"Witness To Murder" is a modest but entertaining thriller with some sensational cinematography and a couple of conspicuously good performances that more than compensate for its rather unremarkable plot. The story doesn't score high on originality or contain many twists but it is, nevertheless, very engaging because it's hard to resist the need to know how the plight of its main protagonist plays out. Some passages are also suspenseful and the climax is tense and exciting.
One night, Cheryl Draper (Barbara Stanwyck) witnesses the murder of a young woman in an apartment on the opposite side of the street to her own. She clearly sees the killer strangling his victim to death and then promptly telephones the police to report what she's seen. When Lieutenant Larry Mathews (Gary Merrill) visits the alleged murder scene, there is no dead body or any evidence of a crime having been committed and so he assumes that Cheryl must have imagined or dreamt the incident.
On the following day, Cheryl sees Albert Richter (George Sanders) pushing a large trunk into a station wagon and recognises him as the strangler. Through her own investigations, she discovers that there's a vacant apartment adjacent to Richter's in which he could have hidden the body when the police called and some marks on the floor seem to support this theory, as they indicate that something heavy had recently been dragged from one side of the room to the other.
Despite the fact that nobody is convinced by what she says, Cheryl keeps repeating her accusations and whenever she offers some further evidence of Richter's guilt, he cleverly provides a plausible explanation. The longer this goes on, the more convinced the police become that she's irrational and Richter exploits this situation by giving the police some letters (which he claims she wrote) that show that she's mentally ill and clearly intent on persecuting him. The police believe that the letters were written by Cheryl and soon after, have her committed to a mental hospital for observation. The ways in which she navigates her way through this experience and eventually devises a plan to convince the police of Richter's guilt are both intriguing and entertaining to watch.
George Sanders is tremendous as the villain of the piece and convincingly slimy as a seemingly sophisticated author who's actually a political fanatic and a callous murderer whose only motive is pure greed. Barbara Stanwyck is also excellent as the remarkably determined Cheryl who continues to persevere despite all the difficulties that she confronts. The way in which Stanwyck portrays Cheryl's mixture of fear and toughness is very well balanced and subtle and adds considerable interest to each new plot development.
An unexpected feature of this movie is John Alton's amazing cinematography which does so much to enhance the mood of the piece. The expert way in which light and shadow are used and camera angles are exploited to emphasise certain moments are truly outstanding as well as being aesthetically pleasing.
One night, Cheryl Draper (Barbara Stanwyck) witnesses the murder of a young woman in an apartment on the opposite side of the street to her own. She clearly sees the killer strangling his victim to death and then promptly telephones the police to report what she's seen. When Lieutenant Larry Mathews (Gary Merrill) visits the alleged murder scene, there is no dead body or any evidence of a crime having been committed and so he assumes that Cheryl must have imagined or dreamt the incident.
On the following day, Cheryl sees Albert Richter (George Sanders) pushing a large trunk into a station wagon and recognises him as the strangler. Through her own investigations, she discovers that there's a vacant apartment adjacent to Richter's in which he could have hidden the body when the police called and some marks on the floor seem to support this theory, as they indicate that something heavy had recently been dragged from one side of the room to the other.
Despite the fact that nobody is convinced by what she says, Cheryl keeps repeating her accusations and whenever she offers some further evidence of Richter's guilt, he cleverly provides a plausible explanation. The longer this goes on, the more convinced the police become that she's irrational and Richter exploits this situation by giving the police some letters (which he claims she wrote) that show that she's mentally ill and clearly intent on persecuting him. The police believe that the letters were written by Cheryl and soon after, have her committed to a mental hospital for observation. The ways in which she navigates her way through this experience and eventually devises a plan to convince the police of Richter's guilt are both intriguing and entertaining to watch.
George Sanders is tremendous as the villain of the piece and convincingly slimy as a seemingly sophisticated author who's actually a political fanatic and a callous murderer whose only motive is pure greed. Barbara Stanwyck is also excellent as the remarkably determined Cheryl who continues to persevere despite all the difficulties that she confronts. The way in which Stanwyck portrays Cheryl's mixture of fear and toughness is very well balanced and subtle and adds considerable interest to each new plot development.
An unexpected feature of this movie is John Alton's amazing cinematography which does so much to enhance the mood of the piece. The expert way in which light and shadow are used and camera angles are exploited to emphasise certain moments are truly outstanding as well as being aesthetically pleasing.