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While recuperating from a heart attack, esteemed barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton) is asked to defend Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), an out-of-work American inventor accused of murdering wealthy 56-year-old widow Emily French (Norma Varden) for her money. Leonard's only witness in his behalf is his wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich), who has agreed to be a witness ...for the prosecution.

Witness for the Prosecution is based on a 1953 play adapted by English crime story writer, Dame Agatha Christie (1890-1976), from her short story "Traitor's Hands", first published in the 31 January 1925 issue of Flynn's Weedkly and later renamed "Witness for the Prosecution" when it was reprinted in the 1930s and '40s. The screenplay for the movie was written by Lawrence B. Marcus, Harry Kurnitz, and Billy Wilder (who also directed the movie). A TV remake, also titled Witness for the Prosecution (1982), was released in 1982.

The year is 1952. The place is London.

Charles Laughton modeled his characterization of Sir Wilfrid Roberts on Florance Guedella, an English lawyer who was famous for twirling his monocle while cross-examining witnesses. Sir Wilfried apparently uses his monocle as a sort of lie detector. The logic seems to be that if the person being cross-examined can maintain his or her composure while the monocle reflects light in his eyes, he's probably telling the truth and is therefore worth defending. The latter would probably be difficult, and its effectiveness as a lie detector seems highly dubious. The original lawyer probably just used this technique on unfriendly witnesses to distract them, making their testimony sound less certain. That's assuming it wasn't merely a habit with no ulterior purpose.