| SORRY, WRONG NUMBER (1948) stars the | | | | score. The only way to get that kind of money seems |
| unforgettable Barbara Stanwyck as Leona Stevenson, | | | | to get his wife's inheritance. But for that, the wife must |
| the bed-ridden daughter whose father owns the | | | | die. And since the bad guys want the money within 90 |
| largest drug company in the country, and Burt | | | | days, that seals the crippled wife's fate. |
| Lancaster who plays her husband Henry Stevenson, a | | | | In the fantastic opening scene the crippled Leona, who |
| handsome guy from the wrong side of the tracks with | | | | is alone in bed at her palatial home in New York City, |
| whom Leona falls madly in love at first sight. | | | | inadvertently eavesdrops to two men talking about |
| Henry has a girlfriend, sally Lord (played by Australian | | | | murdering a woman at 11:15 p.m. as the train passes |
| actress Ann Richards) but the brazen Leona who | | | | from the nearby tracks. She tries to alert the police |
| never took a "no" from anyone in her life, manages to | | | | and tries to get a nurse from the hospital, to no avail. |
| maneuver Henry to an eventual marriage by her force | | | | At the end, despite the fact that the leader of the bad |
| of sheer will and the millions she dangles in front of | | | | guys, Morano (played by a very youthful William |
| Henry's eyes. | | | | Conrad) is caught, the juggernaut is on. A frantic and |
| Henry, who automatically becomes a VP in her | | | | repentant Henry calls Leona on the road to Boston |
| father's company, leads a comfortable existence until | | | | and confesses her everything but it's too late. |
| the indignity of his servitude starts getting to him. To | | | | After the scary final act worthy of any Hitchcock flick, |
| correct the situation and declare his own | | | | Henry calls home again only to be answered by the |
| independence, Henry gets involved in a plot to siphon | | | | hired killer himself who responds with the title of the |
| off his father-in-law's riches with the aid of underworld | | | | movie: "Sorry, wrong number." |
| characters and the company's chief chemist. | | | | A very good crime story with good acting and |
| However, when the bad guys are convinced that | | | | believable character motivations, told in too many |
| Henry is cheating them as well, they demand a | | | | flashbacks to count. A must see for all fans of crime |
| payment of $200,000 (which probably translated to | | | | movies and thrillers. |
| tens of millions of dollars back in 1948) to settle the | | | | A 9 out of 10. |