Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Agatha Christie (play)
Billy Wilder (screen play) ...
(more)

Release Date:

6 February 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Once in 50 years suspense like this!

Plot:

Agatha Christie tale of a man on trial for murder: a trial featuring surprise after surprise.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Alibi | Trial | Widow | German

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Tyrone Power	...	Leonard Vole
Marlene Dietrich	...	Christine Helm
Charles Laughton	...	Sir Wilfrid Robarts
Elsa Lanchester	...	Miss Plimsoll
John Williams	...	Brogan-Moore
Henry Daniell	...	Mayhew
Ian Wolfe	...	Carter
Torin Thatcher	...	Mr. Myers
Norma Varden	...	Emily French
Una O'Connor	...	Janet McKenzie
Francis Compton	...	Judge
Philip Tonge	...	Inspector Hearne
Ruta Lee	...	Diana
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Aherne	...	Court Officer (uncredited)
Marjorie Eaton	...	Miss O'Brien (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Barrister (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Robert Haines	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Colin Kenny	...	Juror (uncredited)
William Meader	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Ottola Nesmith	...	Miss Johnson (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Barrister (uncredited)
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Shorts Salesman (uncredited)
George Pelling	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Jack Raine	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Molly Roden	...	Miss McHugh (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Clerk at Old Bailey (uncredited)
Norbert Schiller	...	Spotlight Operator in German Cafe (uncredited)
Scott Seaton	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Bert Stevens	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Ben Wright	...	Barrister Reading Charges (uncredited)

Directed by
Billy Wilder

Writing credits
Agatha Christie		(play)
Billy Wilder		(screen play) and
Harry Kurnitz		(screen play)
Larry Marcus		(adaptation)
Agatha Christie		short story (uncredited)

Produced by
Arthur Hornblow Jr.	....	producer
Edward Small	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Matty Malneck		(musical score)

Cinematography by
Russell Harlan		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Daniel Mandell		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Alexandre Trauner

Set Decoration by
Howard Bristol

Makeup Department
Nellie Manley	....	hairdresser
Gustaf Norin	....	makeup
Helene Parrish	....	hairdresser
Harry Ray	....	makeup
Ray Sebastian	....	makeup
Charles Gemora	....	makeup artist: Marlene Dietrich (uncredited)
Wally Westmore	....	makeup artist: Marlene Dietrich (uncredited)

Production Management
Ben Hersh	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Emmett Emerson	....	assistant director
Frank Losee	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Stanley Detlie	....	property master

Sound Department
Fred Lau	....	sound

Special Effects by
Lee Zavitz	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Madison S. Lacy	....	stills photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
William Maybery	....	casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edith Head	....	costumes: Miss Dietrich
Joe King	....	costumer (as Joseph King)
Adele Parmenter	....	costumes (uncredited)

Music Department
Ernest Gold	....	conductor
Leonid Raab	....	music arranger

Other crew
John Franco	....	script supervisor
Doane Harrison	....	production associate
Edward Small	....	presenter
Basil Bleck	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Jack Cooper	....	publicity director (uncredited)
Noel Coward	....	dialogue director (uncredited)
Bert Steiner	....	dialogue director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Edward Small Productions (as Theme Pictures, Inc.) (An Arthur Hornblow Production)

Distributors

• United Artists (1957) (USA) (theatrical) (as A United Artists Release)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1962) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• United Artists Films (1958) (Finland) (theatrical)
• FS Film (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Communications Co. (????) (USA) (TV)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1971) (1972) (2001) (2008) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)
• Ultra Film Synchron  German dubbing

Also Known As:

Runtime:

116 min | Australia:111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #18704) | UK:U | West Germany:12 | Spain:T | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Edward Small Productions

Trivia:

The film was shown in London for a Royal Command Performance, but beforehand the Royal Family had to promise not to reveal the surprise ending to anyone else.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Though made in 1957, the film takes place in 1952, but in the opening shots of Sir Wilfrid's car on the streets of London (and in the rear-projection shots in the car's interior), several post-1952 cars can be seen in the background.

Quotes:

Sir Wilfrid:Give me a match.
Leonard Vole:Sorry, I don't carry matches.
Sir Wilfrid:[to Brogan-Moore] I thought you said I'd like him.
Leonard Vole:But I do have a lighter.
Leonard Vole:You're quite right, I do like him.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Get Smart: Witness for the Execution (#5.19)" (1970)

Soundtrack:

I May Never Go Home Anymore

If you've seen the movie, be sure to read Christie's story. If you've read the story, still see this movie.

Witness for the Prosecution is, as IMDb voters cann attest, a great movie. A clever, character-driven courtroom drama, it deserved the Academy Award nominations that it received in 1958, and it has justly endured to the present day. Starring the terrific talents of Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, and particularly Marlene Dietrich, directed by Billy Wilder, and based on the superb short story by Agatha Christie, it is a combination has all of the very best ingredients, and delivers a nearly outstanding film.

The movie centers around Laughton's character, an aged, feisty, and very canny English barrister (lawyer) who is in poor health and headed toward retirement. The opening of the movie is entirely Laughton's show, as he portrays a curmudgeonly and endearing character. On his first day home from the hospital, he soon takes up the defense of Leonard Vole (Power) a man who is charged with murder and up against a barrage of circumstantial evidence. Power is convincing as the honest and somewhat naive defendant, in increasingly over his head. Soon, Dietrich makes her entrance as Vole's cool German femme fatal of a wife. After a few flashbacks to set up the story of the murder case, Laughton takes up Vole's case. What ensues is a well-written and well-directed courtroom drama, in which Laughton continues to shine, delivering a convincing performance peppered with humor. Soon, the story takes a series of dramatic twists, during which Power plays his part as the beleaguered defendant to the hilt and Dietrich uses the gifts that made her a legend. By the end, the audience has been treated to an excellent drama with sensational acting.

The result is a classic, but not an icon in the sense that Christie's short story, penned twenty years earlier, would become. While it may be the best-regarded of all Christie adaptations (Murder on the Orient Express a possible exception), the movie does not seem to have the stature it ought to have. At the end of the movie, I did not feel the same as when I read the story, and not just because I knew all along how it would turn out. With such visible talent on all fronts, I took a long look at what it was, and what was missing. The answer: Christie.

The movie is good in its own right, but from the beginning misses the crucial aspect that the original story has: the mystery. Agatha Christie is the master of suspense, and throughout the story, that suspense, that anxiousness to know what will happen next, the eagerness to know where this next twist will lead, and the shock that comes at the very end, were what the story was all about. The direction the movie went, the legal thriller, substituted drama for mystery, and while the movie only added to the story, changing very little of what Christie wrote, the movie lost the grip that only she could create. Christie treated the courtroom proceedings (the centerpiece of the movie) with brevity, focusing on the intrigue surrounding the case. Also, the Hollywood ending overdoes it a little bit, and deprives the most important plot twist of some of its its emotional impact.

That said, however, the movie is still a classic. Fortunately, the heart of the story was still very strong, with a unique plot and rich characters, which were taken advantage of by Wilder and the cast, respectively. And, as it turns out, the movie is a good complement to the story. To those who have only seen the movie, the story should be read to truly appreciate the missing value of the mystery. To those who have read the story, the movie nails the characters (particularly Dietrich's Mrs. Vole). All in all, I give this movie a 9 out of 10, and would gladly see it again.