Witness for the Prosecution

In this, Wilder was ably assisted by film and theater veteran Charles Laughton, taking what had been essentially a supporting role on stage and turning it into the central performance. His Sir Wilfrid is a disobedient child at one moment and a wily legal professional the very next (sometimes both at once), and the delight and total commitment with which Laughton attacked the role are evident throughout the picture. The actor particularly shines in his verbal duels with his real-life wife Elsa Lanchester, who received excellent critical notices for her role as Nurse Plimsoll. You could even say he steals the film from such prestigious cast members as Marlene Dietrich and Tyrone Power, both of whom had been huge stars two decades earlier.

In casting the roles of Leonard Vole and Christine Helm, United Artists producer Arthur Hornblow, Jr. wanted an actor and actress for both Witness for the Prosecution and their next film, Solomon and Sheba (1959). William Holden was the first choice for Leonard, but he was unavailable. Billy Wilder and Arthur Hornblow then went to Tyrone Power who turned down the part. Other actors considered for the role included Gene Kelly, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, and even Roger Moore. Eventually, Tyrone Power accepted the role when he was offered both Witness for the Prosecution and Solomon and Sheba for $300,000 each. Before he could complete Solomon however, Power had a fatal heart attack and was replaced by Yul Brynner. Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth were also considered for the role of Christine Helm.

Under Wilder's direction, Marlene Dietrich gave another distinctly original performance in Witness for the Prosecution. She had started as the muse of director Josef von Sternberg in a series of memorably erotic and lushly pictorial films of the 1930s, among them The Blue Angel (1930), Shanghai Express (1932), and The Scarlet Empress (1934). From these movies emerged an image of an enigmatic woman of often-dubious background who lived for the pleasures of the flesh and the heart. After dissolving her partnership with von Sternberg, Dietrich's career had its ups and downs, and she was forced to redefine herself frequently while retaining the essential Dietrich mystique. Her role in Witness for the Prosecution traded on Dietrich's public and professional image while giving her a chance to display an acting range that surprised and impressed many critics and filmgoers.

With all the attention the film has received for its great ensemble acting, the work of designer Alexandre Trauner also deserves equal praise. Since the production was not allowed to use the actual Old Bailey courthouse in London, Trauner undertook the challenge of recreating it on a soundstage of the Goldwyn Studio in Hollywood. He was not even allowed to shoot stills inside the building, so he made many detailed sketches. Built to scale, complete with a 22-foot-high ceiling and using either Austrian oak or mahogany (studio publicity is contradictory), the set cost $75,000 and was exact down to the minutest detail. Still, Trauner remarked with characteristic modesty, "The reality is better than the fake."

Witness for the Prosecution was an expensive film to make. The film rights to Agatha Christie's hit play cost a whopping (for the time) $435,000. Power was paid $150,000 for his work, and Dietrich $100,000. (By contrast, Laughton, who stole the picture and got the most critical attention, was paid only $75,000.) Designer Alexandre Trauner's meticulous recreation of London's Old Bailey courthouse also drove costs up considerably. Nevertheless, the film was a big hit with audiences and brought in $4 million at the box office.

Witness for the Prosecution was nominated for six Academy Awards. Charles Laughton was nominated for Best Actor and Elsa Lanchester for Best Supporting Actress. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Director, Sound, and Editing. And here we must insert a SPOILER ALERT before continuing for anyone who hasn't seen the film yet! Marlene Dietrich did not receive a nomination but many of her fans believe she deserved one for her dual role as Christine Helm and the Cockney woman. It's not until near the end of the film that Sir Wilfrid and the audience learn Christine was the mysterious woman. According to Steven Bach in Marlene Dietrich: Life and Legend, "Wilder went for surprise rather than the possibly confusing suspense of knowing Christine was up to something. The decision remains controversial.

Marlene's Cockney is widely thought to have gone unappreciated because realized only after the fact. Dietrich supporters claim Wilder's decision cost her an Academy Award nomination, though there are those who insist, even today, that the Cockney isn't Dietrich at all."

By Rob Nixon & Deborah Looney

A version of Witness for the Prosecution was made for television in 1982 with Beau Bridges, Diana Rigg, Ralph Richardson, and Deborah Kerr in the roles played in the film by Power, Dietrich, Laughton, and Lanchester. The popularity of Wilder's version is evident in that the TV movie used the original Wilder-Kurnitz film script and not the Agatha Christie stage play as its source material.

Witness for the Prosecution is referenced in the Robert Altman movie The Player (1992). The studio executive played by Tim Robbins escapes being arrested for a murder he committed because of an unreliable eyewitness to the crime. The studio security boss, played by Fred Ward, makes constant reference to old movies and even points out the unreliability of witnesses by citing Marlene Dietrich's character in the Wilder film.

By Rob Nixon

Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton were husband and wife in real life. It was their eleventh and last film together.

Dietrich had delighted Laughton in the 1930s by declaring she would rather play a love scene with him than with anyone.

On its initial release in selected theaters - as the end title appeared - an announcer's voice requested patrons not reveal the movie's secret and spoil it for those who hadn't seen it.

This was Tyrone Power's last movie. Wilder originally wanted Kirk Douglas and also sought William Holden for the role of Leonard Vole. At various points Gene Kelly, Jack Lemmon, and Glenn Ford were all considered. But producer Edward Small tempted Power into a two-picture deal. The actor agreed to play the less showy part in Witness for the Prosecution and settled for the lead role in Small's production of Solomon and Sheba (1959). While on location in Spain, Power suffered a heart attack on the set of the biblical epic and died after filming nearly half the movie. Yul Brynner was brought in as his replacement and re-filmed most of Power's scenes. You can still see Power in long shots.

Ava Gardner was once considered for the role of Christine, and she said she would do it, if only for the chance to work with Wilder. But the director favored his old friend, Marlene Dietrich, over Gardner. The producers of Witness for the Prosecution were also interested in Rita Hayworth for the Dietrich part but Wilder was firmly opposed to this as he thought she was incapable of handling the role.

Designer Alexandre Trauner was once honored at the Telluride Film Festival for his distinguished body of work, which began in France in 1934 and ended with his last film The Rainbow Thief (1990). He worked on eight Billy Wilder films and won the Oscar for The Apartment (1960). He also had a small role in Wilder's Love in the Afternoon (1957) and was an uncredited producer of Irma La Douce (1963). Trauner's most famous work apart from Wilder includes The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Round Midnight (1986), and the French classic Children of Paradise (1945), a risky undertaking for Trauner, a Jew working undercover in Nazi-occupied France.

Una O'Connor, who lays the snipish housekeeper in both the stage and film versions, appeared with Laughton in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) and The Canterville Ghost (1944). She also had a role in Lanchester's most famous film (in which the latter appeared as both Mary Shelley and the monster) - Bride of Frankenstein (1935). And she appeared with Claude Rains in The Invisible Man (1933) and with Tyrone Power in Lloyds of London (1936). Witness for the Prosecution was her last film.

Famous Quotes from WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION

Sir Wilfrid (Charles Laughton): "The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind finely."

Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester): "Teeny weeny flight of steps, Sir Wilfrid, we mustn't forget we've had a teeny weeny heart attack."

Sir Wilfrid: "If you were a woman, Miss Plimsoll, I would strike you."

Servant: "Sorry, Sir Wilfrid, but Miss Plimsoll has issued an ultimatum. If you are not in bed in one minute, she will resign."
Sir Wilfrid: "Splendid. Give her a month's pay and kick her down the stairs."

Christine Vole (Marlene Dietrich): "I never faint because I am not sure that I will fall gracefully, and I never use smelling salts because they puff up the eyes."

Janet McKenzie (Una O'Connor): "Perhaps you can help me, your Lordship. Six months, I have applied for my hearing aid and I am still waiting for it."
Judge (Francis Compton): "My dear Madame. Considering the rubbish that is being taught nowadays, you are missing very little."

Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power): "But this is England, where I thought you never arrest, let alone convict, people for crimes they have not committed."
Sir Wilfrid: "We try not to make a habit of it."

Sir Wilfrid: "I am constantly surprised that women's hats do not provoke more murders."

Cockney Woman (displaying her scarred face to the prosecutor): "Wanna kiss me, ducky?"

Compiled by Rob Nixon

Courtroom dramas have long been a staple of the stage, where audiences can get intensely involved with the action and almost assume the roles of judge and jury. On screen, however, such scenes can be deadly if there is too much verbal exposition. When Billy Wilder finally agreed to direct Witness for the Prosecution, he made sure to fashion a script that avoided the inherent pitfalls. For a collaborator he DID NOT chose his former partner Charles Brackett, with whom he had written classic scripts for Ninotchka (1939), Ball of Fire (1941), and several of Wilder's best-known films of the 1940s. He also overlooked his current collaborator, I.A.L. Diamond, co-scripter of Love in the Afternoon (1957) and with whom Wilder would create the remaining eleven films of his career. For this one film alone, he chose Harry Kurnitz, an Anglophile and experienced mystery author.

The two quickly realized what the story needed was some humor, achieved by creating a new character, Nurse Plimsoll, and giving the aged barrister Sir Wilfrid a heart condition for her to cluck over. Wilder also knew you couldn't cast Marlene Dietrich in a picture without including one of her trademark musical numbers or giving audiences a glimpse of those justifiably famous legs. He accomplished this with a flashback to postwar Germany, where Dietrich's character sings for her supper in a seedy dive frequented by the kind of toughs who wouldn't hesitate to tear her trouser leg off in a fit of fanatic adulation. The flashbacks also served to break up the courtroom action and provide background into Vole's relationship with both his wife and other women.

Wilder and Kurnitz also wisely chose to emphasize character as strongly as the mystery plot. "In our film it is Laughton who pulls the whole thing together," Wilder said. "He is much more important than (his character) was in the play. The puzzle is good, but it is still a gimmick. Laughton is a person, a man."

By Rob Nixon

Co-screenwriter Harry Kurnitz, who much preferred being a fashionable boulevardier to a hard-working writer, found Wilder an exhausting collaborator. He once described the director at work as "actually two people ­ Mr. Hyde and Mr. Hyde."

Kurnitz never worked with Wilder again after this and explained why in 1964, saying the typical Wilder collaborators "have a hunted look, shuffle nervously, and have been known to break into tears if a door slams anywhere in the same building. ... (Wilder) is a fiend at work."

The cast found Wilder much more simpatico than Kurnitz and this contributed to a positive atmosphere on the set. Laughton, who could be moody and difficult, was apparently a dream to work with on this project as well, throwing himself into the role with dedication and delight. Wilder later recalled a day that was set aside just for shooting reaction shots of the jury and courtroom crowd (composed of extras hired only for the day). Normally, the assistant director would read the actors' lines and the extras would react. However, Laughton, who was fascinated with the whole process of filmmaking, begged to help. So he came in on his day off and read all of the off-camera speeches for the jury members. He read not only his part, but also the judge's, the prosecutor's and even Marlene Dietrich's. According to biographer Maurice Zolotow in his book Billy Wilder in Hollywood, the author said, "it was an exhibition of craftsmanship such as Wilder had never seen. He believes that Charles Laughton had the greatest technical range and power of any actor, man or woman, whom he has known."

Marlene Dietrich and Billy Wilder enjoyed a long-running mutual admiration society. She praised him repeatedly as both an artist and a human being, calling him the kindest, sweetest man she had ever known. And he once said of her, "If we had to invent someone to be the ideal woman...we would have to invent Dietrich." She threw herself into the part with gritty determination, approaching it, Wilder said, "as if she thought her career depended on it." Dietrich later said Christine Vole was the only role she ever felt emotionally connected to because "she's not only brave, but she loves her man unconditionally."

SPOILER ALERT

Where Dietrich really demonstrated her acting chops was in the relatively short but key scenes where Christine disguises herself as a disfigured Cockney woman in order to give Sir Wilfrid some "evidence" that will allow him to prove the vindictive Christine a liar on the stand, thereby clearing Vole of all charges. "Marlene was forever up at our house, trying on scarves, shawls, and various wigs, and taking lessons in Cockney from Charles," Lanchester later said. "She was obsessed with this impersonation. I never saw anyone work so hard." Dietrich's old friend Orson Welles, who usually created fake profiles for himself in every role, helped her create a fake nose and scar for the Cockney. The original costume was rejected because it made her look too much like a man. So her appearance was softened somewhat, but still far enough removed from Dietrich so that audiences failed to recognize her on screen. To this day, some people still insist another actress stepped in for the part and that Dietrich's lines were dubbed. But there is no evidence to support this. The actress, in fact, worked extremely hard on the accent, too. Besides Laughton, she received coaching from playwright Noel Coward, who noted in his diary, "It is not easy to teach Cockney to a German glamour-puss who can't pronounce her Rs, but she did astonishingly well."

SPOILER ALERT

It was up to Billy Wilder whether or not to cue the audience in to the deception. He decided to go with the element of surprise rather than reveal the ploy. But the deceptive cameo is believed to have cost Dietrich an Oscar nomination, because the producers didn't want to campaign on behalf of her performance in a dual role. In her memoirs, she said not being nominated for Witness for the Prosecution meant nothing to her. But Wilder said she was extremely disappointed, an opinion borne out by a story that she had called columnist Radie Harris before final voting and asked him to state in print that she deserved to win. It was also said she had recorded an intro to her Las Vegas act for the day nominations were announced, urging the audience to welcome Academy Award nominee Marlene Dietrich. When she learned she didn't get the nod, the intro had to be re-recorded.

Even Dietrich's well-known vanities and foibles worked in her favor in Witness for the Prosecution. Elsa Lanchester used to delight in broadcasting Marlene's secrets. Although Dietrich was never secretive about her famous "tape lifts," Lanchester detailed their use to anyone who would listen (One of the most avid listeners was Laughton, who urged a make-up man to steal one so he could try it). The lifts were stuck to the side of Dietrich's head where she wanted skin to be lifted. Then the long threads hanging from them were woven into hair at the back of her head, forcing the tabs to pull the skin very tight. A wig then covered the network of tabs and threads. Lanchester joked that Dietrich wouldn't dare to pull or twist her face for fear of loosening a lift. In the film, one can see how Dietrich rarely breaks the cold passiveness of her expression and moves her whole body rather than her head. The effect, however, is not one of pathetic vanity but of the actions of a woman of steely single-mindedness and willful deception.

Dietrich's characterization of a woman desperately in love was also enhanced by her real-life crush on Tyrone Power during shooting. According to his biographer, the actor was embarrassed by her advances, but to be fair, it should be noted that Wilder said Laughton (who was homosexual) also had a crush on Power.

By Rob Nixon

Elsa Lanchester won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

Ironically, Charles Laughton, who was born and raised in England, was nominated as Best Foreign Actor by the British Academy Awards.

The film also scored an Edgar Allen Poe Award Best Picture nomination for the screenplay.

The Critics' Corner

"For a courtroom melodrama pegged to a single plot device ­ a device that, of course, everybody promises not to reveal ­ Witness for the Prosecution comes off extraordinarily well. ... Mr. Laughton adds a wealth of comical by-play to his bag of courtroom tricks. A certain famous British Prime Minister has plainly inspired his artful airs and gravelly voice. And Miss Lanchester is delicious as that maidenly henpecking nurse."
- Bosley Crowther, The New York Times, February 7, 1958.

"Power does a winning job as the ingratiating defendant who seems incapable of murder, and Miss Dietrich is in good form, histrionically and physically, as the cause of much bafflement through the picture until the explanations are finally given."
- Variety, December 4, 1957.

"There is no courtroom drama more enjoyable than this adaptation of Agatha Christie's play. ... The most fun comes from trying to figure out if the obvious overacting by the defendant and witnesses is being done by the actors or the characters they're portraying. The picture is well cast."
- Danny Peary, Guide for the Film Fanatic (Simon & Schuster, 1986).

"Dietrich is magnificent in her role as 'wife of the accused' in Billy Wilder's intelligent adaptation of Agatha Christie's stage play. As a German emigré, much of the character's background could be scenes from Dietrich's own life (including the classic Berlin cabaret flashback). This added plausibility adds to the melee of plots surrounding this pacey and witty courtroom drama."
- Matthew White, Edinburgh University Film Society program, 1993­94.

By Rob Nixon

Billy Wilder had the most deliciously dirty mind in Hollywood. The director dug into racy, controversial subjects with cynical wit and rare candor; he set new standards for film noir, sex comedies and the buddy film and his movies continue to inspire new generations of filmmakers.

Cameron Crowe, screenwriter and director of contemporary hit films such as Jerry Maguire(1996), was one of those moved by Wilder's film sense. The struggling filmmaker struck up a friendship with the 93-year old veteran and found a friend and a mentor. Their conversations were recently chronicled in a book by Cameron Crowe entitled Conversations with Wilder(published by Knoft).

Billy Wilder might have been born in Vienna, but American culture influenced him from the earliest days. Given the name Samuel, Wilder's mother called her son 'Billy' in honor of Buffalo Bill Cody. The name stuck.

Billy was as restless as his namesake and left law school to become a journalist. While grinding out articles for a Berlin newspaper, Wilder joined with future film directors Fred Zinnemann, Robert Sidomak and Edgar G. Ulmer to make a short film, Menschen Am Sonntag (1929). By the mid-1930s, he had written seven scenarios and even tried his hand at directing. After Hitler's rise to power in 1934, Wilder fled his homeland. Once in Hollywood, Wilder and roommate Peter Lorre had to learn English quickly if they wanted to join the American film industry. Together the German expatriates learned the language and began staking their territory in the Dream Factory.

As a writer, Wilder could craft realistic relationships with sharp dialogue; he proved this in his scripts for Ninotchka (1939) with Greta Garbo and Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire(1941). As a filmmaker, Wilder was well acquainted with the shadowy, brooding style of German Expressionism. He brought these two gifts together to create a landmark film noir - DOUBLE INDEMNITY(1944). He followed this cinematic triumph with a risky project, the story of an alcoholic on a three-day binge. Not the usual subject matter for a Hollywood studio, THE LOST WEEKEND (1945) nevertheless claimed the Academy Award for Best Picture. By the end of the decade, Wilder dared even to paint a portrait of Hollywood stardom gone awry in Sunset Boulevard (1950).

Each of these films is an undisputed classic today, but even at the time, his films were lauded. Six of his screenplays were nominated for Oscars between 1941-1950. Three of his eight Best Director nominations also came during this period. Billy Wilder claimed the American Dream; he was successfully playing by his own rules.

By the end of the '50s, as censorship guidelines were easing, Wilder's projects became even more daring. Sex was central to Wilder's world and Hollywood celebrated his candor. He directed Marilyn Monroe in two of her most sensuous roles, The Seven Year Itch (1955) and SOME LIKE IT HOT(1959). More often than not, Wilder liked pointing his finger at the hyprocrisy of people's sexual mores. In THE APARTMENT(1960), Wilder took an incisive look at corrupt businessmen exploiting their employees for sexual favors. In IRMA LA DOUCE (1963), the world of a Parisian prostitute was lovingly painted in Technicolor tones. In Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), Wilder finally stepped over the line with the story of a struggling composer willing to offer his wife to sell a song.The film, which seems so innocent today, was scandalous in its own day. Critics called Kiss Me, Stupid pornographic smut and buried the picture. Audiences ignored it. Today, the film is a risque farce with great performances by Dean Martin and Kim Novak. The critical lambast deeply affected Wilder; this would be his last sex comedy.

In 1966 Wilder brought together the dynamic combination of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau with THE FORTUNE COOKIE. Director and stars teamed again for The Front Page (1974), a remake of the newspaper classic; and Buddy, Buddy (1981), the story of an assassin and a sad sack ready to commit suicide.

Wilder's many years in Hollywood produced an amazing string of hits. From sarcastic and cynical social commentary to outrageous sex farce, Wilder pushed his audiences to look at their own values and morals. He was an outsider who wasn't afraid to point out the follies of his fellow man or the worst aspects of American culture. He will be sorely missed.

By Jeremy Geltzer