Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
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The story
Senior barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts, nearing retirement after a heart attack, agrees to defend Leonard Vole against a murder charge. Vole is accused of killing Emily French, a wealthy widow who named him as her sole beneficiary. Despite the risks, Robarts believes his client is innocent. The case takes a dramatic turn when Leonard's wife, Christine, is called as a prosecution witness. She claims Leonard confessed to the murder to her. Robarts must navigate a complex web of testimony and evidence to save his client from the gallows in a high-stakes London courtroom drama.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Senior barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts agrees to defend Leonard Vole, who is accused of murdering wealthy widow Emily French. While Robarts believes Vole is innocent, he is shocked when Vole's wife, Christine, testifies against him, claiming Vole confessed to the crime. Christine reveals her marriage to Vole is invalid as she was already married to a man in Germany. Robarts is later approached by a disfigured Cockney woman who sells him letters from Christine to a man named Max, suggesting a conspiracy to frame Vole. During cross-examination, these letters lead to Vole's acquittal. However, Christine returns to the courtroom to reveal she posed as the disfigured woman and wrote the letters to discredit her own testimony; she knew Vole was guilty but wanted to save him. The law of double jeopardy prevents a retrial. Vole reveals he intends to abandon Christine, leading her to fatally stab him. Robarts decides to delay his retirement to defend Christine.
- First release year
- 1957
- Runtime (minutes)
- 116
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Billy Wilder
- Writers
- Billy Wilder · screenplay; Harry Kurnitz · screenplay; Larry Marcus · adapted by
- Cast and characters
- Tyrone Power · Leonard Vole; Marlene Dietrich · Christine; Charles Laughton · Sir Wilfrid Robarts; Elsa Lanchester · Cockney woman; John Williams
- Genres
- legal mystery; melodrama; black comedy; film noir; courtroom drama
- Themes
- justice; deception; betrayal; legal ethics
- Tone and mood
- bleak; tense; dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- courtroom drama; murder mystery; legal thriller; film noir
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1953 play by Agatha Christie
- Reception
- The film was acclaimed by critics, reaching number one at the American box office for two weeks in 1958. It was selected as the sixth-best courtroom drama ever by the American Film Institute. It holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe Award · Best Actress in a Supporting Role · win; Academy Award · Best Picture · nomination
- Production trivia
- The ending was kept secret from the cast to maintain a surprise for the audience.; The bar in the flashback, Die blaue Laterne, is a reference to The Blue Angel.; Charles Laughton based his performance on his own lawyer.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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