Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) New York Noir

Obviously for a New Yorker, it's always interesting to watch a film set in or depicting New York City.

Sorry, Wrong Number was a Paramount Studio Production. It was all shot in California, however. Only some rear projection scenes had some real New York City footage.

Here's where the Noir Nerd in me meets the Subway/el Nerd

The footage, depicting the scenes of views seen through the windows of the Stevenson's Sutton Place apartment show two directions. The view South is night footage of traffic on the FDR Drive alongside  the East River and a Con Ed power plant off in the distance The view North, again at night, is of the East River, and the Queensboro Bridge.

Though Sorry, Wrong Number was released in 1948 what's really interesting is that the footage depicts a plot point from Lucille Fletcher's radio play. In the play when the wires get crossed on her phone and Leona overhears a murder plot. The two men conversing, discussing the murder a woman decide to time it to when a train goes over the bridge, to drown out any noise. So two things are going on here one it was a time when there was no air conditioning so windows in most New York City homes be they expensive apartments, townhouses, or tenements, would be open trying to catch cross ventilation or in the case here on Sutton Place East River Breezes. The second thing going on is that fact that in the footage as in the radio play trains are running over the Queensboro Bridge. The trains are the 2nd Avenue el. The 2nd Ave el had a spur that ran to Queensboro Plaza in Long Island City. The Queensboro Plaza Station was one of the largest el stations serving the el, the IRT, and the BMT.

Looking North. A 2nd Avenue el train on 2nd Ave., taking the spur curve approaching the ramp onto the Queensboro Bridge at 59th Street.

The abandoned in 1942 spur ramp to the bridge just below the gasholders. 
Part of the upper level by this screen cap was was converted to auto lanes.

Originally the design cross section called for six lanes of traffic on the lower level with two streetcar tracks running on the outside. The upper level was originally designed for two el tracks with pedestrian walkways on either side. The image below shows that original configuration with the two el tracks center span and wide pedestrian walkways up to cantilever truss where they pinch in as in the cross section view. 

This configuration was modified (see below) to shift the tracks to the North side eliminating the North side pedestrian walkway altogether and shave off some of width of the pedestrian walkway on the South side to accommodate two vehicular traffic lanes on the South (right side). Tracks at bottom (above) are Second Ave el. 

Here is a 6 car el train 1940-41 on the approach curve to the bridge ramp at 59th Street Manhattan side. You can see the completed vehicular upper level roadway on right. Notice that the tracks retain the original alignment as designed in the cross section in center of span up to where they jog over to the left to accommodate the upper roadway lanes where they go through the cantilever arch between the two masonry towers just to the left of the center smoke stack. Notice also that the North side (left) pedestrian walkway has been dismantled.

This image (above) looking West from the Queens end of upper level shows the preparation for the construction of that vehicular roadway on left with the two el tracks moved to right of centerline of span.

The finished upper level roadway with a three car 2nd Ave el train crossing the bridge in the 1930s

2nd Ave. el train coming off bridge into Queensboro Plaza Station. It is on upper track to left in image below. Tracks on right are the BMT subway Astoria Line coming up from 60th Street tunnel. The el car on extreme top right on other side of the platform is the shuttle terminal of the IRT Astoria Line.

A train of BMT Standards coming up from 60th Street Tunnel view shows the two 2nd Ave el  tracks  from Queensboro Bridge (sreencap from Naked City TV series)

Looking East the el train in the image just above this one would have pulled into Queensboro Plaza station on tracks to the immediate right. 

That BMT D-Type Triplex 6052 subway train just came up out of the 60th Street Tunnel, and is discharging all its passengers before it pulls ahead empty into the lay up track to the East of the station. That allows the motorman to drop the train down to the lower level where he can swap ends and then pull into the lower level of the station and pick up passengers heading into Manhattan via the 60th Street Tunnel. Between 1924 and 1949 Queensboro Plaza was the terminal for the 10' wide BMT trains. The 2nd Ave el was abandoned in 1942. In 1949 a new connection was provided from the 60th St. Tunnel to the former 2nd Avenue portion of the Queensboro Plaza station, and the platforms were cut back there and all along the Astoria Line to accommodate the wider BMT cars all the way to Ditmars Terminal. 

*Notice that the Triplex train had 3 traction motors every two cars cutting maintenance costs. Also of note is at far end of train (center left edge of image above) the Station signal/switching Tower. Same Tower is in image below at left looking at East end of Queensboro Plaza Stations flying junction.  See track plans below

The three images above show the east end of the huge Queensboro Plaza station flying junction. The entire north half of Queensboro Plaza Station (everything right of the signal tower) along with most of the flying junction was abandoned in October 1949.

By 1964 (above and below) all of the flying junction to the right of the signal tower was removed. 

One last image, here is the Queensboro Bridge looking South and showing the approximate location of  the Stevenson's Sutton Place apartment. Manhattan is to the right Queens is out of the picture to the left. The power plant that Leona sees out of her South view is still there just past the U.N. Building.

The 2nd Ave el ran as a whole until 1940. Service north of the 57th Street station ended on June 11, 1940  the rest of the line closed on June 13, 1942. So I at first though that that rear projection footage of the Queensboro Bridge  2nd Ave el may depict some of the only nighttime footage of an el train going over the bridge. But then again it may be just an elaborate Hollywood miniature set. The reason I say it may be a set is because the el trains ran on the upper level of the bridge. The bottom level had the roadway and the trolley tracks. The set clearly depicts trains going across on the lower level. Somebody didn't do their homework So that makes me equally question the view South, it's also probably an elaborate miniature set.

Growing up in Queens and attending school in Manhattan I always rode the BMT train from Astoria back and forth. The last stop in Queens was Queensboro Plaza. It was at this station that old 2nd Avenue el spur coming over the Queensboro bridge terminated. There was still an old section of 2nd Ave el track still visible into the 70s when I left for Montana.

Anyway, actual NYC rear screen projections show some of South Ferry terminal interior, a section of the 2nd Avenue el outside South Ferry, some sequences on the Staten Island Ferry looking back at Lower Manhattan, the St. George Ferry Terminal, and a rare brief view of a two car the Staten Island Rapid Transit train running by a gasholder.

OK enough nerd stuff.....

Sorry, Wrong Number was originally a radio play. It was written by Lucille Fletcher who worked between 1934 and 1939 as a music librarian, copyright clerk and publicity writer for the Columbia Broadcasting System. While there she met and married composer Bernard Herrmann. Beginning in 1939-40 she began to write radio plays beginning with My Client Curly on WHP-CBS, on March 7, 1940. Sorry, Wrong Number premiered on May 25, 1943, as an episode of the radio series Suspense. Fletcher adapted the radio play for the film.

The film was directed by Anatole Litvak. The Cinematography was by Sol Polito. Music was by
Franz Waxman

Barbara Stanwyck as Leona Stevenson

The film is almost what I like to call an Ensemble Noir meaning that aside from Barbara Stanwyck who plays Leona Stevenson, the rest of the cast all has about the same amount of screen time.

Burt Lancaster as Henry J. Stevenson

The rest of the cast, Burt Lancaster as Henry J. Stevenson, Ann Richards as Sally Hunt Lord, Wendell Corey as Dr. Philip Alexander, Harold Vermilyea as Waldo Evans, Ed Begley as James Cotterell, Leif Erickson as Fred Lord, William Conrad as Morano, John Bromfield as Joe - Detective, and Jimmy Hunt as Peter Lord.

Ann Richards as Sally Hunt/Lord

Ed Begley as James Cotterell

The Story

Leona Stevenson is a bitch. She's filthy rich. Her daddy owns a chain of drugstores. She's spoiled, throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way. She also has a heart condition. She stole her husband Henry from his sweetheart Sally Hunt.

Her heart condition keeps her bedridden. The servants have the night off. Henry doesn't show up at his usual time from work and hasn't called to let her know if hell be late. She tries repeatedly to call office. On one of her attempts she overhears two men talking about a plan for murdering a woman. Part of the plan is to make sure that they wait for the 11:15 el train to cross the Queensboro Bridge. The sound of the train will drown out any screams. Leona calls the operator and the police but there is no way that they can trace the call.

Dorothy Neumann as Elizabeth Jennings

Leona finally gets a hold of Henry's secretary Elizabeth Jennings. She tells her that he was visited by a woman named Sally Lord. Henry took Sally to lunch. Leona calls all the Sally Lords in the phone book and reaching the right one finds out that Sally Hunt married a lawyer, who is a District Attorney assistant named Fred Lord.  Sally tells Leona that her husband is investigating Henry and that she actually tailed him to Staten Island and watched some strange going ons. Later Waldo Evans calls Leona looking for Henry and he confesses that he and Henry were selling secrets to a man named Morano but that when Evans got transferred they couldn't work the deal any longer. Morano then made Henry sign an I.O.U. for 200,000 dollars for the lost revenue. When Henry tells Morano that he doesn't have it he tells Henry that the life insurance on his wife will cover it.

It of course all goes Noirsville.

Noirsville

South Ferry notice top right view of 2nd Ae el outside building

Wendell Corey as Dr. Philip Alexander

Harold Vermilyea as Waldo Evans

William Conrad as Morano

Staten Island Ferry

rear projection Lower Manhattan

Staten Island Rapid Transit

Sorry Wrong Number has a pretty complicated plot with a large ensemble cast. It helps to watch it more than once. Screencaps are from an online streamer. 7/10