The actor in question? Jimmy Stewart, one of the most legendary of Hollywood's legendary actors. And the film? Call Northside 777, a pseudo-noir about a cynical, stubborn newspaper reporter who refuses to settle for legend over fact.
The film also features the legendary scenery-chewing Lee J. Cobb, who should probably have been in every noir or semi-noir or pseudo-noir ever made. (Or every movie ever, even). Oh, and it's on NETFLIX INSTANT, so give it a whirl.
An intrepid journalist is persuaded by a mother desperate to free her imprisoned son to investigate his decade-old conviction for killing a policeman.
In 1932, a cop is killed and Frank Wiecek sentenced to life. Eleven years later, a newspaper ad by Frank's mother leads Chicago reporter P.J. O'Neal to look into the case. When he begins to investigate he meets increased resistance from authorities unwilling to be proved wrong.
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