Okay, maybe the title of my posting is a little misleading, but it caught your attention, right? Actually, my far better half and I ventured to the newly-renovated Niagara Falls History Museum at 5810 Ferry Street this evening for the final film in the Hitchcock series, which has been going on through the fall months.
Tonight's film was a somewhat lesser-known Hitchcock film, The Wrong Man, from 1956. Starring Henry Fonda and Vera Miles, the film is apparently based on a true story, and Hitch just happened to take it to heart, producing what was for him at least, a rather touching look at how a case of mistaken identity can not only change lives, but can very nearly destroy them, too.
If you have not seen the film you really should rent it or in modern parlance, download it to your computer (from a reputable source, of course). It is a little longer than some of Hitchcock's classic films, but even at 105 minutes it seems to be cut too short at the end.
Shot in glorious black and white in New York City, although much of the inside scenes were shot on a soundstage somewhere, it really takes you back to a much simpler time with different values and people's misconceptions looking downright archaic in this day and age.
What I liked about the film is the very fact it is from an age when cell phones were not readily available, so you had to wait to find a rotary dial phone, for example. A time when men routinely wore a shirt, tie and suit wherever they went, and of course, a fedora was pretty much standard equipment. The men just look great, frankly, and I miss that in modern day society. Heck, even the criminals are reasonably well-dressed in this film!
Yes, the women dress conservatively and well, too, but that is almost expected from that era.
The film series is a relatively new experiment at the newly expanded and renovated Niagara Falls History Museum, and I think they might very well be on to something here. The room for the film screenings is, shall we say, cosy, but full to capacity on this night for the free screening. The museum itself is absolutely spectacular and certainly a credit to the City of Niagara Falls and indeed the Region. If you have not been, you really should spend some time down there, and now is a perfect time with the tourist season done for another year.
As for the film series, this round is done now, and programmer Joan Nicks, who introduces each film, has planned a science fiction film series for the winter months, starting in February. Sci-fi films are not really my thing, so I might sit the next series out, but if you are interested, here is the lineup for the next series:
February 6, 2014 - Blade Runner/Ridley Scott, 1982
February 20, 2014 - Solaris/Steven Soderberg, 2002
March 6, 2014 - Moon/Duncan Jones, 2009
March 20, 2014 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy/Garth Jennings, 2005
April 3, 2014 - To Be Announced (but Joan promises it will be a surprise!)
The science fiction film series will tie in neatly with a new exhibition opening at the museum January 16 to April 20, titled Space. According to the handout this evening, you'll be able to stretch out under the stars in a portable planetarium and see a moon rock on loan from NASA brought back to earth from an Apollo mission. Now that, I could get interested in.
Anyway, a great turnout tonight for the final Hitchcock film, and it was nice to meet up with local traveller George Bailey, formerly of the Niagara Parks Commission, and my own personal history idol, Niagara Falls and NPC Official Historian Sherman Zavitz. You just never know who you'll run into at the museum on a rainy, cold Thursday night!
For more information on the Niagara Falls History Museum, go to www.niagarafallsmuseums.ca, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
November 20th, 2013.
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