Witness for the Prosecution (Billy Wilder, 1957)


The main characters in this film are Leonard Vole, Christine, Sir Wilfrid. This film is about happened in courtroom with the murder case of an old rich woman, Emily French suspected kill by Leonard Vole. Sir Wilfrid Robarts is a master barrister who falls in an ill and takes care by a nurse, Miss Plimsoll. Miss Plimsoll is a strong woman character and she controls him – no cigarette, no wine, and no criminal case. In Sir Wilfrid’s house, there are many photo frames hanging on the wall and many books in his room to express suffocation, reflect that he has no freedom. The editing that applied in this film mostly are dissolve and fade in/out (Telotte, J. P., 1989. Self-Portrait: Painting and the Film Noir). The femme fatale is Christine, German wife of Vole. She testifies that Vole force her not to tell the truth of Vole had killed the Emily French for her money. Christine pretend as a mysterious woman look and set a trap for Sir Wilfried by giving him the fake love letter to prove that Christine has affair with another guy Max. At last, she show up as a witness of prosecution, Sir Wilfrid knew all is a trap to set free of Vole. At last, Vole gets 80,000 pounds and reveals his intention to leave Christine for a young lady. Christine kills Vole with a knife (Grossman, J., 2009. Rethinking the Femme Fatale in Film Noir). The “hard-boiled character” in plot is Sir Wilfrid Robarts, he investigates the case to find the truth but he was trust the wrong person. 
Miss Plimsoll and Sir Wilfrid 

Christine and Leonard Vole

Leonard Vole and Christine in the court





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