The Witness for the Prosecution

Last updated

"The Witness for the Prosecution" is a short story and play by British author Agatha Christie. The story was initially published as "Traitor's Hands" in Flynn's, a weekly pulp magazine, in the edition of 31 January 1925. [1]

Contents

In 1933, the story was published for the first time as "The Witness for the Prosecution" in the collection The Hound of Death that appeared only in the United Kingdom. In 1948, it was finally published in the United States under that title in the collection The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories . The story has been adapted for stage, film and television.

Plot

Leonard Vole is arrested for the murder of Emily French, a wealthy older woman. Unaware that he was a married man, Miss French made him her principal heir, casting suspicion on Leonard. When his wife, Romaine, agrees to testify, she does so not in Leonard's defence but as a witness for the prosecution. Romaine's decision is part of a complicated plan to free her husband. She first gives the prosecution its strongest evidence, then fabricates new evidence that discredits her testimony, believing, correctly as it turns out, that her impeachment as an unfaithful wife would improve Leonard's chances of acquittal far more than her testimony for the defence. It is then revealed that Leonard Vole in fact killed Emily French.

Alterations

The original short story ended abruptly with the major twist—Romaine's revelation that Leonard Vole was in fact guilty. Over time, Christie grew dissatisfied with this abrupt and dystopian ending (one of the few Christie endings in which a murderer escapes punishment), which would have had to be sanitised in any event for stage and film versions where such a brutal crime going unpunished would have been unthinkable at the time.

In her subsequent rewriting of the story as a play she added a young mistress for Leonard, who does not appear until the end of the play. The mistress and Leonard are about to leave Romaine (called "Christine" in all film and television versions, and most stage productions after the original Broadway production, until the 2016 television version) to be arrested for perjury, when Romaine grabs a knife, [2] and stabs and kills Leonard. She will be defended by the same attorney she tricked into getting Leonard acquitted in the first place. This remained the standard production format until Sarah Phelps' 2016 television version, which restored the original ending but changed the fates of other characters.

Characters (play)

Publishing history

In other media

Theatre

Film

Television

Related Research Articles

<i>Witness for the Prosecution</i> (1957 film) 1957 American film by Billy Wilder

Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 American legal mystery thriller film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, and Elsa Lanchester. The film, which has elements of bleak black comedy and film noir, is a courtroom drama set in the Old Bailey in London and is based on the 1953 play of the same name by Agatha Christie. The first film adaptation of Christie's story, Witness for the Prosecution was adapted for the screen by Larry Marcus, Harry Kurnitz, and Wilder. The film was acclaimed by critics and received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It also received five Golden Globes nominations including a win for Elsa Lanchester as Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Additionally, the film was selected as the sixth-best courtroom drama ever by the American Film Institute for their AFI's 10 Top 10 list.

<i>Agatha Christies Poirot</i> British television detective series (1989–2013)

Agatha Christie's Poirot, or simply Poirot, is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, which revolves around the fictional private investigator, Hercule Poirot. David Suchet starred as the fictional detective. Initially produced by LWT, the series was later produced by ITV Studios. The series also aired on VisionTV in Canada and on PBS and A&E in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Cattrall</span> British-Canadian actress (born 1956)

Kim Victoria Cattrall is a British and Canadian actress. She is known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones on HBO's Sex and the City (1998–2004), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning the 2002 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised the role in the feature films Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010), as well as in a cameo on its revival And Just Like That... (2023).

<i>Sad Cypress</i> 1940 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie

Sad Cypress is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in March 1940 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at eight shillings and threepence (8/3) – the first price rise for a UK Christie edition since her 1921 debut – and the US edition retailed at $2.00.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis L. Sullivan</span> English actor (1903–1956)

Francis Loftus Sullivan was an English film and stage actor.

<i>The Hound of Death</i> Short story collection by Agatha Christie (1933)

The Hound of Death and Other Stories is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom in October 1933. Unusually, the collection was not published by Christie's regular publishers, William Collins & Sons, but by Odhams Press, and was not available to purchase in shops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Rigby</span> English actress (born 1989)

Emma Rigby is an English actress. After rising to prominence for her role as Hannah Ashworth in Hollyoaks, she later played Gemma Roscoe in the BBC One drama series Prisoners' Wives and as the Red Queen in the American fantasy-drama Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. She also played the lead role of Angie in Movies 24's A Cinderella Christmas, directed by Tosca Musk.

<i>Witness for the Prosecution</i> (play) 1953 play by Agatha Christie

Witness for the Prosecution is a play adapted by Agatha Christie from her 1925 short story "Traitor's Hands". The play opened in London on 28 October 1953 at the Winter Garden Theatre. It was produced by Sir Peter Saunders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Riseborough</span> British actress

Andrea Louise Riseborough is an English actress. She made her film debut with a small part in Venus (2006), and has since appeared in more prominent roles in Brighton Rock (2010), W.E. (2011), Shadow Dancer (2012), Oblivion (2013), Birdman (2014), Nocturnal Animals (2016), Battle of the Sexes, The Death of Stalin, Mandy, Nancy, The Grudge, Possessor, and To Leslie (2022). For the latter, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Witness for the Prosecution may refer to:

<i>And Then There Were None</i> (play) 1943 play by Agatha Christie

And Then There Were None is a 1943 play by crime writer Agatha Christie. The play, like the 1939 book on which it is based, was originally titled and performed in the UK as Ten Little Niggers. It was also performed under the name Ten Little Indians.

<i>Spiders Web</i> (play) 1954 play by Agatha Christie

Spider's Web is a play by crime writer Agatha Christie. Spider's Web, which premiered in London's West End in 1954, is Agatha Christie's second most successful play, having run longer than Witness for the Prosecution, which premiered in 1953. It is surpassed only by Christie's record-breaking The Mousetrap, which has run continuously since opening in the West End in 1952.

The Unexpected Guest is a 1958 play by crime writer Agatha Christie.

<i>And Then There Were None</i> 1939 mystery novel by Agatha Christie

For the composer, see Ethel Tench Rogers.

Witness for the Prosecution (<i>Hallmark Hall of Fame</i>) 1982 television film by Alan Gibson

Witness for the Prosecution is a 1982 American made-for-television drama film version of Agatha Christie's 1925 short story and 1953 play, and also a remake of the Billy Wilder film Witness for the Prosecution (1957).

Lists of adaptations of the works of Agatha Christie:

Romaine is both a given name and a surname. It may refer to:

The Witness for the Prosecution is a 2016 British mystery drama thriller television serial broadcast on BBC One over Christmas 2016. The two-part programme was adapted by Sarah Phelps and directed by Julian Jarrold and is based on Agatha Christie's short story of the same name. The expanded plot is based on Christie's original short story with the original ending, which is different than that of previous stage, film and television versions, including Billy Wilder's 1957 film version.

<i>Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar</i> British TV drama film

Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar is a 2019 British alternative history television drama film about crime writer Agatha Christie becoming embroiled in a real-life murder case during a trip to an archaeological dig in Iraq following her divorce. The film premiered on Channel 5 in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2019. Filming took place in Malta and was directed by Sam Yates. Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar premiered in the United States on PBS on 18 May 2021.

Derek Elphinstone (1913–1999) was a British actor.

References

  1. 1 2 "Witness for the Prosecution (1958), History". American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films, The First 100 Years 1893-1993. 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  2. ↑ Christie, Agatha (2000). The Mousetrap, & other plays. New York: Penguin Putnam Books. ISBN   978-0-451-20114-0.
  3. ↑ "Witness for the Prosecution (1954 Broadway play)". IBDB.com. Internet Broadway Database.
  4. ↑ McNary, Dave (19 August 2016). "Ben Affleck Directing, Starring in 'Witness for the Prosecution' Remake".
  5. ↑ "The Witness for the Prosecution". IMDb .
  6. ↑ "Witness for the Prosecution (1949)". BFI. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022.
  7. ↑ Aldridge, Mark (2016). Agatha Christie on screen. Crime files. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 48. ISBN   978-1-137-37292-5.
  8. ↑ "Pick of the Programs". The Record. New Jersey, Hackensack. 7 November 1950. p. 29. Retrieved 4 June 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Witness for the Prosecution". The Official Andrea King Website. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  10. ↑ Witness for the Prosecution (1953) at IMDb
  11. ↑ O'Connor, John J. (3 December 1982). "LIVELY 'WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION'" – via NYTimes.com.
  12. ↑ Dowell, Ben (15 August 2016). "Kim Cattrall, Toby Jones and Andrea Riseborough cast in Agatha Christie's The Witness for the Prosecution". Radio Times.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.