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| United Artists | Release Date: February 6, 1958 |
Starring:
Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, Henry Daniell, Ian Wolfe, John Williams, Marlene Dietrich, Norma Varden, Torin Thatcher, Tyrone Power, Una O'Connor
Summary:
A veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.
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For a courtroom melodrama pegged to a single plot device--a device that, of course, everybody promises not to reveal--the Arthur Hornblow Jr. film production of the Agatha Christie play "Witness for the Prosecution" comes off extraordinarily well. This results mainly from Billy Wilder's splendid staging of some splintering courtroom scenes and a first-rate theatrical performance by Charles Laughton in the defense-attorney role.
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The courtroom scenes are terrific, with brittle dialogue expertly delivered. And
Wilder milks Christie's surprise denouement for all it's worth. [21 Nov 1986, p.92]
This illustrious courtroom drama, adapted from an Agatha Christie play, is directed by Billy Wilder, who wisely stands back and allows Charles Laughton to give one of his gloriously hammy performances as a barrister hired to defend Tyrone Power on a murder charge. Marlene Dietrich is also excellent as the accused's wife.
The artificial plotting is all Christie’s, but the film eventually becomes Wilder’s—thanks to a trick ending that dovetails nicely with a characteristic revelation of compassion behind cruelty. His theatrical mise-en-scene—his proscenium framing—serves the material well, as does Charles Laughton’s bombastic portrayal of the defense attorney.
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Billy Wilder's inane yet moderately entertaining version of an Agatha Christie courtroom thriller, with Charles Laughton wiggling his wattles.
Jul 24, 2023
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