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Synopsis

Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton star in this brilliantly made courtroom drama (The Film Daily) that left audiences reeling from its surprise twists and shocking climax. Directed by Billy Wilder, scripted by Wilder and Harry Kurnitz and based on Agatha Christie’s hit London play, this splendid, six-time Oscar-nominated* classic crackles with emotional electricity (The New York Times) and continues to keep movie lovers riveted until the final, mesmerizing frame. When a wealthy widow is found murdered, her married suitor, Leonard Vole (Power), is accused of the crime. Vole’s only hope for acquittal is the testimony of his wife (Dietrich) but his airtight alibi shatters when she reveals some shocking secrets of her own! –MGM

Director

Original

Billy Wilder

Originally planning to become a lawyer, Billy Wilder abandoned that career in favor of working as a reporter for a Viennese newspaper, using this experience to move to Berlin, where he worked for the city’s largest tabloid. He broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929, and wrote scripts for many German films until Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. Wilder immediately realized his Jewish ancestry would cause problems, so he emigrated to Paris, then the US. Although he spoke no English when he arrived in Hollywood, Wilder was a fast learner, and thanks to contacts such as Peter Lorre (with whom he shared an apartment), he was able to break into American films. His partnership with Charles Brackett started in 1938 and the team was responsible for writing some of Hollywood’s classic comedies, including Ninotchka (1939) and Ball of Fire (1941). The partnership expanded into a producer-director one in 1942, with Brackett producing, and the two turned out such classics… read more

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Federico Di Folco

23May13

Geniale film processuale,basato sul romanzo della Christie. Billy Wilder dirige magistralmente un piano machiavellico che viene svelato nello splendido climax finale.Il personaggio di Sir Wilfred è straordinario,pacioccone ed irascibile,così come straordinaria è la tenebrosa Sig.ra Vole,all'apparenza impassibile all'amore. Parecchio Hitchcock,ma con più humor,con un ritmo eccellente.Davvero ottimo. 4* e 1/2.

Picture of Thomas Frovin

Thomas Frovin

12May13

This was so much fun!

Picture of Dennis Brian

Dennis Brian

24Feb13

maybe a bit cuter than it should have been

Picture of Ciprian David

Ciprian David

16Feb13

between some cigars and a knife, a whole span of morality, immorality and, of course, death. One of the must absurd ironic moments in film is to watch a murder provoking almost no reaction amongst the characters, after they spent all the film closing and disclosing the facets of a murder. Quite obsolete humor.

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[Last Film I Saw] Witness For The Prosecution

By lasttim​eisaw on June 26, 2012

Title: Witness For The Prosecution
Year: 1957
Country: USA
Language: English, German
Genre:
Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Director:
Billy Wilder
Writers:
Agatha Christie…  read review

Untitled

By Byron Brubake​r on November 11, 2009

Really good twists (plural) at the end! Laughton, who I have liked from a couple other performances in the ‘30s, plays an English Barrister. He’s recovering from a heart attach and any extreme emotional…  read review

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