Where to watch
Each link opens a search on that service. Checked 13 October 2026.
Streaming data from JustWatch
Witness for the Prosecution
1957
· Movie
· 116 min
A
MEANRANK
87/100
Where it ranks
- Mean Score #50
- IMDb #75
- Google retired #196
- Rotten Tomatoes #13
- Metacritic #458
- Letterboxd #45
+9 more
- Rotten Tomatoes Critics #30
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience #114
- Metacritic Critics #986
- Metacritic Audience #110
- Criticker #36
- Douban #2
- Kinopoisk #118
- AlloCiné #498
- Trakt #94
Every rating
76–100
out of 100
Mostly agreed
Lowest is Metacritic critics on 76, highest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 100.
See the films the platforms disagree about most →A renowned barrister agrees to defend a man accused of murdering a wealthy widow. The case seems hopeless until the defendant's wife provides a shocking alibi. The trial takes a dramatic turn when she becomes a witness for the prosecution, leading to a series of stunning revelations in the courtroom.
Details
- Director
- Billy Wilder
- Writers
- Billy Wilder, Harry Kurnitz
- Based on
- Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie
- Studio
- Edward Small Productions
- Released
- 17 December 1957
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English, German
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Rated
- NR
- Budget
- $3.0M
- Box office
- $9.0M
- Awards
- 3 wins, 13 nominations
This title elsewhere
Cast
Full cast (63) →
Awards & nominations
See all 16 →1 major award won · 3 wins from 16 nominations across 7 ceremonies
| Golden Globe Awards 1957 | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Elsa Lanchester | Winner |
| Academy Awards 1957 | Best Picture | Arthur Hornblow Jr. | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1957 | Best Director | Billy Wilder | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1957 | Best Actor | Charles Laughton | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1957 | Best Supporting Actress | Elsa Lanchester | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1957 | Best Film Editing | Daniel Mandell | Nominee |
| Academy Awards 1957 | Best Sound Recording | Gordon E. Sawyer | Nominee |
| Directors Guild of America Awards 1957 | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Billy Wilder | Nominee |
Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
More like this
Featured in
All lists →
On this list
16 September 2026
The best courtroom movies: sixteen films about judgement
The hearings, performances and private lives that make a legal decision more than a clever final speech.
29 October 2026
Why Batman works without superpowers—and when the films forget why
Fear, money, detective work and moral limits: four Batman films test what makes Bruce Wayne worth watching.
29 October 2026
Five great directorial debuts, ranked for what is already on screen
Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows, Get Out, Reservoir Dogs and Following: first features judged without borrowing greatness from the careers that followed.
29 October 2026
TV shows with Black female leads: four series worth arguing about
Insecure, Queen Sugar, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, ranked for character writing, dramatic range and the lives they make room for.
29 October 2026
Five great TV scores—and the scenes that explain why
Twin Peaks, Succession, Game of Thrones, Westworld and Stranger Things, judged for what their original music does inside the drama.
8 October 2026
Leonardo DiCaprio's films, ranked—and the performances inside them
Twenty-one selected films, with a closer look at the acting: comic timing, self-invention, wounded authority and the effort that sometimes shows.
16 September 2026
The best courtroom movies: sixteen films about judgement
The hearings, performances and private lives that make a legal decision more than a clever final speech.
29 October 2026
Why Batman works without superpowers—and when the films forget why
Fear, money, detective work and moral limits: four Batman films test what makes Bruce Wayne worth watching.
29 October 2026
Five great directorial debuts, ranked for what is already on screen
Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows, Get Out, Reservoir Dogs and Following: first features judged without borrowing greatness from the careers that followed.
29 October 2026
TV shows with Black female leads: four series worth arguing about
Insecure, Queen Sugar, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, ranked for character writing, dramatic range and the lives they make room for.
29 October 2026
Five great TV scores—and the scenes that explain why
Twin Peaks, Succession, Game of Thrones, Westworld and Stranger Things, judged for what their original music does inside the drama.
8 October 2026
Leonardo DiCaprio's films, ranked—and the performances inside them
Twenty-one selected films, with a closer look at the acting: comic timing, self-invention, wounded authority and the effort that sometimes shows.
Just released
See all →
Coming soon
Trailer — Witness for the Prosecution
×Full cast — Witness for the Prosecution
×
16 awards — Witness for the Prosecution
×
Golden Globe Awards
5 nominations, 1 won
| Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Elsa Lanchester | Winner |
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Charles Laughton | Nominee |
| Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama | Marlene Dietrich | Nominee |
| Best Director – Motion Picture | Billy Wilder | Nominee |
| Best Motion Picture – Drama | Nominee |
Academy Awards
6 nominations
| Best Actor | Charles Laughton | Nominee |
| Best Director | Billy Wilder | Nominee |
| Best Film Editing | Daniel Mandell | Nominee |
| Best Picture | Arthur Hornblow Jr. | Nominee |
| Best Sound Recording | Gordon E. Sawyer | Nominee |
| Best Supporting Actress | Elsa Lanchester | Nominee |
Directors Guild of America Awards
1 nomination
| Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Billy Wilder | Nominee |
David di Donatello Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Best Foreign Actor | Charles Laughton | Winner |
Online Film & Television Association Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Winner |
British Academy Film Awards
1 nomination
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Charles Laughton | Nominee |
Edgar Allan Poe Awards
1 nomination
| Best Motion Picture | Billy Wilder and Harry Kurnitz | Nominee |