The Witness Chair

The Witness Chair

WHO WOULD BELIEVE THAT A WOMAN LIKE THIS WOULD KILL A MAN?

NR 1936 · 64 min · ★ 6.6 · Drama, Romance

Late one night, secretary Paula Young (Ann Harding) leaves the office of her boss, Stanley Whittaker (Douglas Dumbrille, locking the door and taking the stairs to avoid being seen by the elevator operator (Frank Jenks). The next morning, the cleaning lady finds Whittaker's dead body, an apparent suicide. Police Lieutenant Poole (Moroni Olsen) finds a letter signed by Whittaker in which the deceased states he embezzled $75,000. Soon, however, he suspects otherwise and, after investigating, arrests widower James "Jim" Trent (Walter Abel), the vice president of Whittaker.

Directed by George Nichols Jr. · Written by Rita Weiman

Your Rating

Cast

Ann Harding Paula Young
Walter Abel James Trent
Douglass Dumbrille Stanley Whittaker
Margaret Hamilton Grace Franklin
Frances Sage Constance Trent
Moroni Olsen Lt. Poole
William Benedict Benny Ryan
Paul Harvey Martin
Frank Jenks Roy Levino
Murray Kinnell Defense Attorney Conrick
Charles Arnt Mr. Henshaw
Maxine Jennings Tillie Jones

Make it a double feature

2h 21m together

The Witness Chair

Scandal Sheet

Both from George Nichols Jr..

More from George Nichols Jr.See all →

Scandal Sheet

Scandal Sheet · 1931

MovieDramaCrime

Confirming his principle that no one escapes the news, a tabloid editor prints a scathing story about his wife.

The Street of Sin

The Street of Sin · 1928

The Street of Sin

"Basher Bill," a retired prizefighter turned criminal, pretends to reform by joining a Salvation Army shelter in London run by a pious wraith named Elizabeth. Attracted to Elizabeth (although he is engaged to a street girl named Annie), Bill confesses to a bank robbery, has a spiritual revelation, and decides to go straight. His cast-off sweetheart reports him to the police; then, contrite, she warns Bill of the impending danger. Bill is captured immediately, but he escapes and sacrifices his life to save Elizabeth and the Salvation Army nursery when the rest of the gang use them as a human barricade against the police.

The Soldier and the Lady

The Soldier and the Lady · 1937

The Soldier and the Lady

MovieAdventureHistory

In the face of rebellion in Russia, Czar Alexander II sends soldier Michael Strogoff 2,000 miles away, with a critical message for Grand Duke Vladimir. On the train journey, Michael befriends a traveler and comes into contact with a mysterious spy, who both unexpectedly aid him in his quest. Once behind enemy lines, Michael is near his hometown and his mother, whom he must avoid in order to fulfill his mission.

The Silver Cord

The Silver Cord · 1933

The Silver Cord

MovieRomanceDrama

A domineering matriarch is less than happy when her son brings home his new bride. She immediately sets to work at sabotaging their marriage as well as the engagement of her younger and weaker son.

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages · 1916

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

MovieDramaHistory

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

Wife Savers

Wife Savers · 1928

Stationed in Switzerland after the Great War, soldiers Louis Hozenozzle and Rodney Ramsbottom both fall in love with local damsel Colette, much to the dismay of Colette's self-appointed boyfriend, General Lavoris. When Lavoris issues a fake order that all unmarried women must immediately take husbands, Hozenozzle weds Colette, at her request, to "save" her for the absent Ramsbottom. A lost film.

Chatterbox

Chatterbox · 1936

MovieComedyDrama

Teenage orphan Jenny Yates becomes starstruck when a revival of an old Victorian melodrama passes through her small New England town, to the disapproval of her stern grandfather, Uriah. Stowing away in the car of Philip Greene, a wealthy young man working with the theater troupe, Jenny talks her way into the play's lead role. But director Archie Fisher doesn't tell her that the new version of the play is meant as a spoof.

The Port of Missing Girls

The Port of Missing Girls · 1928

The Port of Missing Girls

Neglected by her moneyed parents and disillusioned with her boyfriend Buddie Larkins, vocalist Ruth King joins a school for stage and fancy dancing, thus playing into the hands of DeLeon, ....

Army Girl

Army Girl · 1938

MovieComedyAction

A young captain hoping to replace the U.S. Army's horses with mechanized vehicles faces court-martial after his commanding officer, who's opposed to modern changes, is killed.

The Big Game

The Big Game · 1936

MovieDramaRomance

A quarterback stands against gangsters out to control the college sports scene.

Double Harness

Double Harness · 1933

MovieComedyRomance

After tricking him into marriage, a woman tries to win the love of her philandering husband.

Finishing School

Finishing School · 1934

Finishing School

MovieDramaRomance

Virginia, who studies at a boarding school for upper-class girls, falls in love with a medical intern who works as a waiter for a living. Both the director of the school and her mother oppose such a relationship.

The Devil's Holiday

The Devil's Holiday · 1930

The Devil's Holiday

MovieDramaRomance

Beautiful manicurist Hallie Hobart sets her sights on handsome David Stone, the son of wealthy wheat farmer Ezra Stone. Professing to hate men, Hallie is only interested in luring David in for a lucrative business deal. David easily falls in love, but older brother Mark brands Hallie a gold-digger. To get even with the straight-laced Stone family, Hallie accepts David's marriage proposal.

A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms · 1932

A Farewell to Arms

MovieDramaRomance

A tale of the World War I love affair, begun in Italy, between American ambulance driver Lt. Frederic Henry and British nurse Catherine Barkley. Eventually separated by Frederic's transfer, tremendous challenges and difficult decisions face each as the war rages on.

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu · 1929

The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu

MovieCrimeRomance

A Chinese doctor vows revenge against the allied troops who killed his wife and child during the Boxer Rebellion.

The Mighty

The Mighty · 1929

MovieActionDrama

In this melodrama set during WWI, a gangster joins the army and is promoted to major. He then returns from war torn Europe to tell a family that their beloved son had died in his arms during a battle. The major then falls in love with the late soldier's sister and decides to accept a position in town as the new police commissioner.

More Like This

Platoon

Platoon · 1986

As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.

Holes

MovieAdventureFamily

After being wrongfully convicted for stealing a pair of shoes, Stanley Yelnats is sent away to Camp Green Lake, a boys detention facility where inmates are forced to dig holes all day in the hot desert sun as a form of character building. As he endures the brutal routine, Stanley begins to uncover a hidden truth behind the camp, one that connects to a dangerous secret—and possibly Stanley’s family itself.

In the Heat of the Night

In the Heat of the Night · 1967

In the Heat of the Night

MovieCrimeDrama

African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.

Tell No One

Tell No One · 2006

MovieDramaThriller

A man receives a mysterious email appearing to be from his wife, who was murdered years earlier. As he frantically tries to find out whether she's alive, he finds himself being implicated in her death.

Enemy of the State

Enemy of the State · 1998

Enemy of the State

MovieActionDrama

When the videotape of the murder of a congressman unknowingly ends up in the hands of labor lawyer and dedicated family man Robert Clayton Dean, he is framed for the murder. With the help of the mysterious Brill, Dean attempts to throw the NSA off his trail and prove his innocence.

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason · 2004

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

MovieComedyRomance

Bridget Jones is still dating her new love, barrister Mark Darcy, for a perfect six weeks. However, while on assignment in Thailand with her disreputable ex, Daniel Cleaver, claiming to be reformed, Bridget questions if she has everything she's ever dreamed of having.

Square One

Square One · 2019

MovieDocumentaryCrime

An investigation into the original 1993 Michael Jackson allegations brought by the Chandler family.

Children of Paradise

Children of Paradise · 1945

Children of Paradise

MovieDramaRomance

In a chaotic 19th-century Paris teeming with aristocrats, thieves, psychics, and courtesans, theater mime Baptiste is in love with the mysterious actress Garance. But Garance, in turn, is loved by three other men: pretentious actor Frederick, conniving thief Lacenaire, and Count Edouard of Montray.

Silver Streak

Silver Streak · 1976

MovieComedyCrime

A somewhat daffy book editor on a rail trip from Los Angeles to Chicago thinks that he sees a murdered man thrown from the train. When he can find no one who will believe him, he starts doing some investigating of his own. But all that accomplishes is to get the killer after him.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame · 1956

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

MovieDramaHorror

In 1482 Paris, Frollo, Chief Justice of benevolent King Louis XI, becomes infatuated by the beauty of Esmeralda, a young Romani girl. The hunchback Quasimodo, Frollo's protégé and bell-ringer of Notre Dame, lives in peace among the bells in the heights of the immense cathedral until he's involved by the twisted magistrate in his malicious plans to free himself from Esmeralda's alleged spell, which he believes to be the Devil's work.

Young Mr. Lincoln

Young Mr. Lincoln · 1939

Young Mr. Lincoln

MovieDramaHistory

In this dramatized account of his early law career in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln is born into a modest log cabin, where he is encouraged by his first love, Ann Rutledge, to pursue law. Following her tragic death, Lincoln establishes a law practice in Springfield, where he meets a young Mary Todd. Lincoln's law skills are put to the test when he takes on the difficult task of defending two brothers who have been accused of murder.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter