Sunday, November 15, 2020

‘Witness for the Prosecution’ 1957

 

Marlene Dietrich & Charles Laughton, fascinating adversaries in "Witness for the Prosecution."

Witness for the Prosecution is the combined talents of two razor sharp artistic minds, Agatha Christie and Billy Wilder. Based on the play from mystery queen Christie’s short story, director/screenwriter Wilder expands on the premise in this terrifically told adaptation. Agatha is aces with her ingenious premise and Billy brings his smart dialogue and telling character detail here. Both are great storytellers and this ’57 version of Witness is still the best of the bunch.

Love how the ads hyped up thrills for what was a smart courtroom drama.

This Witness is an addictively watchable courtroom drama about a shady charmer on trial for murder, with an older wife who may or may not be on his side. More important than the mystery itself—who is most wily, the legendary lawyer with a bad heart, or the suspect’s wife, who seems to have no heart?

Elsa Lanchester & Charles Laughton make a great team as the bickering nurse and barrister. Elsa's character was a Wilder addition to "Witness."

Charles Laughton is great fun to watch as Sir Wilfred, Witness’ irascible lawyer. Wilfred, recovering from a heart attack, is saddled with an officious nurse, Miss Plimsoll, cheerfully played by Elsa Lanchester. Mr. and Mrs. Laughton’s bickering banter offers great comic relief in this courtroom drama. Wilder cited Laughton as his favorite actor to work with, marveling at his inventiveness for characterization. I’d say they were perfect for each other, as Wilder was great at bringing out the best in actors, and Laughton benefitted from directorial restraint. Laughton is most believable as a lawyer possibly facing his last hurrah. Only 58 at the time, he looks very frail and older, much like Spencer Tracy did in his last decade or two. In fact, Charles died five years after this film was released. Laughton gives it his all here and is funny and ferocious.

Marlene Dietrich as the mystery woman, in an Edith Head suit reminiscent
of the designs she created for Alfred Hitchcock's blondes.

The other outstanding performance, surprisingly, is from Marlene Dietrich. Considered a great persona rather than a great actress, Marlene’s cool demeanor is perfect as the seemingly cold-hearted wife. Dietrich and Laughton make a great pair, polar opposites in acting styles, and at odds as characters. As Christine Vole, the wife of the accused, Marlene is the master of restraint. In her “big” moments, Dietrich rises to the occasion. Marlene’s Christine is a character whose motivations are peeled back throughout the film and give Dietrich great opportunities as an actress. Dietrich is deliberately deadpan and snarky in her first scenes, then has some bittersweet moments in a flashback, as Christine’s frosty demeanor begins to thaw for future husband, Leonard. As the story unfolds, Christine is anything but the aloof wife. The plot twists in the last act were urged to be kept secret by the filmmakers, and some felt this cost Dietrich an Oscar nomination. Realistically, I question that, as Marlene was no longer a full-time Hollywood actress, but her performance definitely rated one.

Dietrich recalls her WWII era & gender-bending fashion in a "Witness" flashback.

 My only caveat with Dietrich in Witness is her appearance. Marlene was the forerunner to today’s actresses, whose faces are pulled tighter than a drum. During filming Marlene was 56. With her wigs and skin pulls, she looked neither old nor young, but “somewhere between 40 and death,” as Mame opines of bosom buddy Vera Charles. Still, Dietrich’s far too old in the flashback scene, with her as the sex bomb performer, and Power as the “young” soldier. Watching a second time, I got past her drag queen looks in the flashback, with her measured responses to Power's character, who’s trying to win her over. Dietrich projects a quiet strength beneath the cool veneer. Edith Head, an Alfred Hitchcock favorite, designs tailored costumes for Marlene Dietrich that cause the film seem even more Hitch-like!

Marlene has some sweet moments in her flashback scene, despite wearing the most obvious wig since Barbara Stanwyck in Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity!"

Hollywood’s fun house mirror regarding age is one of my movie pet peeves. Dietrich refers to the victim as that “old woman” even though they were nearly the same age. At 22, Ruta Lee was the other woman, paired with Power at age 43, and up against Dietrich at 56! Laughton refers to Power as “young man,” which only calls attention to Ty’s age.

Dietrich w/Tyrone Power, from a "Witness" promo shoot that looks like they're for a pulp novel cover. Marlene's "ageless"appearance seems to have inspired today's divas!

Tyrone Power, as murder suspect Leonard Vole, is supposed to be boyishly charming and handsome—also, a ne’er-do-well, which he freely admits. This is a tricky type of role to pull off and still retain audience sympathy. Power had that quality as an actor. However, Leonard, as a recent vet, should be 30-ish. Ty was 43 and frankly looked at least a decade older. This makes his character seem like a case of arrested development. Still, Power was still box office and was cast after William Holden turned the role down. Richard Burton, who was not box office at the time, but a decade younger and far more talented, would have been brilliant as the charismatic cad.

Tyrone Power's first close-up as charming young cad Leonard Vole. Ty was just 43.

Witness for the Prosecution would be Power's last completed role and he died of a massive heart attack on the set of Solomon and Sheba. It's a shock to see Power in close up the first time in Witness. Here, his once lean figure and good looks now look bloated and slightly jowly. With dark bags under his eyes and black hair slicked back, Ty looks like he's about to turn into Mr. Hyde in his more dramatic moments. Power acts the charming boy well enough, but his dissipation undercuts him. In the subtle moments, Power’s performing is quite good, such as his smarmy expression at the finale, when Leonard’s wife pleads with him not to leave her. For his big dramatic moments, Power falls short, he's just not enough of a grand performer to pull them off, and it’s just bad acting. 

Tyrone Power's attempts at bravura acting make him look like Mr. Hyde! 

Power had been a top star right out of the box for over 20 years. Ty was rather like Rock Hudson in that he was well-liked, unpretentious, and very professional. Like Hudson, Ty's great looks were off-set by a genuine warmth and low-key charm, and un-self conscious about his physical appeal. Ty and Rock yearned to stretch artistically and be more than the handsome hero. Both did stage work and also performed in passion projects that went against their image: Power in '47's Nightmare Alley and Hudson in '66's Seconds. Both were bleak films that were dumped into theaters and bombed. They are now cult classics. 

What a shame Witness for the Prosecution wasn’t filmed a decade earlier, Marlene and Power would have been perfectly cast. This would have been the era that Wilder and Dietrich teamed for A Foreign Affair and Tyrone Power was trying to broaden his range as a villain Nightmare Alley. But alas, the play version of Witness hadn’t been written yet!

What do they see that's so frightening?!

The characters, from the aging barrister and all his ailments, right down to the housekeeper and murder victim, are funny, quirky, and human. This is what makes this straight forward courtroom drama interesting. Billy Wilder marveled at Christie's model of construction, but astutely noted her writing was flat when it came to characterization. And this was one of Wilder's gifts as a screenwriter. Much of the memorable detail in Witness originated with this film adaptation.

Ruta Lee is light years away from her brassy blonde persona as the other woman.
 Love the blase look on Power's face as Leonard's wife begs him not to leave her.

A superb cast of British character actors are scene stealers here: Henry Daniell, John Williams, Ian Wolfe, Torin Thatcher, Francis Compton, Phillip Tonge, and especially cranky Una O’ Connor and droll Norma Varden as the victim, Mrs. French. The lone young star is Ruta Lee in her brunette starlet phase and she’s pretty innocuous, but figures in the finale. Witness got six Oscar nominations, four in major categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.

Another Best Director Oscar nomination for Billy Wilder.

Interesting that two years later, similarly Oscar-nominated Anatomy of a Murder was also based on a real life crime that centered on a duplicitous married couple with an army background. Like Anatomy, there’s not much mystery as to WHO dunnit, but there’s more here than meets the eye of barrister’s blinding monocle. Wilder’s take on Witness of the Prosecution is still the winning version.

FYI: I put my movie overflow on my public FB movie page. 

Check it out & join!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/178488909366865/

 

The makeup man got a bit carried away. Her hand looks like it belongs to the bride of Mr. Hyde!

 

11 comments:

  1. The Accused with Jodie Foster owes a lot to Anatomy of a Murder.

    Love Witness for the Prosecution and the supporting cast: Daniell, Williams, Varden.

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  2. Oh, this is one of my favorites, Rick, and you have covered it beautifully. It truly is addictive and so enjoyable, even upon the umpteenth viewing! So true, Billy Wilder has given the whole thing a Hitchcockian feel, enhanced with La Dietrich in her Edith Head tweeds! Everyone in this film is divine, love seeing Laughton sparring with wife Lanchester, and lovely supporting parts by Norma Varden and Una O’Connor. You are right, sigh, Ty was no longer the most beautiful man in films, but we all lose our charms in the end, as Lorelei Lee says. I think he is just fine in the part of the defendant!
    Happy holidays to one of my favorite classic movie bloggers!!!!
    - Chris

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    1. Thanks, Chris! I loved the cast, and was sad when Norma Varden played the murder victim, she was a delight. I like Ty, but was shocked to find he was only 43, man those old time stars lived hard!

      BTW, I just put up a post on Auntie Mame, which premiered at Radio City Music Hall on Dec. 4, back in '58. Sure lifted my spirits.
      Cheers, and thanks for keeping in touch, Rick

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  3. I do not agree about your analysis of Tyrone Power in "Witness for the Prosecution" except for the age thing, as he had undiagnosed heart disease and was very ill and didn't realize it. However, Richard Burton, William Holden - I have news for you, the film would not have been made without Power because that's what the producer wanted. When Power turned down the role, the deal fell through. They went back and offered him more money, and he finally accepted, even though he didn't want to do it. By then he was doing more stage work. He was directed to go completely overboard in the courtroom scenes.Leonard Vole was NOT an actor - it is very hard to pull something like that off. Wilder loved him and would have used him again, but he died. It is far from bad acting, and I would hope a reviewer like yourself who has written so many good reviews would realize that. If you read the book Tyrone Power by Gillian Kelly, which is an historical analysis of his work, you'll see that he knew what he was doing. That's why he died a star and is considered the 21st most popular male star of all time. And that includes Johnny Depp, DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, and Tom Hanks. Take a look at his box office numbers in the Bruce Cogerson Top 50 Film Stars: Statistically Speaking.

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    1. Hi Pietra, You're certainly entitled to your opinion, and I'm sorry that you zeroed in on the negative aspect of my take on Ty. I certainly give him his due as star and that he was still box office. As for my take on his performance, I don't think he pulls the double edged aspect of the role off. As for Power's appearance, I don't think it had anything to do with his heart--it was his late nights on the town, heavy smoking and drinking. Ty aged the same premature way that most of the golden age actors aged, badly. And I almost always look at Bruce Cogerson's box office numbers when analyzing a star's career. And I like Ty Power, I think he's underrated, as I wrote. I just think he's the weak link in this movie, and that's my opinion. Just as you have yours. Rick

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  4. Rick thanks for the response.

    First of all, I don't know what you mean by the double-edged aspect. Everyone seemed to think he was innocent when they first saw the film, and then smarmy when all was revealed.

    I happen to be very close to the family and his problem was absolutely heart disease, exacerbated I am sure by his late nights, amphetamines, smoking, and drinking. He had probably done most of these his entire adult life, including cocaine, as did most of the other actors of that era. It seems I read in nearly every review of an old film that so and so was too old for the part.

    However, Tyrone had heart disease. If you notice, up until around 1956, he looked just fine (to me anyway). He hosted a show called Palladium, part of which is on youtube, and he looked wonderful. If you will notice, his hairline began receding. No, not part of aging - that is a symptom of heart disease, as are the double rows of eyelashes he and Elizabeth Taylor, another victim of heart disease, had. He also had the telltale earlobe crease. https://www.webmd.com/heart/news/20121106/4-signs-aging-heart-risk

    The double row of lashes is the result of a mutation - the FOXC2 gene, which can cause disorders of the lymphatic system and can lead to heart disease.

    When he went for his Marine Corps physical before his promotion to Major, right before he died, he was told the EKG tests had to be repeated. Then they said it was okay, they thought there was a problem with the machine. His ex-wife asked him, supposing it isn't the machine - he said, I don't want to know. Good answer - he would not have been insurable.

    After he had a vacation, which was before Solomon & Sheba, he looked much better - I happen to think in Witness he looks dreadful. When he was at the boatyard, some man came up to him and said he was so handsome he should have been a movie star. So there was still something there. But when you're juggling Mai Zetterling, your ex-wife, and your fiance on the film set at the same time, it's tough going even when you're well.

    I'm sure you're bored stiff. Go ahead and delete this after you read it.

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    1. Hi, I don't want to belabor this, you seem very close to Tyrone Power and am not trying to belittle him. By double edged, I mean the character Leonard seems shady but is so charming everyone wants to believe him. I'm trying not to spoil the movie for others.

      I am aware that Power had hereditary heart issues and his personal habits would have only made it worse, I would imagine. I haven't seen all of Ty's latter day movies, but while he was a stunningly handsome man, I'm always surprised how young he was in some of his '50s movies, yet how much older he looks, than someone in their mid-30s to early-40s. Even in "Nightmare Alley," though quite beautiful, there are tell-tale signs of premature aging for somebody only around 32.
      Sounds like we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one.
      Rick

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  5. see the dramatic change here - this is 1955 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-6PNcWgSbA&ab_channel=BUZZR

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  6. you're so kind to comment. I did find him shady and charming. Do take a look - I think it starts at about 18 minutes - at the youtube - I think you'll be surprised, just two years earlier. Life is tough! Take care and thanks.

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  7. My daughter was a teen when I first shared Witness for the Prosecution with her. Her reaction was priceless. She jumped off her chair, fist-pumped and shouted "That was freaking amazing!"

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    1. That's fantastic! It's a knockout, especially with the final twists.
      Cheers and Happy New Year, Rick

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