Witness for the Prosecution is a courtroom drama directed by Billy Wilder. The film is based on the play of the same name by Agatha Christie, who also wrote Murder on the Orient Express. It stars Tyrone Power as Leonard Vole, Marlene Dietrich as Christine Vole, and Charles Laughton as Sir Wilfrid Robarts.
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Plot
In the end, we discover that there are three different people who had motive for wanting Leonard dead. First and foremost is his wife, who inherited all their money. Then there’s his old landlord who was blackmailing him for money.
And finally, there’s Lenard’s mistress, who he had been stringing along and wanted out of his life. However, when it comes down to it, only one person can be on trial for murder and that’s Leonard Vole.
At first, things look bleak for Leonard. The prosecution paints a picture of a cold-blooded murderer who killed his wife to inherit her money. Then Leonard takes the stand with Sir Wilfrid by his side and convinces the jury that he wouldn’t have killed her because he didn’t need her money.
In fact, he told her that they were going to live off of his earnings as an inventor which would be coming in any day now. He also shows that she was dying shortly before her death which means she would have left him everything anyway so killing her was pointless.
At this point, things turn around for Leonard but then a surprise witness emerges against him.
Storyline
Witness for the Prosecution tells the story of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), a man accused of murdering his wealthy older wife Emily French (Norma Varden) in order to inherit her fortune. He is arrested when his lover, Christine Helm (Marlene Dietrich) testifies against him, only to recant her testimony later.
The film ends with Leonard being found guilty, seemingly because Christine’s father knew that Leonard killed Emily and threatened to expose him if he didn’t testify against Leonard.
Leonard is sentenced to death, but Christine visits him in jail and confesses that she was the one who killed Emily. She explains that she did it so that she and Leonard would have enough money to live on, and because Emily treated her badly.
Leonard is set free due to lack of evidence. He marries Christine, but they are both emotionally damaged by what has happened.
During the murder trial, Leonard discovers that he has a daughter named Janet McDermott, whose mother died when she was very young. When he goes to visit Janet in prison after his acquittal, he meets his wife’s solicitor John Mayhew (Charles Laughton). The two men bond over their love of Janet as John prepares for Leonard to adopt Janet as her child.
Meaning Explained
The Wonderful Witness for the Prosecution, Directed by Billy Wilder and adapted from Agatha Christie’s play, Witness for the Prosecution (1957) is a courtroom drama that has a spectacular twist at the end.
It stars Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton.
The movie begins with Leonard Vole (Power) meeting the wealthy Emily French (Laughton). She is immediately charmed by him and decides to leave her fortune to him after she dies.
What Happens Next?
Leonard’s wife, Christine (Dietrich), is called in as a witness but lies on the stand. She says Leonard was with her the night of Emily’s murder. This leads to him being acquitted. However, he is released only because of his wife’s testimony and is a free man because of it.
The surprise ending of Witness for the Prosecution
We learn that Leonard has told Christine to lie on the stand in order to get out of jail. She does so, but it turns out she did it because she loved him so much!
Did Marlene Dietrich Play Two Parts In Witness For The Prosecution?
Yes! In the original play, there were two roles: one for an older woman named Christine.
I’m going to answer the questions you have about Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution and its 1957 movie adaptation.
Background of the Film
Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution (1957) is a murder mystery that centers on a client-lawyer relationship. The production won two Academy Awards, one for Best Art Direction and another for Best Costume Design.
The film is set in London, England in the 1950s. The story begins with Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), a struggling man who is accused of murdering Emelia (Romaine Bohringer), his wealthy elderly wife. Vole’s lawyer, Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton), a barrister known for taking on hopeless cases, agrees to defend him.
During the trial, Vole’s case is not looking good as his mistress, Christine Vole (Marlene Dietrich), testifies against him. Christine provides evidence that her lover lied about his whereabouts on the night of Emelia’s murder and stole jewelry from her house to pay off his debts.
However, it comes to light later that Christine has been blackmailing Leonard because she knew he was lying about the night in question.
Witness for the Prosecution, directed by Billy Wilder and based on a short story and play by Agatha Christie, tells the story of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), an Englishman who is accused of murdering Mrs. Emily French (Norma Varden), a rich widow whom he befriended. As the trial commences, it becomes clear that Leonard has a weak alibi and a history of marrying older women for money.
Leonard’s only hope for acquittal is his wife, Christine Helm (Marlene Dietrich). Even though she will have to testify against her husband, Christine promises to prove that Leonard did not commit the murder. But when she takes the stand, Christine does the opposite — she testifies that she saw her husband leaving Mrs. French’s house on the night in question.
Ending Explained
Leonard is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The shock in the courtroom is palpable when Christine shows up at Leonard’s cell and tells him that she had lied when she testified against him in court — she was never actually there. She admits that she committed perjury because her husband was having an affair with another woman named Romaine Vole (Elizabeth Allen) and that they were planning to run away together.
As Christine explains her twisted logic.
The murder case against Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power) is going badly. The defense attorney (Charles Laughton) has a clever strategy, but he needs a surprise witness to save Leonard’s neck.
The surprise witness is Christine Vole (Marlene Dietrich), his wife and the star witness for the prosecution. She walks into the courtroom and takes the witness stand.
Christine can’t lie under oath without damning herself, so she tells the truth about how she met Leonard and helped him get out of trouble by lying to police.
Leonard is acquitted, and as he leaves the courtroom, he meets Christine in a hallway. She says, “I did it for you, my darling.” He coldly replies, “You are no wife of mine.”
As Leonard leaves her standing in the hall, we see Christine’s face change from happiness to anger to sorrow.
What happened in the end of Witness for the Prosecution?
Leonard Vole is accused of murdering a widow to inherit her wealth. The stakes are high; it’s either life in prison or hanging. Vole says he is innocent, but his wife Romaine testifies that she saw him near the crime scene and lied to help him avoid arrest.
At first, this seems like an open-and-shut case, but as Leonard’s lawyer Sir Wilfrid Robarts continues his defense, cracks begin to show. For instance, Romaine admits that she had a lover at the time of the murder and spent most of her time with him, not her husband. Suddenly, it doesn’t seem so certain that Leonard was at home when the widow was killed after all.
Vole is acquitted, but then Romaine reveals that she lied again when she testified against Leonard: she didn’t see him near the widow’s house on the day of her death. She was actually at home with Leonard all day. This means that not only did he lie about being the culprit.
The verdict is in, and the courtroom drama Witness for the Prosecution, with its multiple plot twists and fascinating characters, has stood the test of time.
It’s been more than 60 years since Agatha Christie’s play debuted on Broadway, and more than 50 since Billy Wilder adapted it for the big screen. Yet it’s still a film and play that people are fascinated by.
Conclusion
The story centers on a murder trial, with lots of intrigue over who truly is guilty: Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), who was found at his wife’s murder scene, or Romaine Vole (Marlene Dietrich), who may have had a motive to kill her husband’s wife.
This isn’t the only film or play based on an Agatha Christie novel that has people scratching their heads. Perhaps you’ve also seen/read Murder on the Orient Express or And Then There Were None?
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