Great thriller with superb classical interpretations. The plot moves sometimes too lazily.
**Why don't they make THESE movies anymore?** Apart from being a **GREAT** courtroom drama_(which some people don't think this movie is)_, this movie is so much **FUN** and **ENTERTAINING** to watch.Especially because of the characters of _Charles Laughton_ and _Elsa Lanchester_. But _Tyrone Power_ and _Marlene Dietrich_ were convincing too in their portrayal of an _innocent, afraid for his life man and a disloyal, unloving, poker faced wife_ respectively. Some people might say that they predicted the ending half way down the movie but i am not quite sure as to how they predicted the **ACTUAL ENDING** before it really unfolded before their eyes? This movie is great not only in the part played in court but also in the scenes shot in _Sir Wilfrid Robarts's_ office(also due to _Miss Plimsoll's caringly lovably irritating character!_). Perhaps the people(the minority I'd like to believe) who don't think this movie deserves the high ranking and rating that it's got saw this brilliant piece of art as more of a suspense thriller.But I loved this movie as a delightfully ENTERTAINING, MYSTERIOUS, DRAMA ! I rate this 10 just because I haven't seen any other CLASSIC courtroom drama that was intense throughout(barring some light hearted scenes with Sir Wilfrid Robarts) and yet in the end I somehow felt light-hearted and had a smile on my face rather than a thought provoking look on it. The commentary in the ending credits was innocently adorable for our times of social networking _"The management of this theater 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!"_ And mind you I am a _big fan of 12 Angry Men and How to Kill a Mockingbird!_ But this movie too is equally good in a different way altogether!
I'm constantly surprised that women's hats don't provoke more murders. Leonard Steven Vole finds himself on trial for the murder of a wealthy widow from whom he has inherited a fortune. Top barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts takes up the defendants case, but he, along with everyone else, is stunned when Vole's seemingly loving wife Christine turns up to testify against the defendant. Based on Agatha Christie's successful 1953 play, "Witness For The Prosecution" benefited from fine tuning from master director Billy Wilder and writing partner Harry Kurnitz. Here the dialogue becomes razor sharp and the characters are fully realised with quite wonderful results, but chiefly the masterstroke here is not letting a court room drama become just that, a court room drama. The film plays out with no wasted scenes, no moments of boredom, and it has such vim and vigour you sometimes forget that there actually is drama in the story. The cast here are on fine form, Wilder had wanted to work with Charles Laughton for some time, and it's obvious that both parties here are getting the best out of each other. Laughton is a pure delight as Robarts, a sharp tongue, all bluster and cheeky into the bargain, his interplay with Miss Plimsoll (Laughton's real life wife Elsa Lanchester) is quality, and it's another testament to Wilder's genius for putting them together. Tyrone Power, in what would be his last completed film before sadly passing away, is devilishly smart as Vole, whilst Torin Thatcher is great as the gruff prosecution barrister Myers. Yet as good as they all are, they all sit in the shadow of Marlene Dietrich and her turn as Christine Vole, sultry and femme fatalistic, it's a sizzling performance that crowns this delightful film. It occurred to me overnight that it's probably the closest film that Wilder got to being Hitchcockian, and I'm pretty sure the big master of suspense himself would have enjoyed this one. It's a mystery that is dramatic, it's a thriller that is also funny, it's pretty much a multi genre classic. 9/10
I might be asking for trouble here, but did Charles Laughton ever actually make a bad film? He leads this one as the brilliant but curmudgeonly barrister "Sir Wildred Robarts" with oodles of charisma and style. Marlene Dietrich portrays the evil, manipulative "Christine Vole" marvellously and even Tyrone Power, more the matinée idol than the serious actor, delivers as required in Billy Wilder's outstanding rendition of the Agatha Christie story about a man accused of murdering an elderly lady who has just happened to leave him a great deal of money in her will. Elsa Lanchester is suitably annoying/scary/lovable as the nurse trying to keep her ailing charge from keeling over mid-trial and a slew of other capable British actors - including a wonderfully charismatic turn from Una O'Connor in the witness box - fill in the supporting roles well. It is one of those very rare occasions where everything just gels perfectly and it really is fun to watch. Some of Laughton's wry asides and put-down lines are genuinely laugh out loud too. Had it not come up against "Bridge on the River Kwai" then I'm sure it would have garnered at least one Oscar!
Detective Sal Vallentinetti visits The Filthy Fox to further inquire about the killer behind a string of recent murders in Midnight City.
Movie Star Rating : 0 Read More
The true story of WWII's notorious Sobibor Nazi death camp, where a courageous inmate orchestrates and leads the escape of over 300 prisoners.
Movie Star Rating : 7.3 Read More
A European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the "Red Death" plague that stalks the land.
Movie Star Rating : 6.6 Read More
Hoping to put to rest years of unease concerning a past case, retired criminal investigator Benjamín begins writing a novel based on the unsolved mystery of a newlywed’s rape and murder. With the help of a former colleague, judge Irene, he attempts to make sense of the past.
Movie Star Rating : 8 Read More
In London, a diplomat accidentally becomes involved in the death of a British agent who's after a spy ring that covets British military secrets.
Movie Star Rating : 6.1 Read More
The proprietor of an ice-skating revue promotes a peanut-vendor at the show to a management position based on suggestions he made to improve the act of the show's star, who also happens to be the owner's wife. However, he soon begins to notice that his new manager is paying more attention to his wife than he believes is appropriate...
Movie Star Rating : 6.6 Read More
A bitter woman who thinks she'll never love again marries, only to fall for a brash young man.
Movie Star Rating : 6.8 Read More
Helga Joner's daughter Ida leaves home bound for the local shop riding a yellow bicycle and wearing a red cycle helmet. Helga is shown to be an over-anxious mother who worries excessively about her daughter. She even resorts to calculating the approximate time Ida will take to reach the shop. As night starts to fall, and Ida doesn't return, Helga becomes worried about her daughter, going so far as to phone the shop to see if Ida is there, but she is told that Ida never arrived. Helga and her sister Ruth search for Ida but to no avail. Finally they call the police.
Movie Star Rating : 0 Read More
The son of a North Korean spy decides to follow in his father's footsteps to protect his little sister. After his father's botched espionage mission, North Korean Myung-hoon and his young sister Hye-in are sent to a labor prison camp. In order to save his sister's life, Myung-hoon volunteers to become a spy and infiltrates the South as a teenage defector. While attending high school in the South, he meets another girl named Hye-in, and rescues her when she comes under attack.
Movie Star Rating : 7.3 Read More
Mary Gillespie is restoring the Col. Gillespie Circus to its former splendor after her father's death. With the help of her publicist boyfriend Jim, the sell-out crowds are returning to the big top. Egotistical equestrian star Senor Martinet, however, holds $60,000 of notes signed by the Colonel and due in 24 hours. When a mysterious shadowy figure is seen on the circus lot, and Martinet is murdered in the center ring during his performance, there are suspects aplenty, including Vindecco, Martinet's badly abused hunchback assistant.
Movie Star Rating : 7 Read More
The Beautiful Game 2024 - Movies (Mar 29th)
Heart of the Hunter 2024 - Movies (Mar 29th)
Madu 2024 - Movies (Mar 29th)
The Settlers 2023 - Movies (Mar 29th)
Lousy Carter 2023 - Movies (Mar 29th)
Godzilla x Kong The New Empire 2024 - Movies (Mar 28th)
Winnie-the-Pooh Blood and Honey 2 2024 - Movies (Mar 28th)
Even Hell Has Its Heroes 2023 - Movies (Mar 28th)
Falling in Love in Niagara 2024 - Movies (Mar 28th)
Silent Night 2023 - Movies (Mar 28th)
Double Soul 2023 - Movies (Mar 28th)
Haunting of the Queen Mary 2023 - Movies (Mar 28th)
Uproar 2023 - Movies (Mar 28th)
Peter Five Eight 2024 - Movies (Mar 28th)
Windcatcher 2024 - Movies (Mar 27th)
The Truth vs. Alex Jones 2024 - Movies (Mar 27th)
Easter Evil 2024 - Movies (Mar 27th)
The Iron Claw 2023 - Movies (Mar 26th)
Kung Fu Panda 4 2024 - Movies (Mar 26th)
The Book of Clarence 2023 - Movies (Mar 26th)
Molli and Max in the Future 2023 - Movies (Mar 26th)
Deal or No Deal - (Mar 29th)
The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle - (Mar 29th)
The Last Word with Lawrence ODonnell - (Mar 29th)
The Kelly Clarkson Show - (Mar 29th)
Renters - (Mar 29th)
Motorway Patrol - (Mar 29th)
The First 48 Presents Critical Minutes - (Mar 29th)
Theresa Caputo- Raising Spirits - (Mar 29th)
The Cook Up with Adam Liaw - (Mar 29th)
ROH On HonorClub - (Mar 29th)
Taking the Stand - (Mar 29th)
The Trades - (Mar 29th)
Family Guy - (Mar 29th)
We Were the Lucky Ones - (Mar 29th)
Royal Crackers - (Mar 29th)
Summer House - (Mar 29th)
The Nature of Things - (Mar 29th)
Manhunt - (Mar 29th)
The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy - (Mar 29th)
A Gentleman in Moscow - (Mar 29th)