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Call Northside 777 Details

1948 DVD Certificate U.gif
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 392 members

When a cop is murdered on patrol small-time crook Frank Wiecke takes the rap and is sentenced to life. Eleven years later, hard-boiled reporter PJ O'Neal is assigned to look into the case but finds the authorities unwilling to co-operate... Read more

Starring James Stewart, Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, Helen Walker
Director Henry Hathaway
Genres Drama

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Call Northside 777

When a cop is murdered on patrol small-time crook Frank Wiecke takes the rap and is sentenced to life. Eleven years later, hard-boiled reporter PJ O'Neal is assigned to look into the case but finds the authorities unwilling to co-operate...

Starring James Stewart, Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, Helen Walker, Betty Garde, Kasia Orzazewski, Joanne De Bergh, Howard Smith, Moroni Olsen
Director Henry Hathaway
Studio METRODOME DISTRIBUTION
Run time DVD: 2 hrs
Certificate DVD Certificate U.gif
Genres Drama
Language English
Released DVD: 30 Jan 2006
Production year: 1948
Format DVD
  • Critics' reviews (4) of Call Northside 777

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  • 4 stars out of 5

    James Stewart doesn't always convince as the investigating reporter trying to clear Richard Conte of a murder he didn't commit, but the growing sense of injustice carries you along in director Henry Hathaway's crime drama based on a real-life story. With producer Louis de Rochemont (who made his name with The March of Time newsreels), Hathaway had forged a new style of gritty movie-making that reconstructed true stories with a realism and attention to the details of police procedure that made them seem more like documentaries than thrillers, starting with 1945's The House on 92nd Street. The technique soon became clichéd and this is the last picture in the cycle that still works as a vibrant and crusading piece of film-making.

    • Radio Times
  • 2 stars out of 4

    Overlong semi-documentary crime thriller based on a real case. Acting and detail excellent, but the sharp edge of Boomerang is missing.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
  • Most helpful member's review of Call Northside 777

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  • 4 out of 5 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    James Stewart At His Best

    Having seen this film some years ago,i can`t understand why this film has still not got a release date on DVD. The script is well written and the cast are superb, Stewart plays a newspaper reporter who decides after being approached by the mother of a man ( her son ) sent to prison for a crime he did`nt commit.

    A great film, why oh why can`t we make films like this anymore today.

      • A customer from England
  • Most recent members' review of Call Northside 777

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  • Rated - 3 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Average film, nice details

    Not a great deal of intensity or revelations in this film, perhaps because it is based on a true story. It's nicely filmed and certain locations – the Polish quarter of Chicago for instance – are evocative. There are also elements of poverty and seediness that you don't tend to see in films of this era and they are filmed plausibly and add interest.

    Summing up, this film is probably most interesting for the little details rather than the big picture.

      • Philpy from Cornwall
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Rating breakdown

392 Member ratings
  • 100
36
  • 90
37
  • 80
94
  • 70
89
  • 60
74
  • 50
31
  • 40
13
  • 30
7
  • 20
8
  • 10
3

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    • When a cop is murdered on patrol small-time crook Frank Wiecke takes the rap and is sentenced to life. Eleven years later, hard-boiled reporter PJ O'Neal is assigned to look into the case but finds ...