Tyrone Power heads the cast in “Witness for the Prosecution”

Witness for the Prosecution (1957) is an American mystery thriller directed by Billy Wilder and starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, and Charles Laughton. The supporting cast includes Elsa Lanchester, John Williams, Henry Daniell, Ian Wolfe, Torin Thatcher, Norma Varen, Uno O’Connor, and Ruta Lee.

Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Laughton), a senior barrister, who is recovering from a heart attack, agrees to defend Leonard Vole against the objections of his nurse Miss Pimsoll (Lanchester). Vole has been accused of murdering Emily French, a wealthy widow with no family who had left him the bulk of her estate.

Robarts interviews Vole’s wife Christine (Dietrich) who provides her husband with an alibi. Robarts finds Christine’s testimony off somehow and is suspicious of her motives.

Will Robarts be able to defend Vole against the charge of murder or will circumstances beyond his control change everything?

Henry Daniell, Tyrone Power, and Charles Laughton

Billy Wilder (1906 - 2002) was an Austrian-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He won six Academy Awards for his writing and direction and was nominated twenty-one times over a career that spanned five decades. Wilder started his career as a writer, penning the screenplays for Ninotchka (1939), Ball of Fire (1942), Double Indemnity (1945), The Lost Weekend (1946), Sunset Boulevard (1951)  Boulevard (1951), Sabrina (1955), Some Like it Hot (1960), and The Apartment (1961). As a director, he won Academy Awards for directing The Lost Weekend (1946) and The Apartment (1961). Wilder directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated roles. He is considered one of the most versatile directors from Hollywood’s Classical period.

Tyrone Power (1914 – 1958) was a major movie star as well as a star on stage and radio. He was one of the biggest box office draws of the 1930s and 1940s. Power was under exclusive contract to 20th Century-Fox where his image and film choices were carefully selected by studio head Zanuck. After the war, Power wanted to stretch his acting past romantic comedies and swashbuckler roles. Nightmare Alley was Power’s personal favorite of all his films. Some of Power's films include Marie Antoinette (1938), The Rains Came (1939), Jesse James (1939), The Mark of Zorro (1940), and  Blood and Sand (1941). Later in his career, he starred in Captain from Castile (1947), The Black Rose (1950), and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). Power’s favorite of all his films that he starred in was Nightmare Alley (1947) even though it was a commercial and a critical failure when first released. Its status as a classic film noir has been recently reevaluated.

Charles Laughton (1899 – 1962) had a long career on the stage and in Hollywood. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Henry VIII in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and was nominated for two other Best Actor Oscars for his performances in Mutiny on the Bounty (1933) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). His performance in The Suspect is considered one of Laughton’s most natural screen performances, which is credited to director Siodmak, a close personal friend of the actor.

Marlene Dietrich (1901 – 1992) was a German and American actress. Dietrich got her start in silent films in her native Germany. She was directed by Josef von Sternberg in The Blue Angel (1930) which made Dietrich an international star. Its success also earned her a contract with Paramount Pictures in Hollywood. Dietrich had her biggest successes during the 1930s in films like Morocco (1930), Shanghai Express (1932), Blonde Venus (1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934), The Devil is a Woman (1935), and Destry Rides Again (1939). After World War II, Dietrich starred in A Foreign Affair (1948), Stage Fright (1950), and Judgment at Nuremberg (1960). 

Witness for the Prosecution trivia

• Marlene Dietrich was convinced she would receive an Academy Award nomination and was crushed when she did not.
• Agatha Christie was pleased with the film version of her novel.
• This was Tyrone Power’s last completed film. He died of a heart attack on the set of Solomon and Sheba in 1959.
• William Holden was the director’s first choice to play Vole but he was unavailable. Other actors considered include Gene Kelly, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Jack Lemmon, and Roger Moore.
• Actresses considered for the role of Christine include Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth.

To watch the movie on YouTube, click on the link below.

To join the discussion on May 29, 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Discussion questions

1. What did you think of the film's casting?
2. Some critics thought Tyrone Power looked too old to play Vole. Do you agree?
3. The cast is impressive. Did any one cast member stand out to you?
4. Was the ending a surprise to you?
5. How does this film stack up to other Billy Wilder films?

Memorial Day: Remember those who lost their lives in service to our country

Lana Turner, Deanna Durbin, and Marlene Dietrich greet Sgt Carl Bell,
the millionth serviceman to enter  the Hollywood Canteen

Great Films of 1939: “Destry Rides Again” February 13 at Daystar Center

Great films of 1939: Destry Rides Again
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: February 13, 2016
Time: 6:45 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Movie Destiny
Destry Rides Again is one of the great motion pictures from 1939. The George Marshall-directed classic features screen legends Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart as a dance hall queen and sheriff’s deputy respectively. The movie was an important one for both Dietrich and Stewart. Dietrich was labeled box office poison a year earlier, along with Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, and Kay Francis and had been off the screen for two years. Stewart on loan from MGM, was finally getting lead roles, which had alluded him at his home studio.

Casting Call
Dietrich was reluctant to star in a western and really had no interest in the script. The producer, Joe Pasternak, wanted Gary Cooper for the role of Destry, but Coop wanted more money than Universal Studios was willing to pay. James Stewart was available and MGM agreed to loan him out for a lot less than what Cooper would have cost. Dietrich had to be talked into taking the role of Frenchy; she also accepted a lower-than-normal fee for her participation. The role of Destry was one of Stewart’s best and it revived Dietrich’s film career after starring in back-to-back big-budget box office disasters, The Garden of Allah (1936) and Knight Without Armor (1937).

James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich

Star on the rise
Stewart was coming into his own as a popular leading man in 1939. On loan from MGM that same year, Stewart starred alongside Jean Arthur in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Carole Lombard in Made for Each Other. Meanwhile, at his home studio, he starred in It’s a Wonderful World with Claudette Colbert and The Ice Follies of 1939 with Joan Crawford. Yes, The Ice Follies of 1939. Stewart, Crawford, and Lew Ayres were figure skaters! Crawford said in a memoir that “We were all out of our collective minds,” when referring to that turkey.

 

Stewart, Joan Crawford, and Lew Ayres in The Ice Follies of 1939.

Legendary director
Marshall got his start in silent films performing first as an extra in Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle’s The Waiter’s Ball (1916). From there he moved on to writing and directing, learning all aspects of the movie business. Marshall was under contract to Fox, Universal, and Paramount. At Paramount he directed most of that studio’s biggest stars, including Bob Hope, Fred MacMurray, Paulette Goddard, Alan Ladd,  and Betty Hutton. He directed the very first film to feature Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, My Friend Irma. Along with Henry Hathaway and John Ford, he co-directed the western epic How the West Was Won (1962). Marshall directed Glenn Ford in several successful comedies, including The Sheepman (1958) and Advance to the Rear (1964).

Director, George Marshall, Dietrich, and producer Joe Pasternak.

Hit of the year
Destry Rides Again was Universal’s biggest hit of the year and it help establish Stewart as an A-list leading man, as well as reviving the movie career of Dietrich. Marshall’s movie-directing career would continue until the late-1960s.

Backstory: Universal released an earlier version of Destry Rides Again (1932) starring Tom Mix. Marlene Dietrich sang “See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have” which was written for her for the movie. She recorded it for Decca records and it became a hit and a song that was identified with her for the rest of her career. George Marshall remade the film in 1954, Destry starred Audie Murphy, Marie Blanchard, and Thomas Mitchell. A Broadway musical of Destry Rides Again opened on April 23, 1959. It starred Andy Griffith as Destry and Dolores Gray as Frenchy. In 1964 a television series based on the movies starred John Gavin in the title role.

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!

Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion

Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.

Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Is Carole Lombard in love at last?

That was the title of an article that appeared in Liberty magazine in 1936. That was the year the world discovered what most of Hollywood already knew: Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were in love.

Lombard and Gable 
The article is an interesting look back in time when the lives of Hollywood's rich and famous were followed and covered by the press as if they were royalty. The titillating, if overly long subtitle, "An Intimate Look at Hollywood's Newest Romance and--Most Discussed Question--Has the Screen's Blonde Venus Captured Clark Gable?" sets the reader up for a juicy read and it doesn't disappoint.

Most photographed movie star
Filled with plenty of 1930s name-dropping to satisfy die-hard movie fans, the article includes some insights into Lombard’s previous high-profile romances, including her short marriage to William Powell. It also includes the fact that Gable was still married, although separated from wife Rhea.

One interesting fact: Lombard, by 1936, had had her picture taken more than 200,000 times, putting her in such rarefied company with Marlene Dietrich and Claudette Colbert.

For the complete Liberty article, click here.