Movie Review: Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Witness for the Prosecution (1957) co-written and directed by Billy Wilder from the stage play by Agatha Christie

Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power) is accused of murdering an older woman. A lot of circumstantial evidence makes him look guilty but he protests his innocence. Lucky for him barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton) is just back from a serious illness. Sir Wilfrid is constantly pestered by nurse Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester), who tries to stop him from having cigars and alcohol. Most especially, she needs to keep him away from stress, like arguing in court. Sir Wilfrid is not interested in sitting around being pricked and prodded and swallowing pills on a regular schedule. So he takes Vole's case, which looks especially bad when they find out that Leonard will inherit a large sum from the older woman. Leonard's main hope is his alibi--his wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich) who will say he came home early, before the time of death. Leonard's main problem is when his wife shows up in court as a witness for the prosecution to testify that he did commit the crime!

The story is sensational and has plenty of twists. The mystery is intriguing and Sir Wilfrid's efforts are impressive. He is a master of the law and good at sussing out people. He feels there's something fishy about Christine but he can't put his finger on what it is. She is very careful about how she presents herself and defeats one of Wilfrid's little character tests. Their sparing is quite good, especially in court. Wilfrid's sparring with Miss Plimsoll provides enjoyable comic relief. The ending is a personal favorite of mine, so very satisfying on many levels.

Wilder does a good job turning the stage play into a movie. He breaks out of the courtroom and barrister's offices with a lot of background story for the Voles (Leonard met Christine in a German cabaret where she was performing during the war; they had a whirlwind romance and he brought to England as his wife) and visits to prison and the murder scene. Wilder has a great style and communicates a lot through images even in a talk-centric story like this. 

Highly recommended--among the best court room dramas in cinematic history.

TV Review: The Witness for the Prosecution (2016)

The Witness for the Prosecution (2016) directed by Julian Jarrold and adapted by Sarah Phelps from a short story by Agatha Christie

The team that created the impressive adaptation of And Then There Were None has subsequently adapted The Witness for the Prosecution, though they have chosen to go back to the short story which was the first version of what eventually became the stage play (to which most productions adhere). The ending of the story is a bit different than the stage and various movie versions though I don't want to spoil what those differences are.

The beginning of the story is the same. Leonard Vole (Billy Howle) is accused of murdering Emily French (Kim Cattrall), an older woman with whom he has been keeping company. Or perhaps being a "kept man" is a better description. She leaves all her wealth to him, so naturally he is the primary suspect. Vole's foreign-born wife Romaine (Andrea Reisborough) is brought in as a witness, but she is a witness for the prosecution to satisfy her jealousy and get her two-timing husband hanged. Solicitor for the defense Mayhew (Toby Jones) is convinced of Vole's innocence and searches for any way to get his neck out of the noose.

In the play, the search for truth and justice is the guiding theme; here, betrayal is the overriding theme. This story adds Janet McIntyre, a female servant for French who is passionately (and almost crazily) devoted to her mistress. She's seen young men come and go; she tells Vole he won't last two weeks. Vole lasts considerably longer and threatens McIntyre's security (she's been written out of the will), so she becomes a plausible secondary suspect. Solicitor Mayhew has guilt over a son who died in World War I (this version is set in the 1920s, so everyone is living under the shadow and sadness of that conflict) and over his fascination with Romaine, who is an actress and singer and beautiful. Mayhew's wife is devoted but frumpy and emotionally detached. Mayhew is willing to take anything to get his man proven innocent, so he betrays his calling to find truth and justice. I find betrayal an interesting theme but it is not as satisfying as the search for truth and justice.

The production is very atmospheric, which doesn't quite work well with the courtroom drama and better fits the investigation outside the courtroom. Fortunately, this version has plenty of action outside the courtroom. Even so, it occasionally lapses into incoherence, e.g. Mayhew seems to practice law in the very prison where he first meets Vole, which seems absurd. The atmosphere comes off more like a affectation than a natural way to present the story. It didn't work for me.

While this presentation had a lot of interesting ideas and adaptations, overall it was not satisfying for me and I can't quite recommend it. Watch the classic movie version with Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich instead.