Witness for the Prosecution
Directed by Billy WilderA veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.
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Cast of Witness for the Prosecution
Witness for the Prosecution Ratings & Reviews
- Charles LondonJune 15, 2025Billy Wilder meets Agatha Christie in this part black comedy, part courtroom drama. The result is exactly what you'd expect, an entertaining mystery well peppered with sharp wit and sharp turns. Oscar-nominated Charles Laughton is magnificent and Marlene Dietrich is full of surprises. No surprise here that Wilder scores another classic. BTW, the cast includes hilarious scene-stealing character actress Una O'Connor in her final film role (as the housekeeper).
- ragboatMarch 2, 2025Wonderful film with a great cast and clever plot. There was a remake for tv starring Toby Jones who is excellent but this original Charles Laughton production is still the best.
- VarunDecember 5, 2024The dialogue in this film is absolutely immaculate. So many quick witted lines that cut like a blade but also have a lot of humour to them. Sir Wilfrid is such an entertaining character, one that is singularly focused on his job as a lawyer but also deeply cares about justice. The case itself is quite simple but is kept interesting through the fierce cross examinations of witnesses which also contains a few funny moments. The ending is honestly great, I like the direction the story went, but I did feel the last few minutes got a bit soapy and wish it went a more cynical route but I won’t complain much about a movie from that era, it still delivered a very satisfying conclusion. This movie makes me wonder what really happened to Hollywood these days, most movies don’t even come close to the dialogue writing on display here, sure it’s melodramatic and less naturalistic but it’s got such great flair and is quite smart and precise, it definitely doesn’t dumb itself down for the masses, the movie knows exactly what it’s trying to do and delivers itself with gusto!
