Advertisement
Sign in
Username
Password
Remember me
Forgot password?
Wanna join?
Sign up
Find movies you'll love
Home
Movies
People
Groups
Reviews
Podcasts
News
My People
>
jj79
>
Blog
JJ79 Blog
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
Under discussion:
Sorry, Wrong Number
(1948)
Barbara Stanwyck trying to get an operator
Released:
September 1, 1948
Director:
Anatole Litvak
*****
There are few things I hate more in life or in the movies than people who think they are helpless. That probably colored by view of this Oscar nominee more than anything else. Leona (Stanwyck) is confined to her bed for unknown reasons, relying on nurses and a telephone at her bedside for comfort. When she overhears a call seemingly telling of a murder, she frantically calls everyone she can think of. All from her bed.
We're told very early Leona can't leave her bed, yet on at least one occasion she does. Why, then, in the finale, is she so paralyzed with fear she can't do anything but scream at the top of her lungs? Told mostly in flashbacks to her life with husband Henry (Burt Lancaster), a tangled web of a spoiled girl and her whipped husband comes into focus.
Originally a radio play,
Sorry, Wrong Number
is a showcase for Stanwyck, though her character is so ill mannered, so used to getting her own way and determined to have people wait on her hand and foot, the audience wants to slap her silly. That's not the reaction we're meant to have, I understand, but it is a natural one nonetheless. This entire exercise borders on, well, boredom, since it's only the endgame we're supposed to care about. And, in order not to spoil the movie, I won't divulge it here.
For a situation I usually jump for joy over (a character alone on one set having to act),
Sorry, Wrong Number
is just annoying. The silver lining? A tiny glimpse into the history of telephones, before we could dial anyone we wanted to without the assistance of an operator.
(spout.com)
Syndicated Feed From:
TheMovieRambler’s blog
posted on Tuesday, May 29, 2007 7:41 PM by
JJ79
Was this review helpful?
Comment
Email me new comments.
Like what you're reading?
Subscribe
RSS 2.0
Search
Go
Browse previous
<
May 2007
>
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Dig through the archives
October 2009 (9)
September 2009 (21)
August 2009 (8)
October 2008 (1)
September 2008 (14)
August 2008 (13)
July 2008 (13)
June 2008 (308)
June 2007 (19)
May 2007 (8)
Categories
Reviews (361)
Advertisement
© 2009 Spout LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide.