Excellent movie. You can never go wrong with Billy Wilder. If you enjoyed Charles Laughton as an actor, watch what he did as a director “Night of the Hunter “.

For another courtroom drama, how about "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959), directed by Otto Preminger and starring Jimmy Stewart, Ben Gazzarra, and Lee Remick?

Charles Laughton was quite the actor, he was amazing in the 1939 movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" from 1939, and as Captain Bligh in "Mutiny on the Bounty" from 1935, as well as many other movies. They are worth watching.

See Tyrone Power in the original Nightmare Alley

2:28 - The fantastic partnership of Charles Laughton and his eccentric and wonderful wife, Elsa Lanchester!  She was the Bride of Frankenstein, Katie Nana in the beginning of "Mary Poppins" and, oh, Anne of Cleves to Laughton's Henry VIII in "The Private Life of Henry VIII", which is a hoot and an holler of a movie.
3:33 - Remember this elderly gentleman, the immortal Ian Wolfe, who was in almost everything, and almost always looked about 100 years old.  I first noticed him as Hirsh the butler in "WKRP in Cincinnati", where he could steal a scene simply by raising an eyebrow.

5:49 - And here is Henry Daniells, whom you may have seen in "The Philadelphia Story", if you've had that chance.  Often playing the slimiest of villains, Daniells here takes a break and plays nice.

7:20 - And here, of course, is Tyrone Power, in one of his last appearances before his untimely death, brought on by losing a struggle with substance abuse.  He was a lithe and handsome leading man, a sort of equal and opposite to Errol Flynn, and our family loved him in "Mark of Zorro".  He often played a Spaniard, which endeared him to our dad even more.

10:48 - Una O'Connor as Janet!  Another supporting player of priceless value.  You can enjoy another side of her energy in "The Adventures of Robin Hood", with Errol Flynn.

59:11 - Charles Laughton was one of the best there was - one of my favorites with him is a small, not well-known directing outing by David Lean:  "Hobson's Choice", also with a very young John Mills, and a great screen adaption of a then-popular play, and with a terrific score.  Laughton also shines in the comedy "Ruggles of Red Gap".  And he directed one movie himself, which was not appreciated in his day, but which is recognized as a gem now, "Night of the Hunter".  Marlene Dietrich, of course, is a legend.  Madeline Kahn took inspiration from her in "Blazing Saddles", but she was so much more than that.  You need to see her in things like "Blue Angel", "Scarlet Empress", "Judgement at Nuremberg", and many others.

Marlene Dietrich left Germany and became a huge star in America.  She fought the Nazis by raising money, selling war bonds, visiting hospitals and performing for the troups. She hated what they did to her homeland. She led a very interesting life. When the film roles grew scarce she performed in Las Vegas in her later years.

Shouldn't forget in this film Wilder was working  from the Agatha Christie play and I suspect 90%  of the script was already there in the play.  You have at least three Billy Wilder classics I believe you have not yet done, Stalag 17 , Sabrina and One Two Three,   Anoher excellent court room drama is Anatomy Of A Murder with Jimmy Stewart.  Three notes on Charles Laughton.  He made many excellent films over the course of 30 years with his Quasimodo in Hunchback of Notre Dame his absolute high point as an actor. The woman who played his nurse, Elsa Lanchester, was Laughton's real life wife.  Finally, as other have said in their comments, Laughton made only one film as a director, Night Of The Hunter.  It failed at the time but is now deservedly recognized as one of the best American movies ever made.

Marlene Dietrich was a well-known pin-up girl.  It is SHE who is lampooned in Blazing Saddles by Madeline Kahn, with her heavy German accent and her trouble pronouncing her "R's."  (Although Blazing Saddles actually mocked Dietrich in the 1939 Destry Rides Again, where she played a common trope of the era, the dance-hall madam with the heart of gold.  In this movie, Dietrich appears in a very short dress and fishnet stockings, and she straddles a straight-back chair as did Kahn.)

The statue of Justice on the dome of the Old Bailey was famously undamaged by the war but the building itself was hit and the scaffolding around the statue was to protect it during repairs. There is an in-joke in this movie: the film Tyrone Power watches when he encounters Mrs French's hat is "Jesse James," a movie Power made in 1939 (and well worth a watch). At the time, decent women would not go out of the house without wearing hats and they often had to be reminded to take them off in cinemas. Charles Laughton was one of the great actors, perfect in over the top characters. He was nominated for two Oscars, winning for "The Private Life of Henry VIII." I loved him in "It Started With Eve" from 1941 and he gave splendid performances in "Les Miserables" (1935), "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1935), and the very special "This Land is Mine" from  1943.

Great reaction--thank you. You may also like "Anatomy of a Murder" from 1959. Directed by Otto Preminger and starring James Stewart.

Have you watched Stalag 17? Another great Billy Wilder movie.

It's great to see young people who are now John Williams (the actor) fans and excited to see his name on the opening credits (and who like opening credits). Love you two.

One of my favorite films.

The Clinging Brunette who was Leonard's girlfriend was played by Ruta Lee.  She had a long career in movies and TV and is still alive today,

This is a terrific movie with the great Charles Laughton. Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester who plays his nurse are actually married during the making of This film and had been for many years so their chemistry came quite naturally.

I love courtroom dramas and this is one of the best.

This and1939  Hunchback of Notre Dame with Mareen O'Hara are 2 of my favorite movies of Charles Laughton

Dietrich suffered from rhotacism. She pronounced her 'r's as 'w's. (If you've seen Blazing Saddles, Madeline Khan does a star turn as the Dietrich-inspired Lili von Shtupp: "Meed me in my dwessing woom aftew the show") When Dietrich played Christine Vole playing the Cockney woman with the damning letter, she couldn't hide her speech impediment. The first time I saw this movie I realized that the 'informant' was Christine. I couldn't imagine, though, what she was up to.

"Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935) starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable.  An historical adventure drama, there is tension, harshness, and cruelty on HMS Bounty, and a breaking point has to come.  Big hit with the public at the time.  And 8 Oscar nominations including winning for Best Picture.  And for another movie that showcases Charles Laughton and his considerable talent, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939) with Laughton as the hunchback and Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda the beautiful gypsy.  From the famous novel.  Rotten Tomatoes rating is 93%.  IMDb has it at 7.8.  And Amazon responders love it at a 4.8 out of 5 rating

It's always  a pleasure to listen Charles Lawton,  Richard Burton and  Peter Ustinov speaking.
The head nurse is Lawton's real wife Elsa