Witness for the Prosecution

Witness for the Prosecution; legal thriller-drama, USA, 1957; D: Billy Wilder, S: Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Elsa Lanchester, John Williams, Henry Daniell, Torin Thatcher, Norma Varden

Sir Wilfrid Roberts, genius lawyer called "the Champion of impossible cases", returns to his office after a recovering from a sickness. His nurse Plimsoll constantly reminds him to stay in bed, which irritates him. Suddenly his friend storms in and begs him to help him defend a certain Mr. Leonard Vole who befriended the rich Mrs. French who left him 80,000 pounds, but she was murdered. Wilfrid accepts to defend Vole in court, but Vole's wife, German woman Christine, testifies against Vole. But Christine then later disguises herself into a stranger and gives Wilfrid some letters that represent Christine as a liar, thus enabling Vole to be acquitted of charges. Later, Wilfrid realizes that Vole really killed Mrs. French and got away with it, but Christine kills Vole due to jealousy.

Excellent humorous court drama is brilliantly playful thanks to the sharp writing skills by Billy Wilder and was actually labelled "suspenseful" back in those days, even though it is hardly just that by today's standards: rather, it is wonderfully relaxed, calm, focused and clever, thus radiating more with style and humor than thrills. The best roles were delivered by the amazing Charles Laughton as the cynical, but noble lawyer Wilfrid, and the amazing Marlene Dietrich as Christine. All in all, it's a serious story about greed and murder set in the courtroom, but after watching it the comical moments will probably stay the longest in the memory of the viewers: one of the of those quirky scenes is the one where Wilfrid questions Christine, while at the same time "flashing" her with the reflection of the Sun on his glasses; when Vole jumps on the bed and the roof collapses, or Wilfrid's many sly comments, like when his nurse is ordering him to lie on his bed and he just replies with: "Ah, you just want to see me in my underwear!" The movie is also one of those that offer a twist ending, which comes rather surprising even though it's a little bit banal, while the rhythm is very measured, becoming an unknown classic. 

Grade:+++