Agatha Christie’s “The Witness for the Prosecution”: Truth, Lies, and a Perfect Performance
Christie published The Secret of Chimneys in 1925 and you can read an amusingly scathing review here. I am sure others may have more positive things to say.
But Christie also published something else that year – a short story that has had a remarkable second life in theatre, film and on TV.
“The Witness for the Prosecution” was first published in Flynn’s Weekly in 1925 under the melodramatic title “Traitor’s Hands”. It’s a crisp and snappy courtroom drama that centers on Leonard Vole, a charming young man accused of murdering Emily French, a wealthy older woman who had made him her principal heir.
Leonard insists on his innocence: he claims he merely befriended Miss French out of kindness, never expecting her to leave him money. But the circumstantial evidence is damning – he was last seen with her alive, and his financial troubles give him motive. In spite of the case against him his solicitor Mr.Mayherne believes in his innocence and sets about finding the evidence for his defense and to save him from the gallows.
Vole’s only potential alibi is his wife, Romaine. But things do not go smoothly. A bit of a creaking plot involves anonymous letters and evidence that Romaine’s story is false. The plot twists and turns and then everything is revealed and resolved – at least as far as the facts are concerned.
It’s a quick read. Who is performing? Who is lying? Who is innocent? Will justice be served?
When Christie later reworked it for the stage in 1953, she transformed the short story into a theatrical stand-by.
Billy Wilder adapted it into a film (1957), starring Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, and Marlene Dietrich, which added some Hollywood style while retaining the basic Christie plot. Here’s the trailer:
And here’s a trailer for a recent London theatre production
Saw Witness for the Prosecution on Talking Pictures TV recently…so many twists and turns and does the justice system eventually serve out Justice? The most spooky bit of it is the name..Leonard Vole…nothing anti voleist intended. It sounds sneaky. Marlene cast again as a cold seductress quite chilling.What is her allure?
Agree on the Vole. It’s a clue methink. As for the allure – is it the against-the-grain boundary crossing?
Great choice for 1925! I really enjoyed this story.
And the movie has an intriguing ending – more intriguing than in Christie’s story.
https://wordsandpeace.com/2025/10/22/three-reviews-for-the-1925-club/
There’s always a Christie in a club year, and usually two!
That’s one of the many things to look forward to!
Another good one! I have watched the movie adaptation more than once but confess I watch any film with Marlene more than once. Tyrone Power dashing anti-hero. And then there’s Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester for the icing on top. Splendid. Hollywood royalty on a Christie story…lawdy, lawdy, lawdy, Miss Claudy.
I thought I had seen the movie but it does not look familiar at all, so I suppose I only read the story.
I am reading Gentlemen Prefer Blondes so won’t read your review until I’ve done mine!
Thanks for this post and for the link back. I’m definitely up for giving Agatha Christie another chance so maybe this short story will be a way in.
It’s very short so there’s that going for it. There is some very creaky plot contrivance midway. If you get beyond that then the ending is is a bit of a shocker for those who think the purpose of crime fiction is to restore order in a morally disturbed world.
One of Christie’s successes, and I suspect more satisfying than Chimneys sounds!!