If you (and your beliefs) don't stand for something you will fall for anything They just don't make great crime movies like Call Northside 777 anymore. Even though the film is based on a true crime that occurred on December 09th, 1932, in which a Chicago police officer was shot and killed by two robbers in a neighborhood speakeasy camoflauged as a delicatessen, the thieves' identities were unknown. An investigation was quickly undertaken, and two men of Polish descent were quickly apprehended, convicted by a court and jailed for 99 years. The two men who were found guilty continued to proclaim their innocence.
It wasn't until almost twelve years later On October 10, 1944, when a classified advertisement appeared in the Chicago Times that stated the following: "$5,000 REWARD FOR KILLERS OF OFFICER LUNDY ON DEC. 9, 1932. CALL GRO 1758, 12-7 P. M." The ad was brought to the attention of the city editor Karin Walsh, who assigned a seasoned police reporter named James McGuire to dig into the story further. What made this a storied advertisement and true human interest story that needed paying attention to, was the personal ad was paid for and the $5K reward offered by one of the convicted prisoners hard working mothers who saved the $5K reward money scrubbing floors for the past eleven (11) years, scrimping and saving and never losing faith in her sons innocence of the crime of murder of a Chicago policeman.
The film took a few liberties with the actual personal names and events that occurred, but the basis of the story remains true. Two wrongfully accused and convicted Polish men were sent to prison to serve a lifetime conviction and a dog determined crime news reporter (fictitious) named P J McNeal (James Stewart) required some considerable convincing before he could be convinced that these two convicts were wrongfully imprisoned.
The film is presented in a semi documentary style which was new at the time to film productions as was filming in the Chicago neighborhood(s) where the crime occurred. The black and white film cinematography just adds another level of realism to the paradox of these two young Polish men. Are they guilty or innocent in a black and white film transparency?
No spoilers here but suffice to say actor Jimmy Stewart and his editor boss Brian Kelly (played superbly by Lee J Cobb) who feeds tidbits of encouragement to a hungry crime reporter P J McNeal to keep fighting the good fight to try and free the wrongfully imprisoned.
I give the film an under rated 9 out of 10 IMDb rating.