Witness for the Prosecution (1957, USA, Billy Wilder)

Tyrone Power plays Leonard Vole, a man accused of murder in the Billy Wilder courtroom whodunnit, Witness for the Prosecution. After receiving a large inheritance from rich widown Emily French, Vole is suspecting of her murder, while coming to his defence and risking his health is famed but ailing lawyer Sir Wildred Robarts (Charles Laughton). Rounding out the all star cast is Marlene Dietrich, who plays the titular character as well as Mr. Vole's wife, Christine. What follows are a series of plot twists that conclude with another murder, and another court case and a new defendant for Sir Robarts.

Witness for the Prosecution is multi-faceted director Billy Wilder's stab at the courtroom genre, and he handles it with aplomb. Reworking Agatha Christie's stage play, based on Christie's own short story, Wilder retools the play in order to develop a humorous subtext in the interplay between the physically fragile defense attorney (Laughton) and his overbearing but well-meaning nurse (real-life wife Elsa Lanchaster). Laughton and Lanchaster have great chemistry and give fully realized performances that transcend the limitations of the genre. Wilder also jiggers Marlene Dietrich's role to make use of moments from her personal life, particularly the wonderful "Berlin cabaret" flashback sequence. The twists and turns of the plot are allowed to emerge unobtrusively in this methodically paced drama, and while the finale stretches credulity in order to circumvent the inevitable Production Code restrictions, Wilder's film is a completely satisfying experience anchored by a handful of memorable performances, including the last in Tyrone Power's illustrious career. Witness for the Prosecution was nominated for six Academy Awards, but ran up against David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai juggernaut, and was shut out.

Here is the trailer: