Alfred Hitchcock once remarked that he often had fans approaching him to say how much they enjoyed 'Witness for the Prosecution (1957).' Knowing Hitch's wicked sense of humour, he probably would have gone along with it, but that doesn't change the fact that the film belongs to Billy Wilder, however reminiscent of a Hitchcock picture it might be. Adapted from a short story, and subsequently a play, by mystery author Agatha Christie, the film has a distinct theatrical feel to it, the story gradually unfolding mostly through dialogue, with the occasional important flashback. Just as 'Witness for the Prosecution' feels like the work of the Master of Suspense, it noticeably lacks the classy style of the actual director, with the confines of the courtroom drama perhaps unsuited to Wilder's trademark sparkling repartee {though Charles Laughton certainly gets in a few masterful wise-cracks}. Nevertheless, it is a genuinely thrilling and engaging mystery with an ensemble of terrific characters.

Charles Laughton's Sir Wilfrid Robarts is an outrageously entertaining creation. Though having only recently recovered from a crippling heart attack, the attorney maintains a constant state of grumpiness, gruffly dismissing the well-meaning instructions of his insistent nurse, Miss Plimsoll (Laughton's wife, Elsa Lanchester). Though his health often causes him problems, and he hardly seems to be paying attention in the courtroom, Sir Wilfrid is the finest defence lawyer that the city has to offer, a shrewd and calculating legal genius, and a firm believer in the judicial process. When an agitated and seemingly-innocent young man, Leonard Steven Vole (Tyrone Power), is charged for the murder of an older lady friend (Norma Varden), our weary hero commits himself to proving the man's innocence in court, even though their chances of acquittal are seriously marred when the accused man's German "wife" (Marlene Dietrich) testifies against him.

Much too often, time has ruined some of cinema's greatest twist-endings, and it always grieves me to have the finales of classic thrillers spoiled before I have the opportunity to watch them. In the case of 'Witness for the Prosecution,' I can happily say that I was caught completely off-guard, having not even been aware that the film contained a twist. Better yet, Agatha Christie manages, in the story's final moments, to cram in a quick succession of unexpected plot-turns, with the ending leaving us stunned and dazed, feeling as foolish and devastated as Sir Wilfrid must have been when he realised that he had just unknowingly rescued a certain murderer from punishment. Most definitely in the top five courtroom films I've ever seen, Billy Wilder's 'Witness for the Prosecution' is a different kind of classic for its legendary director, and a motion picture that, yes, I'm sure even Hitchcock would have loved.