The management of this theater suggests that, for the greater entertainment of your friends who have not yet seen the picture, you will not divulge to anyone the secret of the ending of Witness for the Prosecution.
Don’t worry. I’m not going to give away the ending.
The Saturday Movie Group did watch Witness, though. I had never seen the movie until now, and one thing I did not realize until we got settled in:
Witness for the Prosecution is hilarious.
This is unusual, for a documentary about the treatment of cardiac patients in the late 1950s British court procedural. Make no mistake: it is a drama, with high stakes, but it also sparkles with wit and sharp writing. RoadRich compared it to a good episode of “M*A*S*H” and I kind of agree.
In particular, the interplay between Sir Wilfrid Robarts Q.C. (Charles Laughton) and Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester) is a delight. The nurse and the barrister play off each other well. (Of course, the screenplay by Billy Wilder, Larry Marcus, and Harry Kurnitz helps with that. While Witness is based on a 1953 play written by Agatha Christie, the entire Robarts/Plimsoll relationship was added for the movie.)
(And a bit of triva I did not realize until I looked up Laughton: he was married to Elsa Lanchester, which may explain why they had such great on-screen chemistry. They met in 1927, when they were cast in the same play, married in 1929, and stayed together until Laughton’s death in 1962.)
Spoiler free clip of my favorite bit from the movie. While the full clip is 3:10, the part that had me in stitches is in the first 20 seconds.
I commend Witness for the Prosecution to your attention, especially if you wait for one of Kino Lorber’s periodic sales. I think I paid $9.99 for the blu-ray.
I love “Witness for the Prosecution” as well. Besides the excellent leads, the character actors are great. Una O’Connor’s testimony is one of the more hilarious bits.
Thank you for mentioning Una O’Connor. You’re right: she’s great as well.
As Lawrence put it, everyone in this movie is at the very top of their game.
This was always a favorite of mine. I saw it several times when I was younger. And of course, the leads were great.
I also remember a remake with Kim Cattrall in the lead. It was a 2 part television miniseries.
We watch TCM quite often, as it has a lot of the classic movies that are much better than anything made today.