Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film)

Witness for the Prosecution
File:Movie poster for "Witness for the Prosecution".jpg Original poster
Directed by	Billy Wilder
Produced by	Arthur Hornblow Jr.
Screenplay by	Larry Marcus Billy Wilder Harry Kurnitz
Based on	The Witness for the Prosecution 1925 story by Agatha Christie
Starring	Tyrone Power Marlene Dietrich Charles Laughton
Music by	Matty Malneck Ralph Arthur Robert
Cinematography	Russell Harlan
Edited by	Daniel Mandell
Production company	Edward Small Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release dates	December 1957 (1957-12)
Running time	116 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3 million
Box office	$9 million

Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 American courtroom drama film with elements of Film Noir set in the Old Bailey in London. The film, based on a play by Agatha Christie, deals with the trial of a man accused of murder. The first film adaptation of this story, it stars Tyrone Power (in his final screen role), Marlene Dietrich, and Charles Laughton, and features Elsa Lanchester. The film was adapted by Larry Marcus, Harry Kurnitz and the film's director, Billy Wilder.

Plot

Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton), a master barrister in ill health, takes on Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power) as a client, despite the objections of his private nurse, Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester), who says the doctor warns him against taking on any criminal cases. Vole is accused of murdering Mrs. Emily French (Norma Varden), a rich, older widow who had become enamored of him, going so far as to make him the main beneficiary of her will. Strong circumstantial evidence points to Vole as the killer, but Sir Wilfrid believes Vole is innocent.

When Sir Wilfrid speaks with Vole's German wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich), he finds her rather cold and self-possessed, but she does provide an alibi. Therefore, he is greatly surprised when she is called as a witness for the prosecution. While a wife cannot testify against her husband, Christine was in fact still married to a German man when she wed Leonard (who was in the Army and part of the occupation forces in Germany). She testifies that Leonard admitted to her that he had killed Mrs. French, and that her conscience forced her to finally tell the truth.

During the trial in the Old Bailey, Sir Wilfrid is contacted by a mysterious woman who, for a fee, provides him with letters written by Christine herself to a mysterious lover named Max. The affair revealed by this correspondence gives Christine such a strong motive to have lied that the jury finds Leonard not guilty.

However, Sir Wilfrid is troubled by the verdict. His instincts tell him that it was "...too neat, too tidy, and altogether...too symmetrical!" His belief proves correct when Christine, left alone with him by chance in the courtroom, takes the opportunity to take credit for the verdict. Sir Wilfrid had told her before the trial that "...no jury would believe an alibi given by a loving wife". So, she had instead given testimony implicating her husband, had then forged the letters to the non-existing Max and had herself in disguise played the mysterious woman handing over the letters which then discredited her own testimony and led to the acquittal. She furthermore admits that she saved Leonard even though she knew he was guilty because she loves him.

Leonard has overheard Christine's admission and Sir Wilfrid was infuriated for being had. Being protected by double jeopardy, Leonard coldly tells Christine that he has met a younger woman (Ruta Lee) and is leaving Christine. In a jealous rage, Christine grabs a knife, used as evidence (which had been subtly highlighted by Sir Wilfrid), and stabs Leonard to death. After she is taken away by the police, Sir Wilfrid, urged on by Miss Plimsoll, declares that he will take on her defense.

Cast

Credited cast

• Tyrone Power as Leonard Vole, the accused
• Marlene Dietrich as Christine Vole/Helm, the accused's wife
• Charles Laughton as Sir Wilfrid Robarts Q.C., senior counsel for Vole
• Elsa Lanchester as Miss Plimsoll, Sir Wilfrid's private nurse
• John Williams as Mr. Brogan-Moore, Sir Wilfrid's junior counsel in the trial
• Henry Daniell as Mayhew, Vole's solicitor who instructs Sir Wilfrid on the case
• Ian Wolfe as Carter, Sir Wilfrid's clerk and office manager
• Torin Thatcher as Mr. Myers, the Crown prosecutor
• Norma Varden as Mrs Emily Jane French, the elderly woman who was murdered
• Una O'Connor as Janet McKenzie, Mrs. French's housekeeper and a prosecution witness
• Francis Compton as the Judge
• Philip Tonge as Chief Inspector Hearne, the arresting officer
• Ruta Lee as Diana, a young woman, with a secret, watching the trial.

Appearing in bit roles

• Patrick Aherne as the court officer
• Marjorie Eaton as Miss O'Brien
• Franklyn Farnum as an old barrister
• Bess Flowers as a courtroom spectator
• Colin Kenny as a juror
• Ottola Nesmith as Miss Johnson
• J. Pat O'Malley as the shorts salesman
• Jack Raine as Sir Wilfrid's doctor
• Ben Wright as court clerk (the officer reading charges)

Cast notes

This was Power's final completed film. He died during the filming of Solomon and Sheba.

In real life, Lanchester was Charles Laughton's wife.

Una O'Connor was the only member of the original Broadway play's cast to reprise her role on film. It was also her final film; she retired from acting after its completion.

Production

Producers Arthur Hornblow and Edward Small bought the rights to the play for $450,000. The play was adjusted to build up the character of the defence barrister. Billy Wilder was signed to direct in April 1956.

Laughton based his performance on Florance Guedella.

Vivien Leigh and Marlene Dietrich were leading candidates to play the female lead.

In a flashback showing how Leonard and Christine first meet in a German nightclub, she is wearing her trademark trousers. A rowdy customer conveniently rips them down one side, revealing one of Dietrich's renowned legs, and starting a brawl. The scene required 145 extras, 38 stuntmen and $90,000.

Disclaimer

At the end of the film, as the credits roll, a voice-over announces:

The management of this theatre suggests that for the greater entertainment of your friends who have not yet seen the picture, you will not divulge, to anyone, the secret of the ending of Witness for the Prosecution.

This was in keeping with the advertising campaign for the film: one of the posters for the film said: "You'll talk about it, but please don't tell the ending."

The effort to keep the ending a secret extended to the cast. Billy Wilder did not give the actors the final ten pages of the script until it was time to shoot those scenes. The secrecy reportedly cost Marlene Dietrich an Academy Award, as United Artists didn't want to call attention to the fact that Dietrich was practically unrecognizable as the cockney woman who hands over the incriminating letters to the defense.

Reception

The film received extremely positive reviews, and currently holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In TV Guide's review of the film, it received four and a half stars out of five, the writer saying that "Witness for the Prosecution is a witty, terse adaptation of the Agatha Christie hit play brought to the screen with ingenuity and vitality by Billy Wilder."

The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Charles Laughton), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Elsa Lanchester), Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Picture, and Best Sound (Gordon E. Sawyer).

Lanchester also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

Dietrich's quote "Wanna kiss me, Ducky?" became particularly famous.

American Film Institute Lists

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
  • Christine Helm Vole – Nominated Villain
• AFI's 10 Top 10 – #6 Courtroom Drama

Other adaptations

The first adaptation of the Agatha Christie story was a BBC television production made in 1949, with a running time of 75 minutes.

Another early production of Witness for the Prosecution was in the form of a live telecast on CBS's Lux Video Theatre on September 17, 1953, starring Edward G. Robinson, Andrea King and Tom Drake.

Agatha Christie's play was first performed in Nottingham on September 28, 1953, opened in London on October 28, 1953 and on Broadway on December 16, 1954.

In 1982, Witness for the Prosecution was remade as a television film, starring Ralph Richardson, Deborah Kerr, Beau Bridges, Donald Pleasence, Wendy Hiller, and Diana Rigg. It was adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and John Gay from the original screenplay and directed by Alan Gibson.

DVD

Witness for the Prosecution was released to DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on December 11th, 2001 as a Region 1 widescreen DVD, and by Kino Lorber (under license from MGM) to Blu-ray on July 22nd, 2014 as a Region 1 widescreen disc.

See also

• List of American films of 1957
• Trial movies

External links

• Witness for the Prosecution at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Witness for the Prosecution at IMDb
• Witness for the Prosecution at Rotten Tomatoes
• Witness for the Prosecution at the Internet Broadway Database
• Witness for the Prosecution at the TCM Movie Database
• Witness for the Prosecution at AllMovie