Witness to Murder (1954)

In the fifties, the dubbing of foreign movies, who treated the subject Nazis or ex-Nazis, were often different from the original. And because nearly all foreign movies and TV-shows had been dubbed in German, nobody realized the difference. Today, of course, you can find all the information on the web. In the German dubbed version the name of the murderer is Gabor Rethy. In the German version, also the scenes are cut out, where Richter is referred as an old Nazi, there is also a different version of the book cover. Besides that, this movie is a very fine example of a film noir, with great actors as Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders and Gary Merrill.

A woman (Barbara Stanwyck)'s sanity comes into question, after she claims to have witnessed a murder from her apartment window.So, this film has the interesting distinction of coming out around the same time as "Rear Window" and shares some plot similarities -- the basic premise that a murder is witnessed out a window and the police do not believe the viewer. Due to the timing, this film has become rather obscure... how do you compare to Hitchcock? But we have just as good of a thriller with plot twists and turns, and some unexpected developments. Was it a hallucination? Or is she being tested by the killer? One can never be too sure, as she is without the faintest shred of evidence.

Witness to Murder (1954) ** 1/2 (out of 4)Great performances are somewhat wasted in this thriller that simply has way too many logical problems to really work. Cheryl (Barbara Stanwyck) wakes up one night and looks across the street to an open window where she sees a man (George Sanders) kill a woman. Cheryl goes to the police but they don't believe her and after a while they start to think she's the one that is crazy. She strikes up a relationship with the lead detective (Gary Merrill) but the only person who knows she's telling the truth is the killer himself. WITNESS TO MURDER features three great performances from the leads but sadly there are just way too many logic issues that keep this from being a complete winner. As many other reviewers have pointed out, there were times where I wanted to jump through the screen and just smack the detective and those helping on this case. It doesn't help that right from the start no one is taking the woman serious because if anyone had done the smallest amount of work then there were all sorts of signs that she was telling the truth. Another big problem is that the Sanders character can pretty much do whatever he wants, no matter how silly it is, and the police will never question it. After a while you pretty much just have to throw your hands in the air. Another major problem I had was with the music score, which was just constantly on and being way too dramatic for its own good. With that said, the three leads really make the film worth watching and especially Sanders who is terrific as the villain. He does a great job at playing this rather dark character and I loved the way the actor played it up to scare Stanwyck while playing it cool and collective whenever facing the police. Director Roy Rowland does a nice job with the ending, which contains some suspense but sadly the screenplay doesn't give him more to work with.

***SPOILERS*** Actually released three months before the very similar 1954 Alfred Hitchcock color crime classic "Rear Window" the black & white crime thriller "Witness to Murder" has a woman Cheryl Draper, Barbara Stanwyck, watch in horror outside her window as her next door neighbor Albert Richter, George Sanders, strangle a woman later to be identified as Joyce Stewart, Lyn Thomas,in his apartment.Reporting the incident to the police Cheryl is shocked to find out that there's no evidence or a dead body to have Richter arrested for the crime he "supossidtly" committed. The well spoken, in both German & English, and sophisticated Richter an ex-Nazi and now both historical writer and engaged to marry mega rich widow Mrs. Overhill plans to put the squeeze on Cheryl by either making her look or driving her insane in order to get her out of his hair. Richter plans start a new Nazi movement, with Mrs. Overhill's millions, here in the USA with him becoming the leader or "Fuhrer" of it.The accusations about Richter by Cheryl go completely over the head of investigating LAPD detective Larry Mathews, Gary Merrill, who despite falling in love with Cheryl can't believe a word she says. That's how skillful Richter spins a web of deception in making Cheryl look as nutty as a fruitcake in her accusations against him! Richter is so good in making Cheryl look nuts that she's put against her will into the psycho ward of the L.A Municipal Hospital for mental observation!What turns out to be Richter biggest mistake is his thinking that he's actually an invincible "Aryan Superman" or Nazi and in his complete and total arrogance admits to Cheryl his crime in him tinkling that no one would believe her! This off the wall nut-case felt that Joyce, a local hooker, had outlived her usefulness and thus disposed of her like he would a used Kleenex tissue after having a last fling with her!We as well as Cheryl get a real good insight in how Richter's sick mind works when in the middle of a sentence he breaks out in his native German boasting how his crazed and Nazi like ideas will become the new world religion with him being the "Big Man" in charge of it!***SPOILERS*** Cheryl running for her life as well as freedom,in her about to be put in a mental asylum, with both Richter and the LAPD that includes Larry Mathews in pursuit is trapped on top of a 30 floor high-rise construction site with Richter, in trying to make it look like a suicide, about to push her off. It's then that Larry realizes that Cheryl was right about Richter all along and instead of having her arrested and put away tries to keep Richter from murdering her! As a reward for his both insanity and criminality, both in Germany and here in the USA, Richter gets a final send-off when he slips and falls, in his attempt to murder Larry, by dropping down or getting shafted an 300 foot elevator shaft and in the process breaking dozens of wooden boards as well as all his bones before he finally hits bottom!