Two years after his maiden and last directorial effort, veteran British thespian Charles Laughton returned to acting in “Witness for the Prosecution,” a movie hailed as one of the best courtroom dramas of all time, receiving 6 Academy Award nominations and 5 Golden Globe nominations.

This British movie is an adaptation of a play of the same name by iconic mystery author Agatha Christie, with a screenplay co-authored by Billy Wilder, who also directed the movie. Agatha Christie herself thanked Wilder for making what she considered the best movie adaptation of any of her books.

The cranky, miserable, cynical, portly senior barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Charles Laughton) has just had a heart attack. Unfortunately, he is under the care of a maternal, condescending, overbearing, and patronizing nurse Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester, Laughton’s real-life wife of 32 years). With her keen watchful eye, she does all she can to ensure that Robarts does not indulge in liquor, cigars, or taking on criminal cases.

The humorous conflicts between Robarts and Plimsoll that begin in a taxi cab right from the first scene are a delight, with a healthy dose of classic British humor. When they arrive at the barrister’s office, Robarts is his rude self with the staff but then is delighted to find out that his stairwell is equipped with an electric stair lift.

Just then, Robarts’ junior counsel (John Williams) brings in Leonard Vole (Tyrone Powers), who is accused of murdering an elderly woman at her home. Vole claims that his wife can provide his alibi. He proceeds to narrate the story of how he met his wife in Germany, where he served during the war. He soon married her and brought her back home to London. Vole also narrates how he had met the murdered woman and developed a “friendship” with her, frequently visiting her home. While Robarts is impressed with Vole’s charm and polite manners, he is not persuaded to take on the case.

When Vole leaves, his wife arrives (Marlene Dietrich) to meet Robarts and almost immediately makes a negative impression on Robarts, his junior counsel, and Plimsoll. She reveals to Robarts that she was still married to someone else when she met Vole and that Vole and she were never really married. While she agrees to provide Vole’s alibi, she seems to think of it as an exchange of favor to Vole for bringing her to the UK. As she was not Vole’s wife, British law allowed her to testify in the trial. Putting her on the stand would be a gift to the prosecution. It is also revealed that the murdered lady had left her entire estate to Vole in her will.

Sensing that Christine’s visible callous attitude would make her a terrible witness for the defense and that the will would provide enough motive for Vole to murder the wealthy old woman, Robarts takes on the case. His motivations are twofold. Robarts realizes that Vole will need an outstanding lawyer like himself to defend him. Secondly, he is not one to back off from a seemingly hopeless case.

So begins the courtroom battle to defend Vole. The murdered woman’s housekeeper, also an elderly woman, testifies for the prosecution. The housekeeper claims that she heard Vole’s voice in the house on the evening of the murder. Just when things seem almost hopeless for Vole, a mysterious revelation throws the case wide open. However, there are more twists in store. The movie’s end leaves most viewers open-mouthed in bewilderment.

Laughton, despondent after the box office failure of “Night of the Hunter,” resurrected both his career and his motivation with one of the most legendary performances of all time. He is ably supported by a brilliant cast. Interestingly, “Night of the Hunter” would gather praise and also make its mark as one of the best movies ever made. Tragically, this would not happen in Laughton’s lifetime.

The twists in the plot and the stellar performances of the cast make “Witness for the Prosecution” a treasured classic and a must-see for everyone. The screenplay, packed with flowery language and British wit, is a delight. This movie should be on just about anyone’s must-see list.