Set in 1932, "Call Northside 777" follows the story of Frank Wiecek, who is sentenced to life imprisonment after a police officer is killed. Eleven years later, a classified ad placed by Frank's mother draws the attention of Chicago reporter P.J. McNeal, who begins to investigate the old case. Initially convinced of Frank's guilt, McNeal's perspective shifts as he uncovers new evidence, but his efforts are met with resistance from authorities determined not to be proven wrong. Cast: - James Stewart as P.J. McNeal (based on real-life reporter James McGuire) - Richard Conte as Frank Wiecek (based on real-life convict Joseph Majczek) - Lee J. Cobb as Brian Kelly (based on real-life editor Karin Walsh) - Helen Walker as Laura McNeal - Betty Garde as Wanda Skutnik (based on real-life witness Vera Walush) - Kasia Orzazewski as Tillie Wiecek (based on real-life mother Tillie Majczek) - Joanne De Bergh as Helen Wiecek - Michael Chapin as Frank Wiecek Jr. - Howard Smith as K.L. Palmer - Moroni Olsen as Pardon Board Chairman - J.M. Kerrigan as Sullivan - John McIntire as Sam Faxon - Paul Harvey as Martin J. Burns - George Tyne as Tomek Zaleska (based on real-life convict Theodore Marcinkiewicz) - Leonarde Keeler as Himself – the actual inventor of the Polygraph - E. G. Marshall as Rayska - Thelma Ritter as Receptionist - Lionel Stander as Corrigan, Wiecek's cellmate - Truman Bradley as the Narrator - Samuel S. Hinds as Judge Charles Moulton (uncredited) Runtime: 111 minutes