Synopsis
Leonard Vole, a young and attractive man, is accused of murdering Mrs French, a wealthy elderly woman with whom he had a friendship. The alleged motive for the crime was the possibility of inheriting the deceased’s estate. Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Sir Wilfrid Roberts, a prestigious London criminal lawyer, takes on his defence.
Gallery
Awards
1958, Oscar:
- Best Picture Nomination
- Best Actor in a Leading Role Nomination (Charles Laughton)
- Best Director Nomination (Billy Wilder)
1958, Golden Globes:
- Best Drama Film Nomination
- Best Director Nomination (Billy Wilder)
1958; David di Donatello: Best Foreign Actor Award (Charles Laughton)
Datasheet
Original title: Witness for the Prosecution
Director: Billy Wilder
Screenplay: Billy Wilder, Harry Kurnitz, Agatha Christie
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Editing: Daniel Mandell
Music: Matty Malneck
Production design: Alexandre Trauner
Costume design: Edith Head
Cast: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester
Production: United Artists
Trailer
Billy Wilder
Born in 1906 in Sucha, he began his career as a journalist in Vienna and Berlin, from where he was forced to flee following Hitler’s rise to power and went into exile in the United States. In Hollywood, he became one of Paramount’s leading screenwriters; he wrote nearly seventy screenplays before turning to directing ‘in self-defence’, a period during which he made 26 films that earned him seven Oscars and twenty-one nominations. After a career that lasted until 1981, he continued to write until the end of his life, before dying at the age of 95 in Beverly Hills.
Notable filmography
The Front Page (1974)
One, Two, Three (1961)
The Apartment (1960)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Sabrina (1954)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Days of Being Wild (1945)
