The Witness for the Prosecution 

The hunt is on to find the murderer of a wealthy glamorous heiress who is found dead in her London townhouse. Based on the short story by Agatha Christie.

Stars:

Billy Howle, Kim Cattrall, Monica Dolan

2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Billy Howle	...	Leonard Vole 2 episodes, 2016
Kim Cattrall	...	Emily French 2 episodes, 2016
Monica Dolan	...	Janet McIntyre 2 episodes, 2016
Andrea Riseborough	...	Romaine Heilger 2 episodes, 2016
Toby Jones	...	John Mayhew 2 episodes, 2016
Robert East	...	Justice Greville Parris 2 episodes, 2016
David Haig	...	Sir Charles Carter 2 episodes, 2016
Paul Ready	...	Tripp 2 episodes, 2016
Carla Langley	...	Dora 2 episodes, 2016
Dorian Lough	...	Detective Breem 2 episodes, 2016
Ted Robbins	...	Bernie 2 episodes, 2016
Miranda Nolan	...	Christine Moffat 2 episodes, 2016
Paul Dallison	...	Stage Manager 2 episodes, 2016
Tim McMullan	...	Sir Hugo Meredith 2 episodes, 2016
Hayley Carmichael	...	Alice Mayhew 2 episodes, 2016
Adam Jowett	...	Clerk 2 episodes, 2016
Dennis O'Donnell	...	Public Gallery / ... 2 episodes, 2016
Nicola-Jayne Wells	...	French Lady 2 episodes, 2016

Storyline

Set in 1920s London, a brutal and bloodthirsty murder has stained the plush carpets of a handsome London townhouse. The victim is the glamorous and rich Emily French. All the evidence points to Leonard Vole, a young chancer to whom the heiress left her vast fortune and who ruthlessly took her life. At least, this is the story that Emily's dedicated housekeeper Janet McIntyre stands by in court. Leonard however, is adamant that his partner, the enigmatic chorus girl Romaine, can prove his innocence. Tasked with representing Leonard is his solicitor John Mayhew and King's Counsel, Sir Charles Carter KC.

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Plot Keywords:

trial | based on short story | court trial | tv mini series | murder of a woman | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

30 January 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Witness for the Prosecution

Filming Locations:

Liverpool, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mammoth Screen,Agatha Christie Productions,British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first production of "Witness for the Prosecution" that based on Agatha Christie's original short (23 pages) story first published in the January 31, 1925 edition of Flynn's Weekly under the title 'Traitor Hands'. She republished it in 1933 under the present title as part of a collection called 'The Hound of Death and other stories'. Christie expanded the story for her 1953 play, changing some of the character names and introducing Sir Wilfrid Robarts as the defense counsel. It is the play, not the short story, that has been the basis for all subsequent television and film versions.

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Goofs

The gramophone in episode one playing a 78 shellac record has the sound of a 33rpm vinyl record supposedly at the end of the track, but the visual shows the needle about a third of the way into the track which would have music etc.

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Connections

Version of Danger: Witness for the Prosecution (1950)

User Reviews

Nothing to see

I see Mr Magoo has been employed by the BBC for the colour grading on this production. What else could explain all the horrible dark green, teal and yellows used. I could hardly see anything. Nice way to agitate the viewer.

The first episode took an age to get going and only hit the groove when we got to the courtroom and then it ended. I would had given episode one, a solitary star as a rating.

Writer Sarah Phelps has expanded Agatha Christie's short story and veered away from Billy Wilder's film version. It is set in the aftermath of the Great War and our three main characters, Mayhew, Leonard and Romaine have been damaged by it. The courtroom scenes in the second episode rustled through as the jury came out with its verdict at the halfway mark leaving the remainder episode to meander through its various twists. I did notice the visuals became slightly rose tinted after the verdict.

However this is a misfire from director Julian Jarrold who is normally reliable when it comes to film and television, but he has to take the blame for the visuals and the overall gloominess. Not helped by the casting of flavour of the month Toby Jones (there must be a contractual obligation that he has to be in every BBC drama and he will be appearing in Sherlock soon.) I would had got Kim Cattrall to play Vole's wife, she would had given Marlene Dietrich a run for her money.