This adaptation of Woolrich’s story “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is one of Hollywood’s classic suspense films. Ten-year-old Bobby Driscoll is a chronic fibber — except after he witnesses a murder committed by his upstairs neighbors. But his exasperated parents (Barbara Hale and Arthur Kennedy) don’t believe him, and the sinister culprits (Ruth Roman and Paul Stewart) decide to bump the kid off before anybody takes him seriously. Filmed on location in New York City in the winter of 1947, the film was not released until 1949 when it became the year’s biggest sleeper hit. Driscoll won a special Oscar (Juvenile Award) for his unforgettable performance.

35mm print courtesy of the Film Noir Foundation Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive