Legal Drama Double Feature Review: ‘Counsellor At Law’ And ‘Witness For The Prosecution’

Sometimes you just need a good courtroom drama in your life. Kino Lorber has (at least) two: William Wyler’s Counsellor at Law (1933) and Billy Wilder‘s Witness for the Prosecution (1957). In both films there’s a male lawyer (or barrister, since Witness plays out in the British court system) who’s devoted his life to the law. Both men face a future where they might have to give up their jobs.

For Sir Wilfrid (Charles Laughton) in Witness for the Prosecution, it’s because of health reasons – he recently had a heart attack and, if nothing else, he’s supposed to only take civil cases going forward. Of course a juicy criminal case falls in his lap his first day back. Try as Sir Wilfrid might to make it seem like he only agrees to listen to Leonard (Tyrone Power) because he wants to get his hands on a cigar, it doesn’t take long to realise he cares about justice. Despite the protests of his nurse (Elsa Lancaster, who was married to Laughton in real-life), he agrees to defend Leonard.

While this isn’t the first time Kino Lorber has released Witness to the Prosecution on Blu-ray, in addition to snippets from an interview with Wilder by German director Volker Schlöndorff, Kino’s re-release adds a commentary by Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge author Joseph McBride. He goes over all of the key players and some of Wilder’s directing choices, like (without getting into spoilers) how he chose to direct Marlene Dietrich, who plays the pivotal role of Leonard’s wife.

A lot of fuss is made at the end of the movie and in the trailer about audiences not spoiling the ending for people. This was before a similar PR campaign was famously carried out for Alfred Hitchcock‘s Psycho of not allowing people to enter the theater late for screenings. Given how good the twist is, I was surprised how much I’d forgotten it, having seen the movie once before. Rather, my lasting impression had been how great Laughton and Lancaster were together and that still holds true. One reason I feel the twist (or twists) are so effective has to do with an observation McBride makes about Wilfrid being presented as this infallible detective of the same breed as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. His reputation leaves viewers unprepared for what happens.

Despite being an adaptation of Agatha Christie‘s play of the same name, McBride points out the ways Wilder and co-screenwriter Harry Kurnitz‘s ending is different. He also argues that Power was too old and too American to play Leonard, naming Dirk Bogarde as a possible substitute. If you’ve seen Cast a Dark Shadow, in which Bogarde plays a character who also toys with the affections of older women to get money, then you know what perfect casting that would’ve been.

Unlike Sir Wilfrid, the reason George Simon (John Barrymore) might be losing his job in Counsellor at Law is a lot more scandalous – he’s being threatened with disbarment. An old client of his (John Qualen) lied about his alibi (though it doesn’t sound like Simon knew or actively told his client to lie, so I’m not sure why he’d be at fault, but I’m also not a lawyer).

Barrymore is extremely dynamic as the lead, but it’s Bebe Daniels as Simon’s stalwart and put upon secretary, Rexy, who needs to be applauded. Often forced to suffer in silence, the scene where Simon’s wife (Doris Kenyon) rudely tells her to stop typing so she can make a phone call is a rich example of silent acting on Daniels’ part and when it’s later followed by Simon chastising Rexy for not having finished typing, the unfairness of the situation couldn’t be more relatable.

Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray comes with a commentary by film historian and filmmaker Daniel Kremer, who’s joined by Wyler’s daughter, Catherine Wyler. Due to the focus on Wyler (who rightfully deserves attention, plus Counsellor at Law was a turning point in his career), there isn’t a lot of time to discuss the many character actors who populate the cast. Kremer does point out Vincent Sherman and Richard Quine, who went on to become directors themselves.

Counsellor at Law and Witness for the Prosecution are available on Blu-ray now from Kino Lorber.