Call Northside 777. In a heart-wrenching scene, Tillie describes how she’s been working as a cleaning lady for 11 years to save enough pennies from her meager wages to accumulate the $5,000 reward. McNeal is skeptical at first, believing Wiecek to be guilty. There are other things covered too—such as the power of a mother’s relentless love and support, and the importance of encouragement from a faithful friend or spouse. [2] Initially, officials held 10 youths in custody on suspicion of killing the officer. Running time: 1 hour, 52 minutes McNeal to look into the case. Of course, many people found a way to get to alcohol anyway, even if it meant visiting one of the many speakeasies that dotted the Windy City. These issues had not been raised on appeal because O'Brien handled it as well. Joseph Majczek and Theodore Marcinkiewicz were two Polish-American men arrested and convicted of the murder of 57-year-old Chicago police officer William D. Lundy on December 9, 1932. Rated: 4 stars out of 5, Ian Kane is a filmmaker and author based out of Los Angeles. Though both defendants presented strong alibis based on a number of witnesses saying they were elsewhere when the crime took place, both were convicted. Two weeks after the crime, a bootlegger was arrested, and in exchange for not being charged, he told police that Marcinkiewicz had been staying with the Majczek family. [8] However, Marcinkiewicz remained locked up.
Subsequently, Zagata told the Times, he thought neither of the convicted men fit his recollection of the killers. 7 report in The New York Times, Twentieth Century-Fox had named Henry Fonda to play the newspaper reporter in Call Northside 777, which would precede Chicken Every Sunday and Loan Star Preacher on Fonda's schedule. Like Kelly, she thinks that there is more to Frank and Tillie Wiesek’s story. Tony Barrett, Bob Sweeney, Betty Lou Gerson, and Frank Nelson played supporting roles. Zagata fully corroborated Majczek's account of the conversation in Molthrop's chambers. One such person was Officer Bundy, a Chicago cop.
Lloyd Nolan was originally named to play the role of Brian Kelly, but Lee J. Cobb replaced him in the end. The manager picked at random numbers from the phone book. Its excellent acting performances and deft direction make it a gripping thriller that transcends many of the genre’s clichés. He quickly scoffs at the ad, thinking it is some kind of scam. Majczek was called Frank Wiecek in the movie. It reads: “$5,000 REWARD for killers of Officer Bundy on Dec. 9, 1932. The film parallels the true story of a Chicago reporter who proved that a man jailed for murder was wrongly convicted 11 years before. Delving into the case, McNeal uncovers some curious details that either have been hidden from him by the local police or are otherwise hard to track down. But McNeal’s supportive wife, Laura (Helen Walker), begins to wear down his wall of cynicism by encouraging him to dig deeper. As McNeal doesn’t believe in Frank’s innocence, he turns down her offer. This includes personalizing content and advertising. He was certain that the true killers had been much taller than the short-statured Majczek. The details of the case formed the basis of the 1948 film Call Northside 777 starring James Stewart, Lee J. Cobb and Richard Conte. The convictions (which the Illinois Supreme Court had affirmed as People v. Majczek, 360 Ill. 261 (1935))[5] were based largely on the testimony of eyewitness Vera Walush. ‘Call Northside 777’ McGuire researched the case and learned that Officer Lundy had been murdered on December 9, 1932, and that Joseph Majczek, 24, and Theodore Marcinkiewicz, 25, were convicted in 1933 at the Cook County Superior Court.[5]. Vera Walush had initially been unable to identify the killer, but after hours of interrogation she said one them could have been a man she knew only as Ted. Further digging led McGuire to learn how Majczek and Marcinkiewicz had become suspects. James Stewart stars as the persistent journalist and Richard Conte plays the imprisoned Frank Wiecek. Wiecek is based on Joseph Majczek, who was wrongly convicted of the murder of a Chicago policeman in 1932, one of the worst years of organized crime during Prohibition. Whilst neither of these statements related to Majczek, O'Brien failed to object to their admission. Ask for Tillie Wiesek 12-7 p.m.”. Not Rated| 1h 52min | Drama, Film-Noir | March 1948 (USA). Both men were later compensated by special appropriations — $24,000 for Majczek and $35,000 for Marcinkiewicz. She quickly asks if McNeal can help her so that she can get her son out of prison since she wholeheartedly believes he is innocent of the murder. Call Northside 777 is a 1948 reality-based newspaper drama directed by Henry Hathaway. But no retrial had taken place, as Judge Molthrop died in 1935. To learn more, visit DreamFlightEnt.com or contact him at Twitter.com/ImIanKane, Based on a true story, “Call Northside 777” tells how Frank Wiecek (Richard Conte, in front, R), here escorted by an officer to his cell, is found innocent of murder. The paper also reported that Walush had been running a speakeasy and that she had been threatened with arrest if she refused to testify against Majczek and Marcinkiewicz. "Hold ten, hunt one in slaying of policeman,", "McPhaul; investigative reporting won accolades," obituary in, "Two Get 99 Years for Police Slaying.