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Witness for the Prosecution · 1957 — 第 19 / 27 章 · 4'52" · B2

Christine Testifies Against Vole, Explained：an accomplice to

The prosecution's last witness is the defendant's own wife — except the court learns she is Christine Helm, already married when she wed Vole. She then testifies that he came home at ten past ten with blood on his cuffs and said, "I've killed her." Her explanation is colder than the confession: "I cannot go on lying to save him."

あらすじ

The prosecution calls its final witness, Christine Helm, not Mrs Vole. She reveals she was already married when she went through a ceremony with Vole, so she is not legally his wife and may testify against him. She then describes the night of the murder: Vole came home at 10:10 breathing hard, threw off his coat, checked the bloody cuffs, and told her he had killed the woman.

CourtroomInterrogationsConfessingConfrontingSpousesB2mediumbritishClean
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注目の表現

objection toso-calledwell-documentedbreathing hard

00:00 / 04:52
Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
  43. ❝ 独白the wife's confession12 行練習ページ ↗
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このシーンの表現

an accomplice to

a partner in crime

Christine calls herself an accomplice to the murder, blaming Vole for dragging her into it.

He was charged as an accomplice to the robbery.

このシーンの他の表現

  • objection to

    a formal protest

  • so-called

    so termed

  • well-documented

    fully recorded

  • breathing hard

    panting

  • threw off

    took off quickly

このシーンのメモ一覧

60 行のセリフに 20 件のメモ

表現 · B2the final witness

the last witness

No, my lord. I now call the final witness for the prosecution, Christine Helm.
文法 · C1this witness being summoned

gerund with subject: The gerund phrase turns the summoning of the witness into the object of the objection.

My lord, I have the most serious objection to this witness being summoned, as she is the wife of the prisoner.
表現 · C1draw attention to the fact that ...

point out that

I call my learned friend's attention to the fact that I summoned not Mrs Vole, but Mrs Helm.
発音in fact

The final t in fact is often dropped in quick speech.

- Your name, in fact, is Christine Helm? - Yes. Christine Helm.
発音went through a

Went through a links into a single run of sound.

I went through a marriage ceremony with him, but I already had a husband.
表現 · B2a so-called something

so termed

There is proof of a marriage between the witness and the prisoner, but is there any proof of a so-called previous marriage?
表現 · C1well-documented

fully recorded

Myers answers that the earlier marriage is well-documented, so the witness may testify.

My lord, the so-called previous marriage is, in fact, well-documented.
表現 · B2give evidence against someone

testify against

You're willing to give evidence against the man you've been calling your husband?
発音ten minutes past ten

The t in past merges with the t in ten, so the two almost fuse.

Leonard Vole returned, you say, at ten minutes past ten.
表現 · B1breathe hard

panting

Christine describes Vole coming home panting and agitated, her first hint that something was wrong.

- And what happened next? - He was breathing hard, very excited.
表現 · B1throw off a piece of clothing

took off quickly

Christine says he threw off his coat and checked the sleeves, a hurried, guilty gesture.

He threw off his coat and examined the sleeves.
スラング · B1awful

terrible — Everyday spoken word for something or someone you dislike.

- What an awful woman. - She's evil. I've known it all along.
表現 · C1gain control of oneself

calm down

I will adjourn for a short time so that the prisoner may gain control of himself.
表現 · B1go on doing something

keep lying

I cannot go on lying to save him.
表現 · B1be grateful to someone

thankful to

I said to the police what he wanted because I'm grateful to him.
文法 · B2It was gratitude, then, that prompted you

cleft sentence: The cleft sentence puts the stress on gratitude as the real reason she lied.

It was gratitude, then, that prompted you to give him an alibi - in your statement to the police? -
表現 · C1an accomplice to a crime

a partner in crime

Christine calls herself an accomplice to the murder, blaming Vole for dragging her into it.

That woman, she was a harmless old fool, and he makes of me an accomplice to the murder.
スラング · B2old fool

silly old person — Dismissive and unkind; fine about someone absent, rude to their face.

That woman, she was a harmless old fool, and he makes of me an accomplice to the murder.
表現 · B2come into court

appear in court

I cannot come into court and swear that he was with me at the time it was done.
文法 · B2at the time it was done

reduced relative clause: The clause drops when after time, a common reduction in everyday English.

I cannot come into court and swear that he was with me at the time it was done.

「Christine Testifies Against Vole」を読み解く

What's really going on

The twist is not that Christine lies, but that she tells a truth arranged to destroy him. The prosecution's whole problem with her was that a wife cannot easily testify against her husband; the solution is a name. "I went through a marriage ceremony with him, but I already had a husband" turns the loving wife into a legal stranger and makes her evidence admissible. From there she dismantles her own earlier statement: the alibi was never love, only "gratitude," and she had left out one detail — that Vole came home with blood and said, "I've killed her." Her final justifications are the cruellest lines in the film, because they sound like conscience: "I cannot go on lying to save him," and that he turned a "harmless old fool" into an accomplice. Wilfrid, hearing all of it, only asks that the story not be told "in instalments."

Theme

BetrayalChristine's testimony is the sharpest turn in the film: the wife becomes a legal stranger in order to destroy her husband in court.
LiesShe admits her earlier statement was false, and the courtroom must decide which of her two versions is the real lie.

このチャプターで学べること

  • A legal technicality frees the wife to testify.
  • Gratitude, not love, explains why she lied at first.
  • Blood on the sleeves is the detail that convicts him.
  • The calmest words in the room often do the most damage.

発音のポイント

  • in fact — The final t in fact is often dropped in quick speech.
  • went through a — Went through a links into a single run of sound.
  • ten minutes past ten — The t in past merges with the t in ten, so the two almost fuse.
I went through a marriage ceremony with him, but I already had a husband.

The legal knife: it makes her not Vole's wife at all, so she is free to testify against him — and it reframes their whole marriage as invalid.

That woman, she was a harmless old fool, and he makes of me an accomplice to the murder.

She casts herself as another victim of Vole's scheming, as if his asking her to help hide the crime made her his accomplice.

I cannot go on lying to save him.

Her stated reason for turning on him: she will not keep telling the alibi story, so the earlier kindness must give way to the truth.

He said "I've killed her."

The confession that seals the prosecution's case: Vole allegedly named the murder himself the moment he came home.

このシーンについての質問

Why does Christine testify as "Christine Helm"?

Because a wife could not easily be made to testify against her husband. By showing she already had a husband, the prosecution turns her into a legal stranger to Vole, so her evidence is allowed.

Did Christine lie to the police earlier?

She says she did. She claims she gave Vole an alibi in her police statement out of gratitude, because he married her and brought her to England, not out of love.

What did Vole supposedly say when he came home?

According to Christine, he arrived at ten minutes past ten, breathing hard, with blood on his cuffs, and told her, "I've killed her." That alleged confession is the heart of the prosecution's case.

Why does Christine say she cannot keep lying?

She calls Mrs French a harmless old fool and says Vole made her an accomplice to the murder. She refuses to swear in court that he was with her when the crime happened.

How does Vole react in court?

He shouts that she is lying and that it is not true, refusing to stay silent. The judge threatens to clear the court and offers an adjournment, but Wilfrid lets the testimony continue.

情婦 · 全 27 章

すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 20 章a chronic and habitual liarMyers Destroys Christine on the Stand
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再生中 · 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 19 / 27 章 · 残り約 28 分