Witness for the Prosecution (1957) DVD5 uncomp - Tyronne Power, Marlene Dietrich [DDR]

Witness for the Prosecution (1957) DVD5 uncomp - Tyronne Power, Marlene Dietrich [DDR]

Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 American courtroom drama film with elements of Film Noir set in the Old Bailey in London. The film, based on a play by Agatha Christie, deals with the trial of a man accused of murder. The first film adaptation of this story, it stars Tyrone Power (in his final screen role), Marlene Dietrich, and Charles Laughton, and features Elsa Lanchester. The film was adapted by Larry Marcus, Harry Kurnitz and the film's director, Billy Wilder.

CAST:-


Tyrone Power as Leonard Vole, the accused


Marlene Dietrich as Christine Vole/Helm, the accused's wife


Charles Laughton as Sir Wilfrid Robarts Q.C., senior counsel for Vole


Elsa Lanchester as Miss Plimsoll, Sir Wilfrid's private nurse


John Williams as Mr. Brogan-Moore, Sir Wilfrid's junior counsel in the trial


Henry Daniell as Mayhew, Vole's solicitor who instructs Sir Wilfrid on the case


Ian Wolfe as Carter, Sir Wilfrid's clerk and office manager


Torin Thatcher as Mr. Myers, the Crown prosecutor


Norma Varden as Mrs Emily Jane French, the elderly woman who was murdered


Una O'Connor as Janet McKenzie, Mrs. French's housekeeper and a prosecution witness


Francis Compton as the Judge


Philip Tonge as Chief Inspector Hearne, the arresting officer


Ruta Lee as Diana, a young woman, with a secret, watching the trial.

Directed by Billy Wilder


Produced by Arthur Hornblow Jr.


Screenplay by Larry Marcus, Billy Wilder


Running time 116 minutes

MOVIE PLOT:- Witness for the Prosecution (1957)


Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton), a master barrister in ill health, takes on Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power) as a client, despite the objections of his private nurse, Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester), who says the doctor warns him against taking on any criminal cases. Vole is accused of murdering Mrs. Emily French (Norma Varden), a rich, older widow who had become enamored of him, going so far as to make him the main beneficiary of her will. Strong circumstantial evidence points to Vole as the killer, but Sir Wilfrid believes Vole is innocent.

When Sir Wilfrid speaks with Vole's German wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich), he finds her rather cold and self-possessed, but she does provide an alibi. Therefore, he is greatly surprised when she is called as a witness for the prosecution. While a wife cannot testify against her husband, Christine was in fact still married to a German man when she wed Leonard (who was in the Army and part of the occupation forces in Germany). She testifies that Leonard admitted to her that he had killed Mrs. French, and that her conscience forced her to finally tell the truth.

During the trial in the Old Bailey, Sir Wilfrid is contacted by a mysterious woman who, for a fee, provides him with letters written by Christine herself to a mysterious lover named Max. The affair revealed by this correspondence gives Christine such a strong motive to have lied that the jury finds Leonard not guilty.

However, Sir Wilfrid is troubled by the verdict. His instincts tell him that it was "...too neat, too tidy, and altogether...too symmetrical!" His belief proves correct when Christine, left alone with him by chance in the courtroom, takes the opportunity to take credit for the verdict. Sir Wilfrid had told her before the trial that "...no jury would believe an alibi given by a loving wife". So, she had instead given testimony implicating her husband, had then forged the letters to the non-existing Max, and had herself in disguise played the mysterious woman handing over the letters which then discredited her own testimony and led to the acquittal. She furthermore admits that she saved Leonard even though she knew he was guilty because she loves him.

Leonard has overheard Christine's admission and, now protected by double jeopardy, cheerfully confirms to Sir Wilfred that he had indeed killed Mrs. French. Sir Wilfrid is infuriated at being had. Leonard then coldly tells Christine that he has met a younger woman (Ruta Lee) and is leaving Christine. In a jealous rage, Christine grabs a knife, which had earlier been used as evidence by the defense (and subtly highlighted by Sir Wilfrid), and stabs Leonard to death. After she is taken away by the police, Sir Wilfrid, urged on by Miss Plimsoll, declares that he will take on Christine's defense.

PRODUCTION NOTES:-


This was Power's final completed film. He died during the filming of Solomon and Sheba.


In real life, Lanchester was Charles Laughton's wife.


Una O'Connor was the only member of the original Broadway play's cast to reprise her role on film. It was also her final film; she retired from acting after its completion.

Producers Arthur Hornblow and Edward Small bought the rights to the play for $450,000. The play was adjusted to build up the character of the defence barrister. Billy Wilder was signed to direct in April 1956.


Laughton based his performance on Florance Guedella, his own lawyer, an Englishman who was well known for twirling his monocle while cross-examining witnesses.


Vivien Leigh and Marlene Dietrich were leading candidates to play the female lead.

In a flashback showing how Leonard and Christine first meet in a German nightclub, she is wearing her trademark trousers. A rowdy customer conveniently rips them down one side, revealing one of Dietrich's renowned legs, and starting a brawl. The scene required 145 extras, 38 stuntmen and $90,000.

At the end of the film, as the credits roll, a voice-over announces:


The management of this theatre suggests that for the greater entertainment of your friends who have not yet seen the picture, you will not divulge, to anyone, the secret of the ending of Witness for the Prosecution.

This was in keeping with the advertising campaign for the film: one of the posters for the film said: "You'll talk about it, but please don't tell the ending."

The effort to keep the ending a secret extended to the cast. Billy Wilder did not give the actors the final ten pages of the script until it was time to shoot those scenes. The secrecy reportedly cost Marlene Dietrich an Academy Award, as United Artists didn't want to call attention to the fact that Dietrich was practically unrecognizable as the cockney woman who hands over the incriminating letters to the defense.



TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:-


Video Codec: MPEG-2


Video Bitrate: 6626 kbps


Video Resolution: 720x480


Video Aspect Ratio: 1.778:1


Frames Per Second: 29.970


Audio Codec: AC3


Audio Bitrate: 192kb/s CBR 48000 Hz


Audio Streams: 2


Audio Languages: English


RunTime 116 mins


Subtitles: None


Ripped by: Trinidad [DDR]