The Wrong Man (1956)

Enthralling thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on a true story. Oddly enough, Hitchcock himself shows up at the start to explain this in a brief monologue at the beginning. 

Manny Balestrero (Henry Fonda) is a New York musician who is wrongly arrested for a series of robberies. He is identified by several witnesses who seem to recognise him. He and his wife Rose (Vera Miles) seek to prove his innocence, but events take their toll on both of them in different ways – especially Rose, who suffers a mental decline. 

It’s a noir-ish crime drama that – like all Hitchcock tales – takes on an additional psychological dimension and keeps you guessing until the very end.

12 Angry Men (1957)

Courtroom drama directed by Sidney Lumet. This is a slow-burner set in one (sweaty) room. It’s all about the dialogue. One man in a jury of 12 attempts to challenge a guilty verdict and makes his colleagues begin to question what they believe they know and the prejudices informing the ways they think. It should be a set text for all students of law or psychology, studying as it does the way people behave in groups and how we are all swayed by one another and the power of the mob.

Henry Fonda is excellent as the voice of reason who gently but persuasively begins to make a difference in a group of people ready to send a young man to his death. In an era when democracy and freedom is under threat, it’s more relevant than ever.