Over & Overs: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 at 2:00PM In this series members of Team Experience share their feelings for movies they have watched multiple times and that they can never get enough of. Here's Michael Cusumano
I can’t remember what originally drew me to Anatomy of a Murder. I certainly never held strong feelings toward the courtroom genre in general or the films of Otto Preminger in particular. I do recall a youthful obsession with George C. Scott that might explain it; Dr. Strangelove and The Hustler both would both qualify as top contenders for this series.
Whatever path I took to Anatomy of a Murder, once discovered it was never far from my rotation. You would think courtroom movies would be ill-suited for repeat viewings since most are structured like mysteries where the truth is gradually forced out into the open. Once the secrets are spilled, what is left for the return visit? But therein lies the appeal of this surprisingly idiosyncratic title...
Anatomy of a Murder isn’t especially concerned with the sort of courtroom bombshells that leave the judge banging his gavel for “Order!” over the din of gasping spectators. The truth is obvious from day one and even the last-minute surprise witness is brought in to confirm what we already knew. This frees up the trial to be an elaborate dick-waving contest between the attorneys, an approach that is endlessly entertaining and feels a lot closer to the reality.
Put simply, Anatomy of a Murder is my favorite courtroom drama ever because both sides of the trial are utterly full of shit.
The defense knows their guy is 1000% guilty, having walked into a bar and shot an unarmed man five times. The victim had it coming, sure, but they can’t explicitly stake their defense on that. Instead they attempt to eke an acquittal out of an arcane legal loophole called “irresistible impulse” which amounts to something less than “legally insane” and a smidge more than “not guilty because I really, really wanted to shoot the guy”. The film even undercuts the supposed vigilante righteousness of the killing. The defendant executed the man who raped his wife, but the film is careful to note that it was less about justice and more about a violent brute asserting ownership over his property.
Even good ol’ Jimmy Stewart as the cagey proto-Matlock defense attorney doesn’t care about truth, and justice, so much as he’s sore over losing an election to the current district attorney (a dunce) and would enjoy nothing more than to give him a public legal pantsing. He seems reasonably satisfied that right is on his side, but it’s hardly a priority. Battered nobility is the default mode for most defense attorney protagonists. Stewart’s default is bemusement.
On the opposite side, the prosecution is led by a predatory George C. Scott. We sense that they probably realize the murdered man is a rapist who got what was coming to him, but they know better than to build a case around asking a jury to put aside emotion. So they put the rape victim on trial for being a tramp who was asking for it, cynically believing the jury will be a lot more receptive toward that line of attack. It should be noted that the film never shares this view, framing attacks on her character as a shameless smear from the prosecution and toxic jealousy from the husband; For a sixty-year-old film about salacious material it holds up shockingly well to modern sensibilities.
What really seals Anatomy’s rewatchability is that, in the end, the truth somehow manages to fight its way into the trial and a shaky version of justice actually does win the day. It’s one thing when a courtroom movie aims to inspire. It feels nice, but we’re instinctively skeptical. The film is selling something. But when a film this cynical says the system works, well, there’s something comforting in that.
Previously in Over & Overs...
- Moonstruck (1987) by Deborah
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) by Lynn
- My Girl (1991) by Camilla
- Sister Act (1992) by Kyndall
- The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) by Mark
- Sense & Sensibility (1995) by Claudio
- To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar (1995) by Chris
- Sugar & Spice (2001) by Spencer
- Marie Antoinette (2006) by Claudio
- Julie & Julia (2009) by Ginny
- Moonrise Kingdom (2012) by Ginny
Reader Comments (14)
I have only seen this once but this article makes me want to go back for seconds
I know Vertigo is the "correct" answer but I think this is my favorite Jimmy Stewart performance. There's so much joy in watching how he plays with the lovable Jimmy Stewart persona, turning it on and off at will, weaponizing it in the courtroom to suit his needs. Such smart work.
It's also incredibly smart about the legal system in ways few films are. I can't watch another legal show without think about it.
Lt. Frederick Manion : How can a jury disregard what it's already heard?
Paul Biegler : [shaking head] They can't, lieutenant. They can't.
This serves to remind me that we lost Lee Remick far too early when she lost her bout with kidney cancer at age 55. She was a glorious actress.
Duke Ellington's music on the soundtrack is one for the ages.
James : cosign on Remick. If you have never seen a miniseries from the 1980's entitled Nutcracker : Money, Madness, and Murder do yourself a favor and watch it. She is glorious in it.
Remick is underrated in this film,she has to sell so much.
Just (re)watched this last week! (Bless/thank you, Criterion Channel!) Remick is so underrated—periodt. It's marvellous to see her work her magic in early films of hers like A Face in the Crowd, this, and Experiment in Terror. Where's her retrospective?
P.S. Remick is awesome as the titular Snow Queen in that Faerie Tale Theatre ep.
I grew up in Upper Michigan, where the actual murder took place. And I currently live in Marquette, where the courthouse scenes were filmed. In fact, 'Anatomy of a Murder' is the first movie to be filmed entirely on location. That was at Preminger's insistence. Locals still talk about being hired as extras and to help crew, which was appreciated, as the UP was in a recession.
When I was later a TV intern in Traverse City, a reporter told me he was an extra on the film. His unofficial job was to be an escort for Lee Remick. Her new husband couldn't accompany her on location, so the future reporter's job was to take her out for dinner, etc. Such were the era's norms, but he was thrilled, of course!
What I love about 'Anatomy' is that it was perhaps the first modern courtroom drama that we're used to watching today. None of the old-time melodramatics, very straight forward, and a bit salacious, too.
Preminger deserves props for not just hiring Duke Ellington for the jazzy score, but to give him a part, and bring him to rural Upper MI circa 1959.
And big kudos to Otto for hiring real judge, Joseph N. Welch, who is not only a scene stealer, but the man who called out Joseph McCarthy's lack of shame in the Army-McCarthy hearings. Otto liked to stir things up!
I never tire of this movie when I'm in the mood for a smart, atmospheric court room drama.
Cheers, Rick
Rick - This is all fascinating. Thanks for sharing !
Jimmy Steward is mighty proud o this performance & he really thot he is gonna win his 2nd Oscar with it. Heston's victory is a surprise coattail win in the Ben Hur sweep (He din win ANY precursor, not even GG up to tt point)
Lee Remick is nom for a GG (Drama) and the only actress fr tt line-up not nom by Oscar. She is probably in the 6th place, slightly ahead of Marilyn
Claran -
This is so interesting. I know so little about Oscar races pre-1970's apart from the winners.
My first reaction is that it's shocking that Lee Remick was in lead. I can't imagine looking at that as anything but a supporting performance. Unless one use the silly "Well she's the biggest female role" metric. That goes a long way to explaining her absence.
And it's nice to hear that Jimmy was rightly proud of his work. So much of his legacy is Capra and the nice guy persona, but he should be included in any conversation of the best screen actors, period. I mean, Heston is a fine example of an actor knowing how to use his star power well, but Stewart is just a masterclass in screen acting. So many shadings. He gets the a trial lawyer is really a performer and adds so many great shadings of where the real Paulie ends and where the performance for the jury begins. I wish it had turned into a spinoff franchise like The Thin Man where we could watch Paulie take on other cases.
Michael C: Even WHEN they made court films Hollywood was always...shockingly hesitant...to make lawyer franchises. See also: My Cousin Vinny.
Volvagia - True. Now that you mention it Vinny would've been such an easy lay-up for a sequel.
I just watched this for the first time literally yesterday! So it was very neat to find this insightful, well-written piece today. I bought it years ago because I was on a Gazzara kick, then almost popped it on during a little C. Scott marathon some time later, but finally pressed play because... well, I just got The Criterion Channel. Can hardly wait to let a little time pass and watch it again! Stewart’s performance here might actually be my favorite of his. And yeah, that Duke Ellington score!