Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Directed by

Billy Wilder

Genre

crime film, trial film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 56m

Rated

NR

Rating

8.2 of 10 from 1,723 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A man is on trial for murdering a wealthy widow who left him her money. His wife appears in court to testify against him, throwing the case into doubt.

suspensefulclevertheatricalwrytenseold-fashionedwittycerebral

What happens

Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 American legal mystery melodrama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, and Charles Laughton, with Elsa Lanchester and John Williams. The film, which has elements of bleak black comedy and film noir, is a courtroom drama set in the Old Bailey in London and is based on the 1953 play of the same title by Agatha Christie. The first film adaptation of Christie's story, Witness for the Prosecution was written for the screen by Wilder and Harry Kurnitz and adapted by Larry Marcus. The film was acclaimed by critics and received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It also received five Golden Globe Award nominations including a win for Elsa Lanchester as Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Additionally, the film was selected as the sixth-best courtroom drama ever by the American Film Institute for their AFI's 10 Top 10 list. In the film, a man accused of killing a wealthy widow, who had named him as the main beneficiary in her will, undergoes a trial during which his wife testifies against him. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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