1957 | Approved | 1h 56m | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Blame it on Perry Mason. No, not the character or the actor who played him, but on the TV series of the same name. Episodes were broadcast ad nauseam while I was growing up. It somewhat spoiled the entire legal drama/thriller genre for me, for years to come.
Right around that same golden era, another legal masterpiece with considerable gravitas was produced as well. Directed by Billy Wilder, “Witness for the Prosecution” is Agatha Christie’s runaway success of a play by the same name. If that isn’t enough, it also features an ensemble cast that is more than adequate to bring the play to the silver screen.
The film begins with renowned British barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton), who is leaving the hospital with his personal nurse, Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester). Robarts is recovering from a cardiac event and doctors have instructed him to refrain from any sort of strenuous activities, including taking on major cases since the stress could spell trouble for his compromised heart.
Soon after arriving at his office, Robarts is just settling in when a solicitor by the name of Mayhew (Henry Daniell) shows up with a hot prospective case. Accompanying Mayhew is Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), a seemingly hapless individual who has been accused of murdering a wealthy widow, Mrs. Emily Jane French (Norma Varden), at her residence.
Although the case seems intriguing, Miss Plimsoll makes it clear that Robarts can’t take on such a potentially stressful case.
However, when Vole’s wife, Christine (Marlene Dietrich), pops up out of nowhere and her inscrutable nature not only baffles Robarts but also shuts down his normally effective inquisitional strategies (including a hilarious tactic that involves the use of his monocle), he insists on taking the case, much to the chagrin of Miss Plimsoll.
Interestingly, some of the main events of the case are shown in flashbacks. For instance, viewers get to see scenes that detail how Vole first met Mrs. French (a woman old enough to be his mother) and, at least from his perspective, how the two developed a friendship despite his being a married man.
But one of the most incredible flashbacks is when Vole was in the military and stationed overseas in Germany. While grabbing a drink with other troops at a run-down basement cabaret joint, he meets his future wife, Christine, for the very first time. She’s eking out a living as an accordion player while drunk GIs claw at her legs and launch crude jokes at her as she attempts to sing songs.
After the place erupts in a mass brawl and gets cleared out, Vole returns to work his charms on Christine. Desperate to escape her hellish basement dwelling (she lives not far from the establishment’s stage), she easily allows Vole to glom onto her: It just takes his offer of a few provisions out of a small pack of rations he happens to have on his person.
Twists and Humor
However, what makes this well-produced legal drama so entertaining is not only the incredible performances of its stellar cast but also all of the unexpected bits of humor sprinkled in liberally over the potentially dire proceedings; after all, a possibly innocent man’s life hangs in the balance.
Much of the humor on display is due to the believable back-and-forth banter between the cantankerous yet good-hearted barrister Robarts and Plimsoll. Her presence is so overbearing that if it weren’t for Robarts’s scathing, rapid-fire quips, he’d be all but smothered by the woman. The scenes between the two are probably amplified because Laughton and Lanchester were married in real life.
In the end, “Witness for the Prosecution” is a taut, fascinating character study featuring crisp acting, excellent direction, and a compelling plot with many unexpected twists that will keep you guessing up until its dramatic surprise ending.
It would be criminal to miss this fine legal thriller.
