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Witness for the Prosecution (view source)
Revision as of 02:16, December 2, 2008
, 02:16, December 2, 2008→Plot: it separates the egg as it beats
The next morning, Leonard Vole ([[Tyrone Power|Power]]) comes to call on Sir Wilfred. He is a stranger to the barrister, but he was quite a friend of Mrs. French — essentially a [[kept man]]. Vole worries that blame for the crime will fall on him, because he is Mrs. French's sole [[inheritance|inheritor]]. What's more, Vole admits that he has no alibi for the night of the murder except the word of his wife Christine ([[Marlene Dietrich|Dietrich]]), a German expatriate; he knows that a British court would put but little weight on the word of an ex-[[Nazi]], let alone one married to the [[defendant]]. Vole appeals to Sir Wilfred to help him escape the charges. Wilfred is hesitant, since he is still in precarious health, but he reluctantly agrees to hear Vole's case.
The next morning, Leonard Vole ([[Tyrone Power|Power]]) comes to call on Sir Wilfred. He is a stranger to the barrister, but he was quite a friend of Mrs. French — essentially a [[kept man]]. Vole worries that blame for the crime will fall on him, because he is Mrs. French's sole [[inheritance|inheritor]]. What's more, Vole admits that he has no alibi for the night of the murder except the word of his wife Christine ([[Marlene Dietrich|Dietrich]]), a German expatriate; he knows that a British court would put but little weight on the word of an ex-[[Nazi]], let alone one married to the [[defendant]]. Vole appeals to Sir Wilfred to help him escape the charges. Wilfred is hesitant, since he is still in precarious health, but he reluctantly agrees to hear Vole's case.
In the courtroom, the prosecution first calls Mrs. French's landlady, Janet Mackenzie, who testifies that she heard Vole arguing with Mrs. French on the night of the murder. She claims that Vole exchanged heated words, and then left the apartment, saying he was going to a movie. However, Owen proves that Mrs. Mackenzie could not have heard what she claimed over the noise produced by her [[eggbeater]], a prototype model given to her by Vole, who had invented it. (The revolutionary eggbeater design is something of a [[McGuffin]] in this film; it makes only one appearance, but it is mixed up with the entire plot.) The prosecution calls more witnesses — a police officer, a woman living across the street, a travel agent — but each one can offer only circumstantial evidence, and Sir Wilfred shoots down each of their stories in turn.
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Movies]]