Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

It has been said that people thought "Witness for the Prosecution" was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Indeed, it does have a Hitchcock vibe, but this one was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, the brilliant man who won Oscars for writing and directing "The Lost Weekend" (1945), writing "Sunset Blvd" (1950), and for writing, directing, and producing "The Apartment" (1960) (the latter being one of my favorites).

"Witness for the Prosecution" stars Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, and Elsa Lanchester, all of whom were what might be considered today to be "box office magic." Tyrone Power was one of the most beautiful actors to have ever lived. Marlene Dietrich was brought to Hollywood from Germany, around 1930, just before she turned 30 years old. She has never appealed to me, though I do have a great respect for her acting; however, she seems to have a speech impediment similar to that of Elmer Fudd, which I find a bit comical, even when she's trying to be serious. Charles Laughton is one of the all-time greats, and he and Elsa Lanchester were married from 1929 until he died, in 1962. Elsa lived another 24 years and never remarried.

Another interesting tidbit about the movie is it's the last film Una O'Connor appeared in. Born in Ireland, Una was one of those what-they-called "character" actresses, in that she seemed to always play the same type of part. She made 84 films in 28 years. If you'd like to catch some of her seemingly redundant performances, I recommend "The Invisible Man" (1933), "David Copperfield" (1935), "The Bride of Frankenstein" (1935), "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938), "Random Harvest" (1942), "Christmas in Connecticut" (1945), and "The Bells of St. Mary's" (1945), Una was never nominated for an Oscar.

This was also the last movie for Tyrone Power, who died of a heart attack, shortly after the movie was released. Tyrone never was nominated for an Oscar, either. Charles Laughton was nominated for his performance, as well as his wonderful performance of Captain Bligh in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935), but he didn't win for either role. He did win for his performance of Henry the VIII in "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933), which also starred his wife, Elsa. Elsa was nominated for her performance in "Witness", as well as her great performance in "Come to the Stable " (1949), but she didn't win. The winners that year were Alec Guiness, for "The Bridge on the River Kwai," and Miyoshi Uneki, for "Sayonara."

If you're new to this blog, you'll notice I don't provide plot summaries or synopses. I just tell you whether or not I recommend a movie. I do recommend "Witness for the Prosecution," not only for the great performances, great screenplay, and great director, but for the wonderful twist at the end, thanks to Agatha Christie, who wrote the short story on which the play, and then this movie, are based.

Until next time,
Teah