is punished by her as swiftly as possible. She has already been shown to be a dangerous adversary, for she has duped Sir Wilfrid and the entire courtroom. She has done so indeed with her acting ability, another characteristic of Wilder's femmes fatales, a characteristic that allows them to fool others and sometimes to fool themselves. Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity uses her abilities to bend men to her will. Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard is also a powerful presence, but in the end she leads herself into insanity. Christine Vole in Witness for the Prosecution is clearly a capable and strong women, and her husband forgets just how strong when he uses her and then tries to cast her aside.
The working out of the plot between husband and wife at the end of the film takes place before Sir Wilfrid almost as if he were watching a play. Wilder's characters have a certain theatricality which makes them seek an audience even for their most personal and threatening acts. The killers in
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