Witness for the Prosecution tells the story of endearingly caustic Sir Wilfred Robarts (Charles Laugton), a defense lawyer, and his effort to defend Leonard Vole against murder charges. Vole, on the other hand, is an amiable deadbeat who befriended an elderly widow. When the widow is murdered Vole becomes the prime suspect and is charged. However, despite ailing heath and overwhelming evidence against Vole, Robarts believes Vole is innocent and takes the case.
Witness for the Prosecution follows in the footsteps of other great Wilder films and as I watched I began to consider just how great a director he was. When I think of favorite directors, Billy Wilder doesn’t usually come to mind. I don’t know why, as virtually everything I’ve seen of his is fantastic. Unfortunately, I’ve only seen some of his more famous films. I loved, for example, Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard. These are the films that got me (and a lot of other people) hooked on the noir genre. More recently, I watched Stalag 17. Though I may prefer other WWII POW films like Bridge on the River Kwai or The Great Escape, Stalag 17 still holds its own over half a century later.
After tonight I think I’m going to have to start listing Wilder as one of my favorites. His films exude entertainment value as well as moral and ethical complexity that seems remarkable even by today’s standards. So check out Witness for the Prosecution and if you’ve seen something else by Wilder let me know so I can take a look.
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