Call Northside 777 (1948)

Date	User	Rating
Sep 09, 2021	PUNQ	70 _96%
What I'll say about Call Northside 777 is that it felt authentic. Almost too much so for the James Stewart shtick. None of that Hollywood glamour touches here, and that's this crime investigation's strong-point. The confrontation with the crooked witness played by Betty Garde the was film's peak, and what a fantastic bit of acting that was! The fact that Garde hadn't been seen on the silver screen since 1931 makes it even more incredible. A satisfying and educational journey to justice.
Jul 25, 2020	caocao	73 _76%
The skepticism of Stewart's character stood out to me, in what must be one of the earliest entries about a character out for social justice. Many of the beats still work, and in fact play very effectively.
Sep 25, 2017	Seethruskin	4 _52%
Carried by a wonderful performance by Stewart
Mar 04, 2017	mrarn	48 _53%
Hathaway tried to create some drama, but it just didn't happen. It's pretty telling when the big scene is driven by a photo being developed.
Jan 11, 2016	fenixdown	62 _20%
Couple of cool scenes and not much else. The true story is fascinating, though.
Sep 27, 2015	jymkata	79 _55%
Slick little mock-documentary crime flick that feels a little like James Stewart is doing a warm-up for Anatomy of A Murder, which unfortunately is better than this film in literally every way. The film stays intriguing while never hitting suspenseful, which means that this is a great Sunday afternoon with the grandparents film, unlike, say, Se7en
Nov 22, 2014	myfavchords	75 _47%
This is a good film, it is a straightforward crime drama. The script does the job and is not very fancy. Jimmy Stewart is excellent in the lead role and he helps make this film better. I would recommend this movie.
Sep 10, 2014	Ag0stoMesmer	3 _73%
Jimmy made a lousy cynical hack but, as his character changes the casting came good. Has a cool documentary-with-flourishes style to most of it looks-wise -with a couple of scenes of noir.
Mar 02, 2014	hotsake	70 _74%
It's a pretty good movie that gets pretty far fetched towards the end. Well acted by all involved even the minor players. My big question at the end is what ever happened to the other guy who was innocent?????!!!!!
Nov 18, 2011	cat9man	80 _58%
Remarkable in its time for a frank presentation of what we now call inocence projects. Stewart lends a lot of credibility to the role of a man who transitions from sceptic to believer.
Jul 18, 2011	afx237vi	50 _36%
The story itself is fairly interesting, and I quite liked the procedural aspects of Stewart uncovering all the evidence and meeting the witnesses and so on. His transformation from hardened cynic to campaigner for justice was handled well. Unfortunately I thought the direction was mediocre. It's very dry and unexciting, with long (oh so long) periods of nothing but dialogue and heavy-handed exposition. I also thought there were too many questions left unanswered at the finish.
May 10, 2011	billkerwin	86 _71%
A police procedural with a heart. Jimmy is his usual adorable self and Conte is particularly intense as a defensive, prickly man who endears himself to us in spite of (because of?) his pride. Hathaway's direction is undistinguished, but it gets the job done.
Apr 05, 2011	mandy	6 _45%
Fairly average James Stewart 'taking on the system' black and white. A bit long winded and an incredibly cheesy end.
Mar 09, 2010	Mechatigger	86 _74%
Exciting, fast-paced story. A bit implausible toward the end but you'll like it.
Dec 10, 2009	KasperL	80 _86%
I wouldn't classify this as noir, but it's a good procedural starring two of the period's greats, Stewart and Conte, both playing against type.
Aug 20, 2009	Stain	80 _68%
We meet a man whose mother insists was wrongly sent up for murder. Since this is a newspaper picture starring Jimmy Stewart (and definitely not "noir" like some people claim), no prizes for guessing how it ends. That being said, this is a well-made, entertaining movie, made by people who knew how to shoot a film in black and white. However ordinary this picture may be in other ways, it looks GREAT, and cries out to be seen on the big screen
Jun 24, 2009	Dally	70 _42%
Very procedural but entertaining, even when the humanity of the Stewart character's crusade drips into sentimentality. As a truly wretched woman, Betty Garde gives an incendiary performance (up there with Ann Savage in Detour!) as a thoroughly unreliable witness to a cop murder.
May 31, 2008	scottstilson	41 _30%
Hopeful, low-key Hollywood docu-noir, thoughtfully scripted and shot, with Jimmy -- sorry, JAMES Stewart doing a fine job in his first cinematic turn as a hard-nosed realist (rather than a lovable, drawling everyman).
Apr 02, 2008	Nathan S	1 _6%
Totally unremarkable, and not really film noir. Jimmy Stewart is Jimmy Stewart, and Richard Conte is horribly miscast as he's totally unsympathetic. Cobb is good enough, and there is a sequence where Jimmy Stewart wanders around a Polish slum and into a witness's house that resembles the chiaroscuro and attitude of noir. That's about it. I think the way everything is wrapped up is a bit unconvincing as well.
Sep 23, 2007	Farzan	75 _68%
Stewart and Cobb are terrific as usual. It was a good film, but I was a little let down.
Dec 19, 2006	MartinTeller	71 _38%
This film isn't anything special, but it holds your interest. It's billed as a film noir, but only the scene where Jimmy Stewart visits "Wanda Skutnik" really has that feel to it. The movie could have benefitted from more of it.

Average Percentile 56.93% from 243 Ratings