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Witness for the Prosecution · 1957 — 第 15 / 27 章 · 4'23" · B2

Hearne Testifies About the Prints, Explained：take someone by surprise

The court hears how Mrs French died: one blow, no struggle, a staged break-in, and Leonard's fingerprints. Underneath, the case rests on a single word — whether the attacker caught her "by surprise." Sir Wilfrid pounces when Myers calls the assailant "the murderer," and the judge makes Myers rephrase. It is a battle over grammar that could decide a man's life.

あらすじ

At home, a doctor treats Sir Wilfrid with calcium injections, nitroglycerin and hourly pills, while Miss Plimsoll confiscates his cocoa — he's not above lacing it with brandy. Then it moves to the Central Criminal Court, where Inspector Hearne describes Mrs French's death: one blunt blow, no signs of a struggle, a staged break-in, and fingerprints belonging to the victim and Leonard Vole.

CourtroomAt the doctorExplainingWarningB2mediumbritishClean
IMDb ↗

注目の表現

take someone by surpriseput words in the witness' mouthwash downnot above substituting

00:00 / 04:23
Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
  24. ❝ 独白objection speech4 行練習ページ ↗
セリフをタップするとそこから再生

このシーンの表現

take someone by surprise

catch someone off guard

Myers asks the medical officer whether a single blow means Mrs French was caught off guard.

Never let an interview take you by surprise.

このシーンの他の表現

  • put words in the witness' mouth

    say what someone did not

  • wash down

    help swallow with liquid

  • not above substituting

    willing to do even that

  • superfluous

    unnecessary, surplus

  • signs of a struggle

    marks of a fight

このシーンのメモ一覧

58 行のセリフに 24 件のメモ

表現 · B2be descended from someone

be a descendant of

It may interest you to know that I am descended from a warrior family which traces its brave past back to Richard the Lion-Hearted.
表現 · C1trace something back to something

trace back to

It may interest you to know that I am descended from a warrior family which traces its brave past back to Richard the Lion-Hearted.
文法 · B2which traces its brave past

relative clause: The which-clause describes the warrior family and how far its history reaches.

It may interest you to know that I am descended from a warrior family which traces its brave past back to Richard the Lion-Hearted.
文法 · B2You're to have

be to: Be to states a fixed instruction, here a daily injection the doctor orders.

You're to have a calcium injection daily, - tranquillising pill every hour. - I'll set my wristwatch alarm.
表現 · B2suffer from shortness of breath

difficulty breathing

Any pain or shortness of breath, pop one of these nitroglycerin tablets
スラング · B1pop one

take one quickly — Casual word for taking a pill; not formal medical talk.

Any pain or shortness of breath, pop one of these nitroglycerin tablets
表現 · B1place something under your tongue

beneath the tongue

under your tongue. Oh, and I'll leave you some...
表現 · B1wash something down

help swallow the pills

- Helps me wash down the pills. - Let me see it, please.
表現 · B1watch your temper

control your anger

Watch your temper. Keep your blood pressure down.
表現 · B2keep something down

hold your blood pressure down

Watch your temper. Keep your blood pressure down.
発音Watch your

Watch your runs together, with your reduced to a soft yer.

Watch your temper. Keep your blood pressure down.
表現 · B2signs of a struggle

marks of a fight

The prosecution asks whether there were signs of a struggle, and the officer says there were none.

Were there any signs of a struggle?
表現 · B2take someone by surprise

catch someone off guard

Myers asks the medical officer whether a single blow means Mrs French was caught off guard.

Would that indicate that the murderer had taken Mrs French by surprise?
表現 · B2catch someone on something

trip you up on

Mr Myers, Sir Wilfrid has joined us just in time to catch you on a point of grammar.
発音catch you

Catch you links into a single sound like ketch-ya.

Mr Myers, Sir Wilfrid has joined us just in time to catch you on a point of grammar.
表現 · C1solicit something from someone

extract from someone

My lord, I am taken by surprise that my learned friend should try to solicit from the witness an opinion, not a fact.
表現 · B2withdraw a question

take back the question

My lord, I withdraw the question entirely.
表現 · B2be strewn about

scattered around

Yes. Things were strewn about and the window had been broken near the catch.
表現 · B2be consistent with something

match, agree with

The glass outside was not consistent with the window being forced from the outside.
文法 · C1the window being forced

gerund clause: The gerund clause the window being forced names the act of forcing the window.

The glass outside was not consistent with the window being forced from the outside.
発音forced from the

Forced from the runs together, with the barely sounded.

The glass outside was not consistent with the window being forced from the outside.
表現 · B2put words in someone's mouth

say what he did not

My lord, I must object. My learned friend is putting words in the witness' mouth.
表現 · B2break into a place

force entry into a home

when burglars or burglaresses break into a house, do they leave without taking anything?
スラング · B2burglaresses

a coined word for a female burglar — A joking coinage; not a real English word.

when burglars or burglaresses break into a house, do they leave without taking anything?

「Hearne Testifies About the Prints」を読み解く

What's really going on

The murder facts do the talking: "Death was instantaneous, caused by one blow from a heavy and blunt instrument," and "None. Just the one blow." No struggle, nothing stolen, and a window broken from the inside — the prosecution's own evidence hints the scene was arranged. Myers wants the inspector to agree the killer took Mrs French "by surprise," letting him suggest a planned, cowardly attack; Sir Wilfrid blocks him, pointing out the assailant might as well be female. When Myers keeps answering his own questions, the judge sides with Sir Wilfrid: "the presence of the witness would seem superfluous." Meanwhile the medical framing keeps Sir Wilfrid alive and under watch — he wins the round but is being managed by everyone around him.

Theme

JusticeA murder trial turns on one word — murderer or murderess — showing how fragile and verbal the search for truth can be.
DeceptionA staged break-in and a lawyer's leading questions suggest the evidence itself may be arranged to mislead.

このチャプターで学べること

  • Fingerprints and fake glass tell the story of a staged break-in.
  • A single blow suggests the killer took her by surprise.
  • Grammar becomes a weapon in Sir Wilfrid's objection.
  • The judge's dry humour keeps the room in order.

発音のポイント

  • Watch your — Watch your runs together, with your reduced to a soft yer.
  • catch you — Catch you links into a single sound like ketch-ya.
  • forced from the — Forced from the runs together, with the barely sounded.
This is ridiculous. Just nervous heartburn. I always get it the first day of a trial.

Sir Wilfrid dismisses his own nerves as heartburn, revealing how much he hates being kept from court on the opening day.

It may interest you to know that I am descended from a warrior family which traces its brave past back to Richard the Lion-Hearted.

He answers medical orders with pompous family pride, insisting he is a fighter, not an invalid.

Mr Myers, Sir Wilfrid has joined us just in time to catch you on a point of grammar.

The judge rules that Sir Wilfrid may object to Myers calling the attacker "the murderer" before anyone has been convicted.

After all, if he insists on answering his own questions, the presence of the witness would seem superfluous.

Sir Wilfrid's dry jibe: if Myers keeps answering for the witness, there is no point having the witness there at all.

このシーンについての質問

Why does the inspector's own evidence suggest the break-in was staged?

The glass outside does not match a window forced from the outside, and nothing was stolen — details that undercut the idea of a burglary gone wrong.

Who is Myers questioning when Sir Wilfrid objects to the word "murderer"?

Inspector Hearne. Myers calls the attacker "the murderer" before anyone is convicted, and Sir Wilfrid seizes on the wording, noting it could have been a "murderess".

Is it fair for the judge to side with Sir Wilfrid over a point of grammar?

The judge only asks Myers to rephrase, since a witness should give facts, not opinions. Myers then withdraws the question, so the point stands but the trial goes on.

What does "superfluous" mean here?

Unnecessary. Sir Wilfrid jokes that if Myers keeps answering his own questions, there is no point having a witness at all.

Why does Myers want Hearne to say the killer took Mrs French by surprise?

A surprise attack implies planning and suggests the victim could not resist, strengthening the case that this was deliberate murder rather than a bungled burglary.

情婦 · 全 27 章

すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 16 章account forThe Bloodstained Jacket in Court
第 1 章put it in mothballsSir Wilfrid Goes Home第 2 章when her back is turnedSir Wilfrid Hides Cigars in His Cane第 3 章circumstantial evidenceVole Tries to Hire Sir Wilfrid第 4 章in the hands ofLeonard Tells Sir Wilfrid His Story第 5 章not cricketHow Vole Met Mrs French第 6 章a hot potatoLeonard Recounts the Night of the Murder第 7 章with flying coloursInspector Hearne Arrests Leonard第 8 章call it what you likeChristine Vole Meets the Lawyers第 9 章a way with womenChristine and the Green Socks第 10 章worships the ground I walk onChristine Denies She's His Wife第 11 章on the chance thatWilfrid Photographs Vole in Prison第 12 章gave someone ideasLeonard Meets Christine in Hamburg第 13 章clutching at a razor bladeVole Tells How He Married Christine第 14 章to a pointLeonard Vole Pleads Not Guilty再生中 · 第 15 章take someone by surpriseHearne Testifies About the Prints第 16 章account forThe Bloodstained Jacket in Court第 17 章hither and thitherJanet McKenzie Takes the Stand第 18 章a scheming rascalWilfrid Cross-Examines the Housekeeper第 19 章an accomplice toChristine Testifies Against Vole第 20 章a chronic and habitual liarMyers Destroys Christine on the Stand第 21 章shed new light onSir Wilfrid Calls Leonard Vole第 22 章establish an alibiMyers Cross-Examines Leonard Vole第 23 章wild-goose chaseThe Call About the German Wife第 24 章on the slySir Wilfrid Buys the Letters第 25 章a pack of liesSir Wilfrid's Blue Letter Trap第 26 章dispose ofVole Is Found Not Guilty第 27 章call someone namesChristine Reveals Leonard Was Guilty
第 15 / 27 章 · 残り約 45 分