Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

best movie i've ever seen.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

This 1957 courtroom drama of ultimate treachery and betrayal was frequently spoiled for me by that sniveling, pompous actor, Charles Laughton, who played the "Sir" Wilfred Roberts character.IMO - Laughton (and his insufferable blubbering) was given way-way too much screen-time. And I sure got real sick of his shtick - Real fast.As expected - Marlene Dietrich gets to do her trademark "man-drag" thing, once again, in this picture. You know, I think that she has been given the chance to do this same, tiresome business in at least a third of all the films that she has ever appeared in.*Note* - This would be Tyrone Power's final film. He died of a heart attack the following year after its release. He was 44 at the time.

Agatha Christie is one of the most adapted writers for the big screen, but also rarely managed to deliver a bad movie script. Her crime mysteries were just to good in their core, offering endless plot twists, as did one of her first adaptations, "Witness for the prosecution". William Wilder's movie brought Marlen Dietrich's charisma to the big screen, but also managed to keep the tension of a murder trial all the way through the entire movie, climaxing in a really unexpected climax at the very end. On the other hand, the acting and the development of characters won't be revolutionary If you are into crime/mystery/trial movies you should not miss "Witness for the prosecution", a classical genre mainstream.

The best thing about the film is not the witty dialogues or the amazing character development or the brilliant Charles Laughton, it's the ending. Not in the way that it's a completely surprising twist (which it was even though it was hidden in plain sight), but in the way that how politically progressive the twist was. By feeding the social stigma up till then, never losing focus on how exactly it is portrayed and suddenly exposing the truth of it and letting the viewers know why a lot of it is actually portrayed the way it is in the film. I think this may get a higher rating from me after I give it time to sink in.

Marlene Dietrich plays her role perfectly with many unexpected twists. Charles Laughton sure made me laugh a ton here and for sure steals the show as that not-quite-all there grandparent figure with a few tricks up the sleeve. I can't say enough how funny and unexpected this movie was. Courtroom dramas seem to have stuffy, by-the-numbers, and stiff plots, but Witness for the Prosecution sure doesn't fit that bill and seems to be aware of the original conventions just so it can spin them around like a top.For those of you hesitant about the classics, the humor in this transcends generations. A must watch.I convict Witness for the Prosecution as close to perfect film, enough so to give it a perfect 4 out of 4 stars.