New movie reviews, DVD reviews, interviews, and all things film.

Follow Me

• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
• Safe House ***
• The Vow **1/2
• The Innkeepers ***1/2
• The Woman in Black ***
• The Grey ***
• Man on a Ledge ***
• Underworld Awakening **
• Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos ***
• Haywire ***
• Beauty and the Beast ****
• Contraband ***
• The Divide *
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ****
• The Devil Inside **
• The Iron Lady **
• A Separation ***
• Pariah ***1/2
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close ***
• The Darkest Hour **
• More

• Anonymous
• Essential Killing
• Lady and the Tramp
• La Jetée
• Sans Soleil
• Story of a Love Affair
• 3
• A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
• 2011: The Year's Best DVDs and Blu-Rays
• More

• 2011: The Year's Best Films
• Year's Best DVDs and Blu-Rays
• San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards
• Interview: Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender
• Interview: Simon Curtis
• Interview: Werner Herzog
• Interview: John Cho
• Interview: Roland Emmerich
• Interview: Stephen Bishop on Moneyball
• Interview: Nick Swardson
• Interview: Lynn Hershman Leeson
• Interview: Lone Scherfig
• Interview: Jesse Eisenberg & Aziz Ansari
• Interview: Wayne Wang
• Interview: Andre Ovredal on 'Trollhunter'
• Interview: Ewan McGregor & Mike Mills
• Interview: Kelly Reichardt (Examiner link)
• The 54th San Francisco International Film Festival - 2011 Coverage
• Interview: Emma Roberts
• Rainn Wilson & James Gunn (Examiner link)
• Interview: Tom McCarthy
• Interview: Abigail Breslin (Examiner link)
• 2010: The Year's Best Films
• 2010: The Year's Best DVDs & Blu-Rays
• Interview: Sofia Coppola
• Interview: George A. Romero
• The Decade's Ten Best Films: 2000-2009
• My Top 100 Films [Updated]
• My Top 60 Directors [Updated]
• Christmas Movies
• Essential Halloween & Horror Movies
• Cult Movies
• Actress Interview Gallery
• More Features and Interviews

• Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas, by Alonso Duralde
• Not Quite a Memoir: Of Films, Books, the World, by Judy Stone
• James Agee: The Library of America Collection, by James Agee
• Just Making Movies, by Ronald L. Davis
• More Books

• Home
• Reviews A-C
• Reviews D-F
• Reviews G-J
• Reviews K-M
• Reviews N-Q
• Reviews R-T
• Reviews U-Z

The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

SEARCH MOVIES / CELEB

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Smelling Salts & Brandy

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Witness for the Prosecution on DVD

Witness for the Prosecution (1957, MGM/UA, $14.95) casts the great scenery-chomper Charles Laughton in Agatha Christie's courtroom play, based on one of her short stories. Marlene Dietrich plays the wife of Tyrone Power, accused of killing an old lady for her money. Wilder plays the suspense well, but this movie belongs to Laughton, who makes his every line resonate like music and thunder. "I am constantly surprised that women's hats do not provoke more murders."

Starring: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, John Williams, Henry Daniell, Ian Wolfe, Torin Thatcher, Norma Varden, Una O'Connor, Francis Compton, Philip Tonge, Ruta Lee
Written by: Billy Wilder, Harry Kurnitz, Larry Marcus, based on a play by Agatha Christie
Directed by: Billy Wilder
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 116 minutes
Date: July 10, 2003