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Witness For the Prosecution (1957)

Tyrone Power , Marlene Dietrich , Billy Wilder  |  NR |  DVD
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (156 customer reviews)

Price: $34.89 & FREE Shipping. Details
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Product Details

  • Actors: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, John Williams
  • Directors: Billy Wilder
  • Writers: Billy Wilder, Agatha Christie, Harry Kurnitz, Larry Marcus
  • Producers: Arthur Hornblow Jr., Edward Small
  • Format: Anamorphic, Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Subtitles: Spanish, French
  • Dubbed: French
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: NR (Not Rated)
  • Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
  • DVD Release Date: December 11, 2001
  • Run Time: 116 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (156 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005PJ6Z
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,612 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Witness For the Prosecution" on IMDb

Special Features

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Billy Wilder cowrote and directed this brilliant 1957 mystery based on Agatha Christie's celebrated play about an aging London barrister (Charles Laughton) who's preparing to retire when he takes the defense in the most vexing murder case of his distinguished career. In his final completed film (he died of a heart attack less than a year later), Tyrone Power plays the prime suspect in the murder of a wealthy widow, and Marlene Dietrich plays the wife of the accused, whose testimony--and true identity--holds the key to solving the case. A classic of courtroom suspense, Witness for the Prosecution is one of those movies with enough double-crossing twists to keep the viewer guessing right up to the very end, when yet another surprise is deftly revealed. This being a Billy Wilder film, the dialogue is first-rate and the acting superb, with both Laughton and his offscreen wife Elsa Lanchester (playing the barrister's pesty nurse) winning Academy Awards for their performances. Although later films would concoct even more complicated courtroom scenarios, this remains one of the best films of its kind and a model for all those films that followed its lead. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

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 airtightalibi shatters when she reveals some shocking secrets of her own! *1957: Best Picture, Actor (Laughton), Supporting Actress (Elsa Lanchester), Director, Sound, Film Editing

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 54 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Extraordinary Performance by Charles Laughton September 2, 2002
Format:DVD
Although this film is filled with a bevy of excellent actors and actresses, and although he did play the part of Gracchus in SPARTACUS a couple of years later, and an excellent supporting role in ADVISE AND CONSENT a couple of years after that, this is the last truly great performance in the career of perhaps the greatest character actor film has seen. Charles Laughton was in no sense a leading man: obsese, unattractive, unathletic, awkward. He nonetheless managed to put together an astonishing career. WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION was released in 1957, but until that moment, the 1950s had not been kind to Laughton, whose greatest success came in the 1930s and 1940s. He had directed the remarkable THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER in 1955, but his acting parts in the decade, apart from David Lean's HOBSON'S CHOICE, were for the most part undistinguished and not among the finest of his career. WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION is Laughton's glorious return and, because of declining health, last great role. If WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION had nothing else to recommend it, Laughton's performance would make it well, well worth seeing.

Luckily, this film has far more than Laughton to recommend it. Ironically, it was also the last great role for Tyrone Power, for whom WITNESS was also a part of a comeback (he also excelled in THE SUN ALSO RISES). I have to say, for anyone who had seen Power in films in the 1940s, his physical appearance in 1957 is shocking. Much like Errol Flynn, he had lived a hard life, and it shows. He would die of a heartattack a year after this performance, and looks much older than 43 years old. Nonetheless, the remarkable thing about Power is that while not a particularly great actor during the heyday of his career, when he looks carried him from role to role, near the end of his life he grew considerably as an actor. WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION is one of his better performances, by far. Unlike Laughton and Power, both aging and in poor health, but similar to both in that the 1950s had up to that point not been one of her most active decades, Marlene Dietrich appears barely to have aged since the 1930s. The kinds of parts she was best suited for were far too subversive for the staid 1950s. Her natural cynicism and sexuality were far too threatening at that time even for the darkest of film noir. So, WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION was something of a comeback (or the continuation of a comeback in the case of Power) for the three principles. The cast was rounded out by some stellar characters actors, including the always amazing Una O'Connor, the frequently villanous Henry Daniell (though not in this one), and John Williams (who had played Audrey Hepburn's chaffeur father in Wilder's SABRINA, playing Laughton's law partner in this one).

Unlike the three leads, Billy Wilder was not suffering from any kind of lull in his career when he made this film. He had, first as a screenwriter and then as a director, been marching from triumph to triumph for the previous twenty years, and would continue to do so for another ten years. The movie was untypical Wilder, however. Along with Preston Sturges, Wilder is arguably the greatest writer of comedy scripts in the history of film (he had cowriters, but their primary function was to correct his Germanicisms, to polish his rough English; Wilder supplied the ideas and action). In WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, however, although adapting an Agatha Christie original, and adding a huge number of Wilderian touches, he largely is working from someone else's work. Wilder virtually always wrote completely original stories.

A lot of people love the plot of this one, and especially the twists, but I have to say that I find this somewhat artificial, and some of the least appealing parts of the film. What I do delight in is the interplay between the various characters, the chemistry between the actors and actresses, the dozens of little touches and transitions that Wilder makes while working within the limitations of someone else's story.

But most of all, this film is great because Charles Laughton was able to find one last, great role before his career came to an end.

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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Charles Laughton steals the show... March 20, 2003
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Elsa Lanchester is brilliant as the nurse for the acerbic barrister, newly home from the hospital after suffering a heart attack; nevertheless, he continues to smoke cigars and drink brandy whenever he can be skillful enough to hide them from the ever watchful Miss Plimsill (Lanchester). Tyrone Power is superb as the charming, disingenuous ne'er-do-well, unable to settle down after the War, and inventing egg beaters that beat AND separate the yolk from the white, and other dubious household necessities. Marlene Dietrich makes a Grand Entrance, and promptly puzzles Sir Wilfrid beyond speech, with her apparent cool, collected behaviour upon hearing her husband is going to be charged with the murder of Emily French, a rich older widow befriended by Power when he assisted her in the selection of a hat. The trial is the real action and centerpiece of the movie. but I enjoyed the byplay between Sir Wilfrid and Miss Plimsill even more...upon emerging from the car when he first comes home, Miss Plimsill reminds him to "Take teeny weeny steps, Sir Wilfrid, remember, we had a teeny weeny heart attack..." to which he replies: "Oh shut up." And his threats (after she confiscates some cigars he was smuggling in his cane) "I'll do it some dark night when her back is turned; I'll plunge her thermometer between her shoulder blades..." There are many unexpected twists here, and the ending is a real shocker, a complete surprise, and quite satisfying. Great performances by an exceptional cast, and as always, IMHO, Laughton steals the show.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Trial Movie That Still Holds Up May 2, 2006
Format:DVD
This is one of the best "trial movies" ever made. It's an outstanding film that is just as good today as it was almost 50 years ago when it was released in the theaters. The shocking ending caused quite a stir back then, too.

The only part of the movie I thought looked dated and unrealistic was Tyrone Power's character being able to interrupt the trial with outbursts and not be reprimanded for it. There is no way that would be tolerated, at least today.

Otherwise, it's a pretty solid film with a good cast that includes two fascinating characters played by actors who know how to entertain: Charles Laughton and Marlene Dietrich.

Laughton, who plays Power's defense attorney, grabs the spotlight in the story but Dietrich almost steals the movie in her role as Power's wife. Laughton's dialog is terrific throughout, bringing a number of laughs to this serious film. He's just a joy to watch. Dietrich is even more riveting but just doesn't have anywhere near the same amount of screen time as Laughton.

Not to be overlooked is Elsa Lanchester, playing Laughton's nurse. She, too, demonstrates her comedic talent and significantly adds to the fun of watching this film.

If you like some fine drama, storyline twists, a little humor thrown in and great acting and dialog, this is a classic film to check out.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good
I am not one to tell the story of the movie unless the add is misleading. This movie is one of the best B/W movies I have ever watched. Read more
Published 2 days ago by Larry Grant
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic
The mystery of a mystery. They don`t make them this way no more. If your a fan of Perry Mason, this is a must have!
Published 2 days ago by Emery Morley
5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing court case and mystery
This film moves at a steady pace, the acting/cast is very good, and the script is interesting, engrossing, and there is an interesting twist in the end.
Published 3 days ago by Barbara Phelps
5.0 out of 5 stars Intrigue and comedy...
Great combination! the way Charles Laughten and Elsa Lanchester play off each other! She is the perfect nurse for the rough and rather grouchy barrister! Read more
Published 4 days ago by Gail E. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Movies, Ever!
This 1957 English courtroom drama is based on an Agatha Christie story about a man accused of murder. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Loyd E. Eskildson
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent!
This is a wonderful legal drama. It stretches credibility at the very end, but I suppose it's time to wrap it up and bring the movie to an end. Read more
Published 1 month ago by sbanks
5.0 out of 5 stars a true classic
I had never seen the film, and it was a delight, first to see the difference in styles of movie=-=making then and now, and second to see how well the story came through, regardless... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Joyce Griffen
3.0 out of 5 stars Aged poorly
I was surprised to see how this film had aged. Despite a good cast and solid production values the direction seems old fashioned with overacting the norm. Read more
Published 1 month ago by James Cummings Jr.
3.0 out of 5 stars Period piece. Bad acting. Unbelievable.
Tyrone Power was exceptionally poor in this period piece, which is a fun movie if you simply want to see what folks were drooling over in previous times. Read more
Published 1 month ago by George Garrigues
4.0 out of 5 stars Great classic movie
There's a reason a movie becomes a classic! Great characters, great plot, wonderful twists at the end. Highly recommend this movie.
Published 1 month ago by C. Brown
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