cady and Jay Dratler The Robert Meltzer Award Screenplay Dealing Most Ably with Problems of the American Scene Jerome Cady and Jay Dratler 1949 Marketing EditCall Northside 777 was advertised by the Valerie Theatre in Inverness Florida The manager picked out random numbers from the phone book If the party called answered by saying Are you calling Northside 777 free tickets to see the show were given The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists 2001 AFI s 100 Years 100 Thrills Nominated 5 Adaptations EditFor an episode of CBS Radio s Hollywood Sound Stage broadcast December 27 1951 Harry Kronman adapted and directed a condensed 30 minute version of the film casting Dana Andrews and Thomas Gomez in the leads Tony Barrett Bob Sweeney Betty Lou Gerson and Frank Nelson played supporting roles The April 17 1951 audition episode of the radio program Defense Attorney then titled Defense Rests starring Mercedes McCambridge was based on the same plot with some modifications Indian Hindi film Post Box 999 1958 directed by Ravindra Dave was inspired by this film 6 References Edit Top Grossers of 1948 Variety 5 January 1949 p 46 J Majczek wrongfully imprisoned Chicago Tribune obituary June 1 1983 p B4 Murray Noel Archived 2007 03 11 at the Wayback Machine Onion AV Club Review film review March 29 2005 Accessed April 5 2008 DVD Verdict Archived 2006 02 08 at the Wayback Machine Film review 2005 Accessed April 5 2008 AFI s 100 Years 100 Thrills Nominees PDF Retrieved August 20 2016 Dave Hiren B 2019 04 16 Tribute Director Ravindra Dave who was Ravinbhai in Hindi films and Bapa for Gujarati cinema Scroll in Retrieved 2019 05 10 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Call Northside 777 Call Northside 777 at IMDb Call Northside 777 at AllMovie Call Northside 777 at the TCM Movie Database Call Northside 777 at the American Film Institute Catalog Call Northside 777 at Rotten Tomatoes Joseph M Majczek legal case at Northwestern University School of Law Call Northside 777 film trailer on YouTube More follow up on Call Northside 777Streaming audio Edit Call Northside 777 on Screen Guild Theater October 7 1948 Call Northside 777 on Hollywood Sound Stage December 27 1951 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Call Northside 777 amp oldid 1135192123, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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