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Sorry, Wrong Number  /  The Phantom of Crestwood

Sorry, Wrong Number
March 11, 2016 - 7:30 pm

Preserved by the Library of Congress

Sorry, Wrong Number  (1948)


Barbara Stanwyck takes on Agnes Moorehead's celebrated role as the frantic invalid of Suspense's much-reprised radio play.  Alone and bedridden, Leona Stevenson tries desperately to raise the alarm after overhearing a murder plot on the phone, only to realize that she is its intended victim.  Claustrophobically structured in seemingly real time, director Anatole Litvak’s film speeds to its horrifying conclusion.

35mm, b/w, 89 min.  Production: Hal Wallis Productions, Inc.  Distribution: Paramount Pictures, Inc.  Producer: Hal Wallis, Anatole Litvak.  Director: Anatole Litvak.  Based on the radio play by Lucille Fletcher.  Screenwriter: Lucille Fletcher.  Cinematographer: Sol Polito.  Editor: Warren Low.  Composer: Franz Waxman.  With: Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards, Wendell Corey, Harold Vermilyea.

The Phantom of Crestwood  (1932)


Listeners to RKO’s six-part serial The Phantom headed to theaters for this denouement to the tale of gold digger Jenny Wren and her untimely death after extorting former lovers for hush money.  A sudden storm and an unexpected guest at a seaside estate set the stage for an atmospheric whodunit as the evening’s narrative unfolds through layered flashbacks and multiple perspectives.

35mm, b/w, 77 min.  Production: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.  Distribution: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.  Director: J. Walter Ruben.  Screenwriter: Bartlett Cormack.  Cinematographer: Henry Gerrard.  Editor: Archie F. Marshek.  With: Ricardo Cortez, Karen Morley, Anita Louise, Pauline Frederick, H. B. Warner.