I think the novel is more powerful, with the final words of the wife, when she answers the question from the lawyer. Paraphrasing here, but..

"You did this (the letters) because you thought he was innocent?"

"Oh, no. I did it because I knew he was guilty."

And then it ends. Wonderful.

I imagine they wanted a name to sell it to the US market and Toby Jones was it, so they had to give him a big role ....

Fair enough, I thought the acting in that scene was tremendous. You could tell his wife hated him all the way through and was building up to something like that.

If I remember rightly in the 1957 film WFTP Vole's barrister is called Wilfred, who is helped by Miss Plimsoll

Agree with you.........Rubbish ending

Because they didn't like it? Or that they changed the ending?

I saw the film as quite a young child with my mother.

I can remember being terrified when Marlene Dietrich, her beret at an angle and her hair covering one cheek, pulled the hair back saying something about "Believe this ducky." And there was a horrific scar, hitherto unseen.

It doesn't help that I think Toby Jones is a shitty actor and I'm sick of him pitching up in endless TV shows and films. He's back again next week in Sherlock!

I agree. The 1957 film is superb.

Whovever wrote this isn't fit to write Midsommer Murders.

I'm going to stop watching these, 'cause when I watch 'Agatha Christie', I want to watch an Agatha Christie.

I had never read the story and never seen any other versions so was completely new to this and, sorry to say, I was pretty disappointed. Really there were only two suspects for the viewer to guess about - Vole and Janet. There really was very little suspense. As soon as Mayhew woke in hospital with Vole telling him he was going abroad, I knew he was guilty and that the girlfriend was probably in it along with him. I'm rubbish at guessing whodunnits but this was so easy to work out. As someone said further up the thread - I want my 2 hours back!

Frankly, she deserved to hang for that......biaaaatch

That could be it, because I will at least have a look at a show if he is in it. I think he is wonderful.

I probably read the original short story many years ago, as I read pretty much anything by AC, but I don't remember the ending (or that she wrote two endings as mentioned above). Also, I've only seen the Billy Wilder film version, and not any other one. Can anyone tell me what other versions there are, so I can look out for it.

So, the only comparison I have is with the Billy Wilder film version. Personally, I think that the film had a better story than this. And the comedy was an added bonus. Nothing wrong with this TV production in that it effectively did what it set out to do, but in my opinion the story in the film works better. Also, the Charles Laughton - Elsa Lanchester relationship over his illness worked well.

that was one of the best things I've seen ,,terrific story and acting by all...I felt choked by the smokey atmosphere,,,,,10/10

I agree with you. He was pretty poor in this. He always looks like he's acting. He should stick to comedy with The Play What I Wrote.

I agree.

Did Mayhew commit suicide in the end because of his wife's revelation or because he was wrong about the case ...or maybe both? Why did they bother with all that?

Only one version worth watching - the 1957 one.

She managed well enough with 'And then there were none' last year. Even then she took liberties. I can see her tinkering has annoyed a fair few. I know I get like that over new adaptations when I have seen the definitive version. I was disgusted with the Keira Knightley's Pride and Prejudice for example (although I think it is passable these days). I'm happy in my ignorance.

No, the Billy Wilder film is different.

It's been about 40 years since I've seen it. Must check it out again. Charles Laughton is my favourite actor.

Because he would have left the wife he still loved shamed as the widow of a murderer.

It was almost as if the murder case was just a side story to a main one about Mayhew.

I don't know why he's flavour of the month. I get distracted by his looks.....

SATM perhaps yes, but in those days she would have been shamed anyway as the widow of someone who committed suicide, so might as well have had an old style detective story "redemptive" ending. The whole thing was quite unsatisfying anyway.

It was: all that coughing and having awkward sex with his wife.... Did we need that?

BIB - Agreed she took liberties with 'And then there were none' but stuck to the basic storyline of 10 people being dead at the end - like the novel. I was actually glad they stuck to that ending rather than the adaptation done by Christie for the theatre/film to have 2 be innocent and survive.

But this adaptation of 'Witness for the Prosecution' was a dreadful adaptation - with the Christie story being a sub-plot to the Toby Jones's characters story. Awful.