Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Lee Remick and James Stewart

'Anatomy of a Murder' is a dramatic courtroom movie made in 1959, directed by Otto Preminger and starring James Stewart, George C. Scott, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell, Eve Arden and Kathryn Grant.

The movie is an adaptation of the novel by John D. Voelker, a Michigan Supreme Court Justice, using the pen name Robert Traver. His novel was a best-seller and was based on a 1952 murder case in which he actually appeared as the attorney for the defense.

Search Amazon for 'Anatomy of a Murder'

The film received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor as well as Best Supporting Actor nominations for both George C. Scott and Arthur O’Connell, but won none in the year of the blockbusting 'Ben Hur', which cleeaned up. James Stewart did win the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Actor Award from the New York Film Critics Circle for his superb performance. In June 2008, the American Film Institute selected 'Anatomy of a Murder' as the seventh best film in its courtroom drama genre Top Ten.

The subject matter of the movie - a rape trial with explicit, descriptive language - was regarded as controversial when it was released and even today it can be seen as a cynical, no nonsense look at the American legal system and legal profession. It takes a close look at everything a small-town lawyer in northern Michigan does to prepare for the defense in court of a particularly unpleasant and violent murderer. The defendant is an army officer and the critical question of whether or not he was insane or temporarily insane, or merely feigning insanity, is never fully resolved. Unusually for a courtroom drama, it does not use flashback or show the murder or any of the scenes described in court, leaving it up to the audience to join the jury in making a decision about the defendant's guilt.

Preminger, typically, assembles a high quality cast of big names, led by the inimitable James Stewart who holds the whole thing together, and gives a sure and subtle performance in the starring role of the lawyer, Paul Biegler. He is ably supported by the beautiful Lee Remick, as the teasing Laura, George C. Scott as the unrelenting prosecuting attorney and Ben Gazzara as the volatile defendant, Frederick Manion. there are also excellent performances from Brooks West, Eve Arden, Murray Hamilton, and Kathryn Grant (wife of Bing Crosby).

The movie is beautifully acted, cleverly directed and enriched by a vibrant jazz score from Duke Ellington who himself appears briefly as the owner of a roadhouse. Overall 'Anatomy of a Murder' is a first class film, a very enjoyable courtroom drama, full of neat touches and with a masterly and exciting climax.