Though Alfred Hitchcock declares, in a prologue, that The Wrong Man differs from his other films because it’s based on a true story, it nonetheless belongs – in method, tone, and theme – with his more celebrated works of practical mystery and elusive identity.
Henry Fonda stars as Manny Balestrero, a devoted husband and father living with his wife (Vera Miles) and family in Queens. Upon entering a local insurance office to attend to family business, he’s mistaken for someone who had previously robbed it. Eyewitnesses and circumstantial evidence link him to other robberies, and, though there’s no doubt of his innocence, his alibis don’t check out.
The more that Manny is forced to assert his innocence, the more he’s afflicted with a sense of guilt – one that’s fuelled by his faith, his intense feeling of family responsibility, and his confidence in the law. Hitchcock’s ultimate point evokes cosmic terror: innocence is merely a trick of paperwork, whereas guilt is the human condition.
– Richard Brody, The New Yorker
