Witness for the Prosecution - film

Themes of manipulation and deception can be considered one of Billy Wilder’s trademarks because they appear in many of his films. Whether the story involves men dressing up as women in Some Like It Hot, a struggling musician hiring a loose woman to act as his wife to impress a celebrity in Kiss Me Stupid, or a man deceiving a courtroom to be acquitted of murder in Witness for the Prosecution, Wilder utilizes themes of deception and manipulation to keep the stories interesting. Although many of Wilder’s films contain elements of manipulation and deception, Witness for the Prosecution best illustrates these themes because the film has been immersed, from beginning to end, with all sorts of deceiving elements ranging from props to masquerades and to false confessions. One of the first acts of deceit occurs within the first minutes of the film when Sir Wilfrid Robarts, a successful lawyer, returns to his office as he recovers from a heart attack. In this scene, his nurse, Miss Plimsoll, reveals her knowledge of Wilfrid’s scheme of hiding cigars in his can. The uncovering of this deception offers a vital glimpse of Wilfrid’s ability to deceive others by using his personal belongings as well as Miss Plimsoll’s ability to uncover her employer’s tricks. While Miss Plimsoll’s ability to see through Wilfrid’s tricks becomes a running gag throughout the film, such as the last line where she admits to knowing that he swapped his bottle of coco with brandy, this sequence delivers a bigger message. This sequence tells the audience that not everything will be the way it appears. While Miss Plimsoll may be able to detect Wilfrid’s deception without the use of any props, Wilfrid uses his monocle to determine a person’s honesty. Wilfrid can detect a person’s lie when he reflects light off his monocle and into their eyes because the light doesn’t distract an honest person from telling their side of the story whereas a liar can’t stand the reflection. When Leonard Vole, a man