Narrative technique · used in 10 films
Making an innocent person look guilty through coincidence and circumstantial evidence, while the audience knows or senses the truth. Everyday life turns dangerous because nobody believes them.
Examples
Alfred Hitchcock · 1942
Barry is an ordinary worker who sees the real saboteur, Fry, but nobody can find Fry on the payroll. With the police after him, every stranger might be a threat or a rescuer. Hitchcock uses that pressure to drive the whole cross-country chase.
Where to see it: The factory fire. Barry is suspected of the blaze, and when he goes looking for Fry, no one by that name has ever worked at the plant.
Fritz Lang · 1945
Johnny is convicted and executed for the murder that Chris committed. The film lets you watch someone pay for a crime he did not commit.
Where to see it: The trial: Johnny is convicted of Kitty's murder, though you know Chris did it.
Orson Welles · 1947
After the fake death goes wrong, private investigator Sydney Broome is shot and the evidence points at Michael. He is an outsider with no way to prove the plan was never his.
Where to see it: The murder trial: Michael is tried for Grisby's murder, and he feigns suicide to get out of the courtroom.
Alfred Hitchcock · 1953
Logan has no alibi for the time of death, and 2 girls say they saw a priest leave the lawyer's house. Even after the jury finds him not guilty for lack of evidence, the crowd outside treats him as guilty. Suspicion sticks after the verdict.
Where to see it: The trial verdict. The jury finds Logan not guilty due to insufficient evidence, but the crowd outside the courthouse mobs him.
Alfred Hitchcock · 1956
Manny only wants to borrow money on his wife's insurance policy. The office staff think he is the man who robbed them twice. The police find that he matches the descriptions, so everything he does makes him look guiltier.
Where to see it: The insurance office. Staff mistake Manny for a robber when he walks in, and the police later match his handwriting to a holdup note, including the same misspelling.
Orson Welles · 1962
K. is arrested at home and told only that he is accused. He never gets the evidence or even the offense, so proving his innocence is impossible.
Where to see it: The arrest: K. is taken in without a stated crime, and his search for the reason drives the rest of the story.
Alfred Hitchcock · 1972
Blaney quarrels with his ex-wife Brenda, is seen leaving her office and is arrested for her murder. His friend Rusk, who is the real killer, even offers him a place to hide. Hitchcock keeps you on Blaney's side while the net tightens.
Where to see it: Brenda's office. Blaney finds the office locked and leaves, and Brenda's secretary sees him go. After the murder, he is the prime suspect.
Wes Craven · 1984
Rod is the only one who sees Tina die, and the police see only a boy in a room with a body. Nobody believes the truth, and the real killer cannot be arrested.
Where to see it: Rod's arrest: police take Rod away for Tina's death. He is later found dead in his cell, apparently hanged with his own bedsheet.
Brian De Palma · 1996
After the Prague disaster, Ethan is the only survivor, so his own boss suspects him. He has to clear his name while hiding from his own agency. You know he is not the traitor, which makes each close call hurt more.
Where to see it: The debriefing. Ethan realizes the mission was a trap to find a mole, and he escapes the restaurant when his boss suspects him.
Clint Eastwood · 2003
Dave comes home bloodied on the night Katie is killed, and his story keeps changing. Everyone around him sees a likely killer, and the real answer is somewhere else. You watch an innocent man get pushed toward punishment.
Where to see it: Dave's story: Dave says he fought off a mugger and possibly killed him, but Whitey suspects him because his story about his hand keeps changing. Celeste tells Jimmy she suspects Dave is Katie's murderer.
Questions