Leonard Vole has been accused of murder and is to stand trial for the crime he claims not to have committed. He appeals to famous barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts and his team of solicitors to reveal the truth and save him from a hanging. Vole is married to a German lady, Christine, and we're served up with a flashback as to how they met in Berlin, when she was an actress/entertainer and he, just finishing duty as a soldier in WWII.
Leonard has recently befriended a charming lady, Emily, who is the victim of murder. She lives in a posh London house with her cantankerous old live-in help, Janet. Janet takes an instant disliking to Leonard, but Emily is charmed by him and enjoys his attention, having lost her husband some time back. We spend some more flashback time getting to know how the two met and a little insight into their friendship.
Turns out that Emily had recently changed her will and left a huge lump of cash to Leonard, which was previously going to Janet - so we can, by now, see the first of many complications which lead the prosecution to believe that he bumped her off, having gained her confidence, for the loot.
As usual with Agatha Christie stories, there are characters written in with comic elements and Sir Wilfrid Robarts is mainly the one here. The ageing barrister is decidedly unwell, the medics have told him to retire, he has a live-in nurse who keeps badgering him to stop smoking, drinking and generally enjoying himself but he can't resist getting involved in this, apparent, one last case. He's played by Oscar-nominated Charles Laughton very engagingly - like a Winston Churchill-a-like!
The films then turns into something of a courtroom thriller with Robarts' side-kick John Williams (Dial M for Murder) defending the man, whilst Torin Thatcher goes at them as prosecutor, Mr Myers. We spend quite a lot of time in court as the case unravels, unexpected turns of events happen, people not quite who we think they are or at least not with the agenda we think they might have, truth and lies to unpick and see through - there's plenty going on and I really shouldn't spoil anything more here - as it's such fun to be a part of the unfolding, twists and turns, heading towards the finale.
Tyrone Powers plays Vole charmingly, straight out of 1950's post-WWII England and Marlene Dietrich, his wife, who we get to hear sing, watch dance and act in amongst all the chaos, blood, alibis, mystery and thrills. The players all do very well and the 'wooden' appearance of their characters genuinely feels like it's a reflection of the era, not lousy acting! Nor should it be, with a cast like this for the day.
It's a rip-roaringly fun mystery thriller which is just shy of two hours, but those two hours fly by as the director totally engages the viewers, even all these decades later. Thoroughly recommended if you haven't seen it and can enjoy the twisty-turny. Suspect everyone of everything! It's very funny during the end credits where there's a comically threatening audio announcement that people having seen this film are not to tell any of their friends who haven't, about the outcomes - very Mouse Trap!
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