Witness for the Prosecution

Composite Score: 86.63

Starring: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, John Williams, Henry Daniell, Ian Wolfe, Norma Varden, Una O’Connor, Francis Compton, and Ruta Lee

Director: Billy Wilder

Writers: Billy Wilder and Harry Kurnitz

Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

MPAA Rating: Approved

Box Office: $7,903 worldwide

My take on Watching This Film:

                Witness for the Prosecution is Billy Wilder’s film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s play of the same name about a man accused of murder in London whose wife is brought in to testify against him on behalf of the prosecution. The film stars Tyrone Power as the accused Leonard Vole, Marlene Dietrich as his wife Christine, and Charles Laughton as his defense council Sir Wilfrid Robarts. The film garnered much acclaim in its time and in the years since its release, currently sitting at 66th on IMDB’s top 250 and 85th on Letterboxd’s in addition to its six Oscar nominations, which include Best Director, Best Actor (Laughton), Best Supporting Actress for Elsa Lanchester’s portrayal of the overbearing nurse Miss Plimsoll, and Best Picture.

                The fact that Marlene Dietrich missed out on an Oscar nomination for her leading role feels like one of the biggest snubs in the history of the category because of how strong her performance was, but purportedly, the secrecy surrounding some of the reveals and the part the actress played in certain surprise scenes at the end kept her from that nomination, which is something, I guess. She really does do a fantastic job in her role as vengeful and dubious wife, playing the part of actress extraordinarily, and carrying the film’s twisting final act. Obviously, I do think that Elsa Lanchester’s performance was worthy of the supporting nomination, as she delivers a fair bit of dry comedy that lightens the darkness of the courtroom drama up considerably and gives Laughton a sounding board from which to deliver his best one-liners. Laughton is the star of much of the show, playing the overweight, ailing barrister with just the right blend of stateliness, obstinacy, humor, and sincerity to win the audience over to his point of view of things, a necessity to make the film’s big reveals work to their fullest potential.

                Story-wise, the film is incredibly well-paced, never missing a beat or adding anything superfluous as it jumps between from law office to flashback to courtroom, seamlessly weaving together its themes of love, immigration, and subjectivity with scenes of drama, suspense, and even humor. There is a level to which this film feels like most other Agatha Christie adaptations, in that the audience is forever waiting for the shoe to fall and the twists to be revealed, and that works decently until it doesn’t. The twists themselves are well-choreographed but not too in-your-face, but their inevitability does reduce the impact of some of the film’s more seemingly climactic scenes. Still, as play adaptations go, this is certainly one of the more skillfully executed ones, and it really is a joy to see everything unfold in the final act. I just wish that there had been a bit more sincerity of feeling to the initial scenes to give the reveals and twists a bit more weight and surprise. Don’t get me wrong, they’re fantastic, but I just think they could have been even better if they didn’t feel so necessary. (Maybe that’s the modern state of film criticism wearing on me that I feel like any plot twist that makes a film good somehow equates with being of lower quality somehow. If I watch it again and still love the film, it might jump up a bit in my rating of it, which is still quite high.)

                Blending strong performances with a well-paced story and a fun and twisting third act, Witness for the Prosecution shows itself as one of Wilder’s best films, one of the best courtroom dramas ever made, and one of the Greatest Films of All Time. The twists might or might not be perfectly executed, but the surprise still thrills as everything unfolds, and the film does have some commentary on the state of legal proceedings and on marriage that makes for an interesting discussion as well. Currently, you can stream this film via the Criterion Channel or with ads on Tubi or with a rental on most other streaming services if you’d like to check it out.