Il testimone (1946)

Pietro Scotti, a suspected murderer, is about to be sentenced to death. The conviction was secured by the testimony of a witness, the accountant Giuseppe Marchi, who is, however, deceived by the defendant’s lawyer. Thanks to the ruse, Pietro is set free and tries to rebuild his life with the young Linda, keeping his past from her. Determined to marry and leave the city as soon as possible, Pietro happens to run into accountant Marchi, who is still burdened by guilt for having apparently helped get him unjustly convicted. Marchi offers to help him with the marriage paperwork, which will take several days. Their growing closeness drives Pietro to the brink of paranoia, arousing the suspicions of both Linda and Marchi. After one of Pietro’s outbursts, Marchi realizes he has been duped and that he mistakenly helped exonerate the real murderer. Pietro then decides to confront Marchi, prepared to kill him if necessary. When he arrives at the accountant’s home, Pietro learns that the elderly gentleman died the previous night, as the landlady confirms. Now safe from any eyewitnesses, Pietro returns home to Linda and, weighed down by his conscience, makes an unexpected, proud decision: he will confess everything to the woman he loves and turn himself in, instead of running away with her without telling her anything.