Witness for the Prosecution (1957 film)

Witness for the Prosecution
	Original release 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; Elsa Lanchester
Music by	Matty Malneck
Cinematography	Russell Harlan
Edited by	Daniel Mandell
Production; company	Edward Small Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	December 17, 1957 (Limited U.S. release); January 30, 1958 (Premiere, London);
Running time	116 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2 million[1]
Box office	$9 million

Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 American film co-adapted and directed by Billy Wilder and starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, and Elsa Lanchester. The film, which has film noir elements, depicts an English courtroom drama. Set in the Old Bailey in London, the picture is based on the 1953 play of the same name by Agatha Christie and deals with the trial of a man accused of murder. The first film adaptation of Christie's story, Witness for the Prosecution was adapted for the screen by Larry Marcus, Harry Kurnitz and Wilder. The film received positive reviews and six Academy Award nominations.

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. Leonard is accused of murdering Mrs Emily French, a rich, older widow who had become enamoured of him, going so far as to make him the main beneficiary of her will. Strong circumstantial evidence points to Leonard as the killer, but Sir Wilfrid believes Vole is innocent.

When Sir Wilfrid speaks with Leonard's German wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich), he finds her rather cold and self-possessed, but she does provide an alibi, although by no means an entirely convincing one. Therefore, he is greatly surprised when, at the end of the trial, she is summoned as a witness by the prosecuting barrister. While a wife can not be compelled to testify against her husband, Christine was in fact still married to a German man when she wed Leonard (who was in the Royal Air Force 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, informs him that he had help in winning the case. 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-existent 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, now protected by double jeopardy, cheerfully confirms to Sir Wilfred that he had indeed killed Mrs French. Sir Wilfrid is infuriated at being had by them both. Christine also suffers a major shock when she finds Leonard has met a younger woman and is now going abroad with her. In a jealous rage, Christine grabs a knife earlier used as evidence (and subtly highlighted by Sir Wilfrid's monocle light-reflection), 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 Christine's defence.

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 Mr. Mayhew, Vole's solicitor who instructs Sir Wilfrid on the case
Ian Wolfe as H. A. Carter, Sir Wilfrid's chief clerk and office manager
Torin Thatcher as Mr. Myers Q.C., 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 Mr. Justice Wainwright, the judge
Philip Tonge as Chief Inspector Hearne, the arresting officer
Ruta Lee as Diana, a young woman watching the trial, waiting for Leonard to be freed

Appearing in bit parts

Patrick Aherne as the court officer
Eddie Baker as a courtroom spectator
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

Witness for the Prosecution was Power's final completed film. He died of a heart attack after a lengthy dueling sequence two-thirds of the way through the filming of Solomon and Sheba and was replaced by Yul Brynner.

In real life, Elsa 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.[2] Billy Wilder was signed to direct in April 1956.[3] According to Wilder, when the producers approached Dietrich about the part she accepted on the condition that Wilder direct. Wilder said Dietrich liked "to play a murderess" but was "a little bit embarrassed when playing the love scenes."[4]

Laughton based his performance on Florance Guedella, his own lawyer, an Englishman who was well known for twirling his monocle while cross-examining witnesses.[2]

Vivien Leigh and Marlene Dietrich were leading candidates to play Christine Vole.[5]

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.[6]

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!"[7]

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 defence.[8]

Reception

The film received extremely positive reviews.[9] It currently holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 31 reviews with an average rating of 8.53/10.[10] 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."[11]

The American Film Institute included the film in AFI's 10 Top 10 as #6 in the Courtroom Drama category.

Accolades

Award	Category	Subject	Result
Academy Awards[12]	Best Picture	Arthur Hornblow Jr.	Nominated
	Best Director	Billy Wilder	Nominated
	Best Actor	Charles Laughton	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actress	Elsa Lanchester	Nominated
	Best Film Editing	Daniel Mandell	Nominated
	Best Sound Recording	Gordon E. Sawyer	Nominated
BAFTA Award	Best Foreign Actor	Charles Laughton	Nominated
David di Donatello Award	Best Foreign Actor	Charles Laughton	Won
DGA Award	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures	Billy Wilder	Nominated
Edgar Allan Poe Award	Best Motion Picture	Billy Wilder	Nominated
Edgar Allan Poe Award	Best Motion Picture	Harry Kurnitz	Nominated
Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Drama	Arthur Hornblow Jr.	Nominated
	Best Director	Billy Wilder	Nominated
	Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama	Charles Laughton	Nominated
	Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama	Marlene Dietrich	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture	Elsa Lanchester	Won
Golden Laurel Awards	Top Female Star	Marlene Dietrich	2nd place
Golden Laurel Awards	Top Drama		4th place
Online Film & Television Association Award	Best Picture	Arthur Hornblow Jr.	Won

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.[13]

Christie's play was first performed in Nottingham on September 28, 1953, opened in London on 28 October and on Broadway on December 16, 1954.[14]

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.

In 2016, a miniseries starring Toby Jones, Andrea Riseborough, Kim Cattrall and David Haig was broadcast on BBC One and received widespread acclaim.

Also in 2016, despite Deadline Hollywood announcing that Ben Affleck will direct, produce and act in a remake of Witness for the Prosecution for 20th Century Fox,[15] production has yet to start as of 2020.

Home media

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

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