Marvellous review of a wonderful film. You speak very clearly without rubbish background noise. Torin Thatcher was great as Mr. Myers, prosecuting barrister. In fact all cast were great. Billy Wilder a genius.
2 trivias; Wilder deliberately did not submit Dietrich's name for nomination for the Academy Awards because he was afraid that the audience might guess the ending; Lanchester's character was not in original Christie story. Wilder hired her to take care of Laughton in the set because he had a heart condition. Later Wilder wrote her a part in the movie as Laughton's nurse. She was so good she earned a nomination. And btw Laughton's character in the orig story did not have a heart condition.
@@HildebrandProductions This was the only time in my life where I liked a movie more than the original story ... it is also known that this was one of the very few adaptations of her novels Agatha Christie thought to be "quite okay". "Witness for the prosecution" is and always will be one of my favourite movies - the plot, the cast, the director - well, it can`t get any better than THAT, can it????
When Laughton shouts the word LIAR! so suddenly he didn't reveal it to the others in the scene - he wanted a lot of spontaneous reaction and he DID get it.
Thanks for your review. Good job! I enjoy this movie. I believe the first time I saw it was in 1958 in the theater, shortly after I turned eleven years old. It left quite an impression on me. I didn't see it again until years later on television and I was glad to see that it had "held up" and did not disappoint. Since then I have seen it quite a few more times. I find it very watchable and appreciate all of the performances.
I can only imagine watching this movie as a kid, I would think the ending would have been even more shocking to me (if that's even possible). I look forward to watching it more over the years. Thank you!
13:00 - As I recall, he did get away with it in the original short story. I don't know about the play, but I know that at that time the movies had some strict rules and one of them was that a guilty person must ALWAYS end up paying for their crime, even if it meant messing with the plot to make it happen.
No, he is stabbed by Christine ( it`s actually Romaine in the original story) at the very end - I just looked it up in my paperback edition from 1986 (13th edition) ... I have never seen the theater adaptation, maybe the ending was different there ?
Glad you loved it! My fave older movie. Laughton is my favourite actor ever, have you seen Hobson’s Choice? Another filmed play but with brilliant visual bits from David Lean…
I wanted to produce a clip of the Kings and Bishops short speech by Laughton to Tyrone Power regarding the fact that it is no shame to be arrested and tried as before him Kings, lords and bishops have been accused. If I get it done I’ll send it to Trump’s team… 😎😎
*Thank you for this review! I think all of the actors in this movie were top-notch. My only "kick" is that Tyrone Power's character is (I think) supposed to be British, while from his accent it's obvious that he's North American. Or did I miss something about his being Canadian, or something like that?*
I like too when Tyrone Power plays a darker character, then his usually handsome love interest or just the "handsome one'', which he played for years, and he tried to break out from it, but he couldn't because of Hollywood system back then, I would like to see him in more roles like this, more negative characters, I think he does great job.
Thank you for this brilliant review. I watched this film for the first time a few days ago and it’s instantly become one of my all time favourites. Something I noticed, when Christine stabs Leonard it seems like she is meant to say the word ‘murder’ but it’s been edited out. I wonder if it was to do with censorship or perhaps because Wilfred refers to it as an execution rather than a murder? I’d love to know the reason.
Oh yes, another great movie and a perfect review, you nailed it! btw, Billy Wilder (sp?) and Hitchcock were 2 of my fave directors and I see many similarities in their style. Have you done a review of Niagra? It's not a masterpiece but so beautifully filmed I am mesmerized by it.
Imagine watching those old movies in the theater when they came out. They would have had 8k resolution with stunning colors. Black and white movies back then in the theater would not have looked as plain as they do when watched on a tv.
Thank you so much, I appreciate that! I actually haven't seen "Niagra" yet, but being a Joseph Cotten fan that needs to change. Once I do though I hope to review it.
@@bighands69 my father worked for Technicolor through RCA, filming for the space program and military in FL (he was in the same union as Hollywood photographers). I remember the great Technicolor cinematography at the movies. A truly lovely movie is The Quiet Man, which one film critic rightfully proclaimed to be "like watching a series of oil paintings."
I love this movie. I watch it every now and then. The one thing that puzzles me though is Christine Vole told the truth on the witness stand. Or in the dock as the British would say. So where is the perjury? And she indeed wrote the letters.
@@bighands69 Yes, in her first testimony at court she does so ... but then, as we all know, she turns against her husband ( to actually save him!) and tells what - in the end - turns out to be the whole truth ...
I enjoy this Agatha Christie novella very well, yet this adaptation isn't my favourite. I definitely prefer the 1982 screen version with Ralph Richardson and Diana Ross. Perhaps I am not very fond of Marlena Dietriech's acting much. I am a bit discouraged by her coldness.
The Witness for the Prosecution is also a short story featured in the collection, The Hound of Death. Spoiler alert: in this version, there is no betrayal by Leonard Vole with another love interest. It simply ends with Romaine (Dietrich) confirming that she knew he was guilty and did it to save him. I attach the PDF here. It is very short and a brilliant read. www.uek12.org/Downloads/Witness_for_the_Prosecution.pdf
The weak link in this film is Tyrone Power, an unconvincing actor I never cared for. This film deserved, and would have been so much better served with a Grade A replacement 🫤
