YIn the coming attractions to Witness for the Prosecution, and at the end of the film, viewers were asked to refrain from telling their friends about the surprise ending. Yet this is one of those films I watch again and again, despite knowing every twist and turn of its Agatha Christie plot.

When a wealthy 56-year-old widow is brutally murdered, her handsome friend Vole (Tyrone Power) is suspected. Vole is a favorite with the ladies and courted the older widow without disclosing his marriage to a German woman named Christine (Marlene Dietrich, who was, incredibly, 56 when she played this part).

All the evidence, including motive (Vole is the widow’s beneficiary) and testimony from the widow’s housekeeper (Una O’Connor), makes the situation desperate, and only London’s most talented barrister (Charles Laughton) can save him.

The barrister, who is recovering from a major heart attack, defies the medical advice of his eagle-eyed nurse and takes the case.

The trial is hugely entertaining, with Laughton and his devoted nurse (Laughton’s real-life wife Elsa Lanchester) giving marvelous performances (both were nominated for Academy Awards).

At one point the barrister is given unexpected evidence that may save Vole from the anticipated guilty verdict. The lawyer uses the evidence, but feels uncomfortable about it. This reminds me of a similar bridge situation: While declaring a hand against a worthy opponent, you receive an excess of information. Perhaps the opponent discards all of his honors (giving you a count of missing highcards), or plays all the cards of a certain suit (thereby giving you a count of the distribution). It’s best to assume these are Greek Gifts and to switch gears from cold logic to psychology when deciding how to play the end game.

Facts from the Vault (from the back cover of the 1996 MGM/UA video)

* The film was shown at a royal command performance in London . . . but not before the Royal Family promised to keep its surprise ending under wraps!

* This was Tyrone Power’s last completed film before his death from a heart attack at the age of 45.

* In order to show just one of Dietrich’s famous legs, an entire scene was written that required 145 extras, 38 stunt men . . . and $90,000!