Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Witness for the Prosecution & the Films of Billy Wilder

Tonight I watched an old film called Witness for the Prosecution.  It’s directed by Billy Wilder, stars Marlene Dietrich, and is superb.  Though I happened upon it mostly by chance, I enjoyed it more than other, more contemporary films I’ve watched recently (both those I’ve given poor reviews to in this blog, as well as others I enjoyed like Frost/Nixon and Doubt).  Witness for the Prosecution includes a fair amount of noir intrigue and moral ambiguity, but couples its darker elements with instances of droll British humor.  This combination allows the film to be more complex than the average postwar comedy and more entertaining than typical hard-boiled film noir.

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. 


Aside from a few flashbacks, most of the film takes place in the courtroom or ancillary chambers as Robarts tries to counter each new piece of evidence that ostensibly proves Vole’s guilt.  His performance is charming is the source of the film’s humor.  Marlene Dietrich, on the other hand, plays Vole’s wife Christine and from the moment she walks on screen her character is shrouded in mystery and dubious loyalties.  Christine is the polar opposite of Robarts, but Dietrich is equally engaging to watch.  Though there are numerous twists and several surprises, the closing credits include a plea to not spoil the ending, so I won’t.  However, it will keep you guessing, entertained, and surprised.

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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