Hostile Witness

Director: Ray Milland Ray Milland

Overview

In this psychological drama, the daughter of a British barrister is killed in a hit-and-run accident. Her bereaved father swears his revenge. When the man's neighbor is killed, the barrister finds himself accused of the death. He begins to wonder if he is not going stark raving mad.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/01/2023
UPC:	0883904243502
Original Release:	1968
Source:	MGM
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[monaural]
Language:	English
Time:	1:35:00
Sales rank:	46,942

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ray Milland	Simon Crawford - Q.C.
Sylvia Sims	Sheila Larkin
Felix Aylmer	Justice Osborne
Raymond Huntley	John Naylor
Geoffrey Lumsden	Maj. Hugh Maitland
Norman Barrs	Charles Milburn
Percy Marmont	Sir Matthew Gregory
Dulcie Bowman	Lady Gregory
Ewan Roberts	Hamish Gillespie
Richard Hurndall	Inspector Elsy
Ronald Leith-Hunt	Dr. Wimborne
Sandra Fehr	Joanna Crawford
Edward Waddy	Usher
Maggie McGrath	Julia Kelly
Ballard Berkeley	Court Clerk

Technical Credits

Ray Milland	Director
David E. Rose	Producer

Editorial Reviews

A really well-done courtroom thriller makes everything look so easy that it takes a film like Hostile Witness to make one appreciate how hard it is to create a satisfying film of this sort. Witness is not a disaster, but it's a fairly unengrossing little exercise that tries the patience of the viewer. One of Witness' flaws is that it's a bit confusing, but that fact alone doesn't have to be a detriment; one need only look at The Big Sleep to see how a totally confusing film can still be an incredible cinematic joyride. The problem with the confusion in Witness is that neither the scenarist nor the director finds a way to keep one's mind off this flaw; there's simply not enough originality here to make one shrug and forget the problems. As a result, the credibility gap that can be common in this type of film becomes very noticeable in Witness and hard to ignore. Perhaps if director Ray Milland had any visual flair or a real feel for creating suspense, Witness would have worked better; but he doesn't and as a result the film too often just lays there. Milland fares slightly better as an actor, but this is not one of his better performances; he strains and pushes entirely too much. Aside from Sylvia Sims, no one else comes across particularly well either.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler