Witness for the Prosecution (1957): An intriguing court room drama with humorous writing
I had read and heard a lot about Billy Wilder and how he was regarded as one of the greatest screenwriters in Hollywood. He has written some of the greatest films like Double Indemnity (1944), The Apartment (1960), Sunset Blvd. (1950) etc. The great thing about all these films is that they all fall into uniquely different genres. One is a hard-boiled noir flick; another is a romantic comedy. Wilder always had this versatile writing to him which really made me intrigued. So naturally I wanted to watch one of these movies and thought about Double Indemnity as that is one of the most popular ones and it is regarded as a classic but as I was searching, I had come across a movie that caught my attention and that was Witness for the Prosecution. The moment I had read the title I recognized it was the same as Agatha Christies famous play of the same name. So immediately I had chosen this over all the other ones because Witness for the Prosecution is a story I adore from Christie and then only had I realized that Billy Wilder had both written and directed the movie. This made me excited and hyped which evidently after finish watching it didn’t disappoint in fact it was one of the best court room dramas I have seen.
The film is about a man Leonard Vole being tried for the murder of a woman he had met where he created a cordial acquaintance and relationship with her. But Leonard denies he is guilty leading him to the Legendary lawyer Sir Wilfred to represent him. Leonard has only one alibi that is his wife who shockingly testifies against him leading to a chain of shocking revelations.
The greatest aspect of this film has to be the writing. Billy Wilder has created a string of characters from the witty and jovial Sir Wilfred to the ambiguous and mysterious Christine Vole. We are introduced to Sir Wilfred from his visit to the hospital with his exuberant maid. What Billy Wilder does in the movie with Sir Wilfred is he is shown a particular trait of medical seriousness but uses it with humorous writing till the very end. Sir Wilfred is asked not to take major criminal cases anymore as it may deal a blow to his heart which only makes him opposed to it naturally and he must also not smoke cigars anymore as it will only be time till he gets another attack. Wilder uses this trope and mechanism to create the wittiness of Sir Wilfred’s character. From deceiving his maid to get a puff of a cigar to overthrowing the doctor’s decision to take the case. Wilder is a natural of humour-based mannerism’s and it is shown throughout this film with fantastic dialogue. The other thing I would like to praise about the film is the staging of the scenes especially during the scenes in the court (which is a major part) there is a particular sense of again witty but authentic dialogue from the defendant side to the prosecutor and even the judge that makes us glued to the screen with intrigue. The witnesses that are presented have their own distinct style and each character is staged with great cinematography based on their characteristics. This makes the scenes intriguing and delightful to watch.
All the other characters also have great writing to them. Let it be the super caring and tireless maid Miss Plimsoll played cheerfully by Elsa Lanchester. The Prosecutor Mr. Myers played by Thorin Thatcher is to be the antagonist but wilder creates an authenticity to the character making us believe he is a true prosecutor doing his job instead of a hard cut villain trope.
Tyrone Power plays Leonard Vole who has a charm and charisma to him that makes us genuinely believe he has not committed the murder. Then there is the ambiguous and stern face character Christine Vole played with perfect forbidding mannerisms from Marlene Dietrich.
Billy Wilder has this knack of writing quirky characters with humour and vigour and placing them in dire, grave and serious situations. It seems this is true to all his work (I am definitely in urge to watch his other films after watching this!). Witness for the Prosecution has in my mind everything you can ask for in a movie. It has wonderful written characters, an intriguing plot based on the famous play of the same name from the infamous Agatha Christie to wonderful dialogues and cinematography and magnificent performances from the actors especially by Charles Laughton who shoulders the whole movie. The drama is kept from the word GO! And it also has that famous Christie style twist before all the stretch of intrigue and revelations that occur in the third act. It is a movie you would not want to miss and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
P.S.- I also recommend you read the play by Agatha Christie as it is one of her best stories in my opinion. She creates her own style of murder and intrigue on the backdrop of a high courtroom drama.