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Witness for the Prosecution

1957

Billy Wilder

Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester ...

8.6

45,424

Mystery. Drama Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), a young and attractive man, is accused of the murder of Miss French, a rich old woman. Wilfred Roberts (Charles Laughton), a criminal lawyer from London, takes charge of the case.

	Author	Review
United States	Bosley Crowther The New York Times	"'Witness for the Prosecution' comes off extraordinarily well. This results mainly from Billy Wilder's splendid staging of some splintering courtroom scenes and a first-rate theatrical performance by Charles Laughton"	POS
United States	Dave Kehr Chicago Reader	"His theatrical mise-en-scene -- his proscenium framing -- serves the material well, as does Charles Laughton's bombastic portrayal of the defense attorney."	POS
United States	Variety	"A courtroom meller played engagingly and building evenly to a surprising and arousing, albeit tricked-up, climax"	POS
United Kingdom	David Parkinson Empire	"Wilder not only added edge to the dialogue, but he also bolstered the characterisation (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	IndieWire	"Billy Wilder’s trademark sardonicism lends welcome bite and wit to this twisting, turning murder mystery from Agatha Christie."	POS
United Kingdom	Phil Hardy Time Out	"[It has] a heavy - almost stolid - theatrical flavour (...) but the swift twists and turns (...) soon drain Dietrich and Laughton's roles of any dramatic credibility."	NEU
United Kingdom	Darren Richman The Independent	"The combination of Christie and Wilder ensures the story is impeccably told and the dialogue is unsurpassable from start to finish"	POS
United Kingdom	Kevin Maher The Times	"[Dietrich] was never better than she is here (...) It’s one of the director Billy Wilder’s strongest movies too (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Ryan Vlastelica AV Club	"It’s well made and the story is terrific"	POS

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