Witness to Murder (1954)

A woman's sanity comes into question, after she claims to have witnessed a murder from her apartment window.

Director:

Roy Rowland

Writer:

Chester Erskine (original screenplay)

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders, Gary Merrill

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Cheryl Draper
George Sanders	...	Albert Richter
Gary Merrill	...	Lawrence Mathews
Jesse White	...	Eddie Vincent
Harry Shannon	...	Captain Donnelly
Claire Carleton	...	May - Mental Patient
Lewis Martin	...	Psychiatrist
Dick Elliott	...	Apartment Manager
Harry Tyler	...	Charlie
Juanita Moore	...	Negress - Mental Patient
Joy Hallward	...	Fellow Worker
Adeline De Walt Reynolds	...	The Old Lady - Mental Patient (as Adeline de Walt Reynolds)

Storyline

Cheryl Draper (Barbara Stanwyck) sees a murder through her bedroom window, but no one will believe her. She is stalked by the suave killer ('George Sanders'), who first takes steps to convince police she is crazy, but she has ally in a sympathetic policeman (Gary Merrill).

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Plot Keywords:

murder | psychiatric patient | apartment | mind game | author | 

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Taglines:

No one would believe what she saw that night ... not the police ... not her friends ... no one -- but the murderer himself!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

15 April 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Testigo del crimen

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chester Erskine Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

George Sanders and Gary Merrill had previously worked together on All About Eve (1950).

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Goofs

Cheryl lives in a luxury apartment in a metropolitan section of Los Angeles, yet for some reason has to drive down a winding deserted road to reach the local police station, which is also located in an urban downtown area.

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Quotes

Cheryl Draper: But I saw the murder! I SAW the murder!

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Connections

Remade as Lux Video Theatre: Witness to Murder (1956)

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Soundtracks

Nowhere Blues
Music by Herschel Burke Gilbert
Lyrics by Sylvia Fine

User Reviews

Middle of the road drama

I was surprised to come upon this film "Witness to Murder" tonight on TV as I hadn't heard of it before - always nice to discover an old movie with excellent, familiar actors. I get the impression of it being a part of the transitional period for some actors from movies to early TV dramas, in live productions that carry such realism as this film does.

I tuned in late and missed the first few minutes of the movie where wily Albert Richter (George Sanders) is purported to have committed his evil deed; unfortunately Sanders has always been one of my favourite actors, one of the best ne'er-do-wells (as in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Samson and Delilah, and All About Eve), and I wasn't a little old lady in those days but a budding teenager. His suave demeanour always fascinated me and he carries this over from film to film. By the way, in this 1954 movie his few lines in German weren't very convincing but his villainous role is very well set forth.

It's obvious that Barbara Stanwyck as the frustrated witness, Cheryl, carries a huge emotional burden throughout, and does it well - a real pro! This is a moderately predictable melodrama when crime inspection was more simple somehow. The music is very prevalent in most scenes and seems to override everything at times especially near the climax but that's to be expected.

Good popcorn fare! Enjoy some reminiscing moments of 'film noire' in top form.