Marlene Dietrich as Christine Vole in the 1957 film version.
In the stage play Witness for the Prosecution, Romaine Vole (real name Romaine Heilger) poses as the wife of Leonard Vole.
The Romaine of the play and the films based on it is older than her literary counterpart.
Romaine appears in Act 1 and speak to Sir Wilfrid Robards and the newly named Mr Mayhew, she tells the same story Vole said but, Robards and Mayhew clears shown by their less than positive reaction that her statement won't work.
In Act 2 she testifies as a Prosecution Witness, revealing that she lied and was forced to by her husband, he yells to the court that she is lying and it's clear that it's sealing his fate.
In Act 3 she dresses as the Cockney woman and presents Robards with the letters proving Vole's innocents and Romaine's perjury, she explains her reason is revenge after she was disfigured by her ex-boyfriend and before she can give more details she leaves into the fog.
However with the letters Romaine, when confronted snaps and confesses that she has lied.
After Vole is acquitted, Romaine is placed in the courtroom, then Robards and Mayhew are given the truth, Vole appears, he will pay for her Perjury lawyer but when she is talks about doing it for love, then he reveals that he is with someone else (the other woman of the cast list) and that she is means nothing to him.
He warns her that if she speaks about it now, she will be charged as accessory to murder, however in the moment she sees the knife he used to cut his wrist (to claim the blood on his shirt was his not French) and stabs him in the back and says to the empty Judge's Seat "guilty".
Adaptations[]
1957 film[]
In the 1957 film the character portrayed, by Marlene Dietrich, is renamed Christine Vole (real name Christine Helm). The character follows the same route as in the stage play, but there are some changes:
- When she speaks to Robards she fails the monocle test which is to see if she was honest enough to deal with the sun in her eyes.
- There is a scene showing how she and Leonard met in World War Two where she was singing in a beer garden and the male audience tear her costume.
- The Cockney woman scene is done in Euston Station rather than the chambers.
- When Vole goes leave Christine, she notices the knife to kill him with due to Robards' shining his monocle.
1982 film[]
The 1982 film is adapted from the stage play and the 1957 film. Christine is portrayed by Diana Rigg. Some of the changes are:
- Christine's personality is a lot more vulnerable in this version and more deserving sympathy than Dietrich's version.
- This version has scenes from the original story with the Cockney Woman scene done in the slums.
Trivia[]
- The fact that Romaine was the Cockney Woman was kept secret in the play with the audience promised to keep it secret like in The Mousetrap, Agatha Christie also suggested that the last cast member The Other Woman was placed in the cast list to trick the audience. (The Other Woman is Vole's new mistress.)
- The play's ending was added by Christie who was displeased by the short story's original ending.
- Dame Diana Rigg is the only actress to appear in another Christie piece, she was Arlena Marshall in 1982's Evil Under the Sun.
- Dietrich went to town with this role, she had a crush on Tyrone Powers, she had Charles Laughton teach her a Cockney accent and had Orson Welles design the make-up.
- The make-up for Dietrich's cockney woman was toned down, the original make-up made her look like a man.
- The Beer Hall scene was added to show off the famous Dietrich legs and for her to have a song.