“Witness for the Prosecution” – Sat., Aug. 29 at 8:30PM

“WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION” (1957) is a classic courtroom drama you won’t want to miss!

Here’s what film historian Lou Sabini says about the film:

Novelist Dame Agatha Christie (1886-1976) has enjoyed a successful, although sparse, exposure by filmmakers. Some of her more memorable transformations from script to screen were “And Then There Were None” (1945), “Murder She Said” (1962), and “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974). But for sheer unadulterated entertainment, her classic courtroom drama WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION stands in a class by itself.

A corking good murder mystery with the inevitable ‘Christie’ twist at its conclusion, this film benefits from an outstanding cast who do their best to unmercilessly out-mug one another, with extremely satisfying results. Charles Laughton as the convalescing barrister who is more or less coerced into defending a seemingly likeable young man accused of murdering a rich widow and his real-life wife Elsa Lanchester as his faithful nurse are superb. It makes one wonder how often they practiced their craft because these two veterans perform perfectly like a finely tuned swiss watch. Marlene Dietrich as the faithful (?) wife of the accused man is equally hammy in her performance, but seen to good advantage as she successfully takes a stab at her own scene-stealing. Still looking quite sexy at age fifty-six and already a grandmother, it is a credit to Dietrich that she could play this role so convincingly.

As for Tyrone Power (1913-1958), this alas was his last completed film work and also one of his best. Looking somewhat overweight and puffy due to years of hard living, he is still the personification of the matinee idol. Amongst an array of fine perfomances in WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, Power turns in the best, which is no small feat, to say the least! Never more than a major personality, Power was never considered a great actor by any means. However there were good, even great performances evident in “Mark of Zorro” (1940), “The Razor’s Edge” (1943), and “Nightmare Alley” (1946). In his earlier efforts, after his first starring role in “Lloyds of London” (1936), his frequent director, Henry King, didn’t have too much faith in the young actor, saying that he would have him recite his lines quickly and get him in and out of a scene as fast as possible. Not to take anything away from Henry King, he just wasn’t in the same league as a Rouben Mamoulian or a Billy Wilder, who were able to get first-rate performances out of Power.

As a film WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION was an odd choice for director Billy Wilder.  Never before had he attempted courtroom drama, preferring mainly light comedies.  Sometimes he would delve into other genres, such as film noir. Perhaps Wilder thought he could cash in on WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION’S success on the English stage or maybe he wanted to merely try  something different for a change. His previous hits including “Double Indemnity” (1944), “The Lost Weekend” (1945), “Sunset Boulevard” (1950), “Stalag 17″ (1953), and his later “Some Like It Hot” (1959) have all become movie classics. While others like “The Major and the Minor” (1942), “A Foreign Affair” (1948), and “The Seven Year Itch” (1955) are considered minor classics at best.

Incidentally, watch for a few “inside” gags in WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION. For instance, Marlene Dietrich warbles a song while showing off her famous legs which is remininscent of her “Falling in Love Again” routine in “Blue Angel” (1930). Another interesting sidelight in the film has Tyrone Power and the rich widow, played by Norma Varden, together watching a movie at the local Bijou–the movie being”Jesse James”. It just so happens that Power starred in the 1939 version! Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester also have a wonderful scene where Elsa suggests to her patient “We’d better go upstairs now and get undressed and lie down”, to which Laughton snarls, “We? What a nauseating thought”.

– Lou Sabini

We’ll present “WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION” on a huge, outdoor screen this Saturday night at 8:30PM, paired with a classic cartoon, short subject, and Drive-In intermission films!  Don’t miss it!