Although film buffs already know that Witness for the Prosecution (1957) is a very fine movie, is it an old film classic not worth viewing today? Is it a relic or something you can enjoy next weekend? I say rent it!
In spite of what postmodernists claim, people like a good story. No one knows exactly why we’re captivated by a yarn, but I think it is in part because it relates so closely to what we imagine every day—what might happen next, what that person’s motives are, he seems trustworthy but maybe isn’t, she seems evil but there may be more to it, and so on. In a film, however, the stakes can seem much higher while actually being negligible. What a treat! Witness for the Prosecution has a plot to hold your attention. A dying and rascally lawyer, Sir Wilfrid (Charles Laughton), gets out of hospital and takes on a case that will be difficult to win. A wealthy lady has been murdered, and all fingers point to the suave and superficial Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power). Unfortunately, even Vole’s wife (Marlene Dietrich) is not supportive. As the trial proceeds (major plot twist #1), Mrs. Vole actually steps forward as a witness for the prosecution, saying that her husband came in late, with bloody sleeves, and suggested he’d killed. But a mysterious women intercedes with a bundle of letters from Mrs. Vole to her darling “Max” (twist #2) indicating that she was perjuring herself to convict her husband. When Leonard Vole is found not guilty, his wife reveals that she concocted the letters to take the blame on herself because that was the only way that the guilty Leonard could get off. But then a gorgeous woman latches onto Leonard’s arm . . .
Witness for the Prosecution is well worth watching because of the tone—so up-beat amid deceit and murder. Nowadays, we get used to movies being depressing, but life does not have to be cynical and jaded. The punch line of Witness for the Prosecution is often missed because viewers think the film is about Mr and Mrs Vole and the trial. But the first and last word go to the rascally old lawyer, and running throughout the film his determined nurse (Elsa Lanchester) tries to keep him under control. What wins out—weird for modern cinema—is the old man’s passion for justice. He first ignores his doctors’ orders not to take worrisome cases, he then frustrates his nurse’s best efforts to get him to drink hot chocolate instead of brandy, and he concludes the movie by vowing to defend Mrs. Vole so that justice is served.
All of the storytelling and upbeat tone is delivered by Billy Wilder’s great direction and by a stellar cast—do we ever get tired of good acting? Charles Laughton is note-perfect as the career lawyer determined to pursue his ideals all the while being a grumpy, uncooperative cardiac patient. He deserved his Academy Awards nomination. His real-life wife, the veteran Elsa Lanchester, delivers much of the film’s comedy in her nurse’s efforts to take care of him. No doubt, she deserved her Golden Globe win. Although Tyrone Power initially turned down the Leonard Vole role because he was disillusioned with film and his film career, Billy Wilder put the project on hold until Power was persuaded to get in on the lucre. All the more credit to Power as he sparkles with superficial charm. Although Marlene Dietrich initially over-acts when she pretends to be unsupportive of her husband, she holds her own with the other actors when she turns the tables in court.
All in old-fashioned black and white, this is a treat of a movie, and you shouldn’t miss it, even though it is half a century old.