WITNeSS FOR THe pROSecUTION

Hokum played to the hilt,” says Simon Callow of Billy Wilder’s Agatha Christie adap. And no one plays it better than Charles Laughton as the ailing but unassailable barrister defending murder suspect Tyrone Power (in his final role). The Oscar-nommed Laughton’s stair-lift shenanigans, monocle mischief and bickering with real-life wife Elsa Lanchester engross just as much as the courtroom dramatics. End credits implore punters not to blab the killer twists; even though you can spot one fake-out a mile off, this hokum still holds up. Matthew Leyland