Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man is haunting in a different way from most of the rest of his filmography. There is no Norman Bates, no killer birds, and no thugs in trenchcoats. This one is more down to earth: based on a true story, one that could conceivably happen to any of us. Henry Fonda plays a man whose life is stripped away, piece by piece, when he is mistaken for a man that committed a robbery.

The film is more serious than the usual Hitchcock thriller; it tackles one of Hitch's favorite themes (the innocent man wrongfully accused) in an almost documentary-like manner. The black and white cinematography is fraught with harsh lights and dark shadows, starting right with the opening shot, which features Hitchcock himself introducing the story in dramatic silhouette.