Murder Calling

 

Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) A poor, young man is maneuvered into marrying an aggressive and manipulative heiress. Using every tool at her command, she maintains her grip on him. How far will he go to free himself?

Directed by Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster

Why I Liked It – the original phone call slasher movie, Stanwyck at the top of her game.

My first memory of this story is as a radio drama. I came across it as a kid, and it was a classic. Lucille Fletcher wrote the original radio script and the adaptation for the screen. All the tension remains, built with care as the action progresses. It stands up well 60 plus years later.

The key to the story is that Leona Stevens (Stanwyck) is an invalid who can only move on her own with great difficulty. Spoiled by her doting father, she bullies her husband Henry (Lancaster) into a life that centers on her. One evening, while trying to call Henry, she is connected to another call. Two men discuss the murder of a woman, planning to use the sound of a passing train to cover the sounds. Frantic, she tries to get the phone company, the police, even her husband to believe her, and help the woman. The plot tightens around Leona despite all her best efforts.

(For the younger readers, in the early days the telephone industry, many people shared telephone lines. Called a “party line”, this meant that other people could listen in to your phone calls (which was rude). But it also meant that you could inadvertently hear conversations too. The technology of the time (used into the 1960s) made this kind of “crossed wires” possible, if uncommon.

There’s plenty of backstory here. Leona stole Henry from another girl and cornered him into marrying her. A meaningless job with her father’s company was her first step to gain control of every aspect of his life. She also hid her medical condition from him before the wedding. Stanwyck was brilliant at bringing intelligent, driven women to the screen. She could do it all, screwball comedy like “The Lady Eve” to the steamy woman on the train in “Double Indemnity”. One of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood, this role earned her a third Oscar nomination. Leona is a needy, volatile manipulator who bursts off the screen even when trapped in her bed.

It’s unusual to see Lancaster in a role where he’s dominated by someone else. Henry doesn’t have much direction, but with a burning desire to succeed. Leona lures him with the offer of getting everything he wants, but hides the price from him. Angry, frustrated and with no control over his own life, Henry pushes back.

There’s a great supporting cast here. Fans of 1960s and 70s television will be familiar with Ed Begley, Robert Conrad, and Wendell Corey. But this show is Stanwyck’s, and she delivers right to the final moment.

Rating – **** Recommended