So glad Wilder became involved in the screen adaptation of "Witness," if only to add the character of the nurse, Miss Plimsoll, thereby allowing for the invaluable comic banter between Laughton and wife Elsa Lanchester.
Billy Wilder had the fabulous skill of knowing a great script and directing same without over embellishment,not allowing the audience to wander and therefore keeping their interest throughout. The other comparison to "Witness" is the wonderful "Double Indemnity" with Fred MacMurray,Barbra Stanwych,and the great Edward G.Robinson. Thank you for sharing,and Thanks to Mr.Wilder for the many fantastic moments his skill has given me.
Wasn't it Double Indemnity that caused a rift between Billy and his co-writer? Think it was. Billy wanted to do the film, his co-writer felt the subject matter was too extreme
Billy Wilder and Marlene were great pals because the knew each other from the time in Berlin in the twenties. But towards the end, when Marlene locked herself into her Paris appartment and didn't want anyone to see her in her old age, Billy used to call on her when he was in Paris, but she didn't even want to let him in. "I don't want you to see me like this," she used to say, and he respected that.
Es freut mich, dass Billy Wilder den Film „Witness for the Prosecution“ inszeniert hat. Meiner Meinung nach sind die Romane von Agatha Christie bloß „Flughafenbücher“, die man am Ende des Flugs in den Abfallkasten werfen kann. Mit diesem Film hat er die langweilige Geschichte von Christie ein Meisterwerk gemacht.
Volle Zustimmung, was die generelle Qualität ihrer Kriminalromane als eher Groschenromane angeht. Allerdings war die Vorlage zu 'Witness for the Prosecution" keiner ihrer Romane, sondern eines ihrer Bühnenstücke, für welche sie m.E.n größeres Talent hatte als für Prosa-Erzählungen.
Excellent interview and narration. One point, though. At 3:10 the narrator speaks of Trauner's recreation of Victoria Station, but in the film Sir Wilfred and Frau Helm meet at Euston (demolished 5 years later), not Victoria.
Wilder is exactly right about Agatha Christie. A great constructivist, but not a great writer. What he did with Witness was genius. The same was done with the 1974 Murder on the Orient Express.
