Great courtroom dramas that deliver the goods are like sunny winter days in North America’s Pacific Northwest rainforest – much sought-after, greatly appreciated, but rarely experienced. Anatomy of a Murder qualifies, and the story behind its production is almost as interesting as the movie itself.
The movie is adapted from a best-selling novel written by a Michigan judge in the mid-1950s. Although he swore it was pure fiction, the story was based on an actual murder that took place in his state in 1952. After complicated wrangling over the rights, Otto Preminger was set to make the film, with James Stewart in the lead role and Lana Turner second on the bill. However, a disagreement over wardrobe led to her departure. Turner’s loss was our gain, as Lee Remick stepped into the role and gave an admirable performance as the flirty, low-brow Laura Manion. In an equally interesting casting decision, Preminger gave the role of judge to a non-actor, Joseph N. Welch, whose face and voice were well known to Americans after his high profile battles with Joseph McCarthy during the televised Army-McCarthy hearings during the anti-communist hysteria of the blacklist era.
The story revolves around the killing of a bar owner by xxx Manion (Ben Gazzara), an army lieutenant who claims that he acted in a moment of insane anger following the rape of his wife (Laura) by the bar owner. Paul Biegler (Stewart) is an unambitious local lawyer who’s called in to represent Manion. He learns quickly that Manion and his wife will be a challenge to work with. Manion is a crude hothead and Laura is a shameless flirt who hits on Biegler at their first meeting, although her husband has just been dragged off to jail and she’s apparently been raped just a couple of days previously.
The story they piece together is one of rape and revenge, and an army psychiatrist assists by deciding that Manion was temporarily insane. But was he? And was Laura really raped?
Most of the film is spend in the courtroom, where Biegler battles the local district attorney and a slick D.A. brought in from elsewhere in the state to assist (George C. Scott). It’s great fun to watch them matching wits, especially when we’re not at all sure that the Manions are telling the truth.
The strengths of the film are too numerous to mention. The story is fascinating, the script well constructed, and the performances fabulous. Stewart is his usual smart, likeable self and Gazzara and Remick are wonderful as the not-so-likeable couple. The film has a light sense to it, even if the subject matter is heavy and the dialogue more explicit than you’d expect in a studio-produced 1950s feature. To top things off, Duke Ellington’s jazzy score is wonderful and entirely appropriate for the film.
If you’ve ever enjoyed a courtroom drama, you’ll agree that this is great entertainment, from the first strains of Ellington’s big band, right up to the closing twist.
