frankwiener But is there a man alive in Michigan's Upper Peninsula who hasn't seen them?The success of this film is the result of its outstanding cast and, for me, its authentic location in the area where the true story actually occurred, the remote and unique Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The location was genuine to the extent that the bar where much of the movie's action occurred was the same place where the original murder was committed in 1952.I am very thankful that director Otto Preminger refused to allow Lana Turner to model her fancy gowns as Laura Manion and that he had the insight to choose a much more appealing newcomer, Lee Remick, instead. Gowns in a trailer camp? That would be ridiculous, Lana. With her usual stiffness and self-consciousness, Turner would have significantly weakened the action while Remick's natural impertinence, radiant beauty, and simmering sexuality lured me into a script that I might otherwise have found to be dull and lifeless. Beyond her very pleasing physical appearance, Remick's smooth acting ability was established beyond a doubt here and her performance in this film launched her career, which peaked only a few years later in her Oscar nominated role as Kirsten Arnesen Clay in "The Days of Wine and Roses" (1962). When Lee Remick died at the young age of 55, it was a very sad day for Hollywood and for all of us "out here in the dark" who truly loved her and still love her.In addition to Remick's lively portrayal as Laura Manion, the wife of the accused and the supposed victim of the alleged rape that triggered the murder in the first place, we are treated to top notch performances by James Stewart as Paul Biegler, her husband's embittered defense attorney, Ben Gazzara as Lt. Frederic Manion, the accused husband, and George C. Scott as the visiting prosecutor from the state capital of Lansing. Add to that dynamic list an always entertaining, wise-cracking Eve Arden ("Mildred Pierce, "Our Miss Brooks") as Biegler's loyal legal administrator and a lovely Kathryn Grant Crosby ("The Phenix City Story", "Seven Voyages of Sinbad", and several Bing Crosby Christmas TV specials) as a miscast but still very attractive Mary Pilant, who plays a critical role in the film's final outcome. Also among the very entertaining cast is Arthur O'Connell in his Oscar nominated role as an endearing Parnell McCarthy, Biegler's devoted but alcoholic sidekick. As to Laura Manion's panties, the intimate article of clothing that played such a pivotal role in her husband's trial, the fast living wife of the murder suspect struck me as a woman who often lost track of her panties, so you'll have to decide on your own whether Barney Quill actually raped her or whether she was rather a willing, consensual partner. While the Manions may appear to be a very engaging couple at first glance, we should know to approach them with an abundance of caution. Watch this one for the outstanding cast, the intriguing, authentic locale, the quirky, interesting characterizations, and that classic and very cool 1949 Pontiac Silver Streak convertible in which Stewart and O'Connell tool around town. It takes a special breed to ride through the UP of Michigan with the top down at any time of the year.

sharky_55 Most court drama have an agenda going in - a bias to uncover and attack, a crime to solve, a mystery to unlock. They feel almost like a detective novel at times; information is doled out as required and at the end the audience is satisfied by how the script has forged a perfect and neat conclusion from the bits and pieces. Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder does not follow this framework. It doesn't have a pre-planned narrative it wants to unfold, or an angle that wants to be highlighted. There are the usual courtroom flourishes, but they echo a sentiment from Preminger that these should not be dramatised or glamourised in any way, lest they mar the objectivity of the jury process. But of course, they do. Preminger's actors understand the roles that they play - how their roles are doubled in themselves, how they have to step up in the courtroom as lawyers putting on a performance. Stewart is brilliant; he slips so easily into that persona as if it was like putting on a hat himself, and making the weary hobby fisherman disappear. To win this case he doesn't need a justification, just an excuse, as he so snidely whispers to Manion at the beginning. And then he makes a big show out of it, pushing the rules of the courtroom to its peak theatricality: throwing his hands up into the air at injustice served, loudly slamming his palm into the opposition's table, using wisecracks at the right moments, and crucial, perfectly planned accusatory questions that are struck off from the record, but not from the jury's minds, or the screen. Preminger makes a clear note of these occurrences, because it happens many times and with great effect on the case.Lee Remick knows her role too, to be the fetching, coquettish object of desire that may or may not be the adulterous trigger that starts this chain of events. She doesn't seem like a rape victim, some have pointed out. She is of course deliberately flirtatious and touchy-feely because Preminger wants to throw her claims up into the air. Remick shows great range here, from the way she flashes a dazzling smile and flourishes her long golden locks (again, a performance intended to show off) when asked to remove her hat and shed the puritan image, to the way she breaks down into tears on the stand, and how her first appearance is sprawled out seductively on the couch at Biegler and asking her to address him as Laura. We see persuasive arguments for both sides of this women, and from both the defense and prosecution - we see all the facts, all the testimonies, all the research that Biegler goes through to prepare his position.And even at 2 hours 40 minutes it doesn't seem a touch dull at all. The scenes of the courthouse proceedings themselves could have been boring and dragging, but they are livened by a script that is quick on its toes and clearly communicates all the legal jargon, as well as imaginative staging. The triangles that Leavitt composes drip with dramatic intensity - always a figure lurking in the middle background gazing intently, eyes flicking from head to head, as the momentum swings back and forth. So delicately is this handled that even nearing the ending of the film with mere minutes to go, we have no idea what the jury's outcome will be. Preminger doesn't offer straight, simple answers, but offers the audience a seat in the jury itself, and shows us how these facts can be twisted in that fateful building.

SnoopyStyle Paul Biegler (James Stewart) is a former district attorney who lost his re-election. He spends his days fishing and talking to his alcoholic friend Parnell McCarthy (Arthur O'Connell) and his secretary Maida Rutledge (Eve Arden). Army lieutenant Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara) is arrested for the murder of bartender Barney Quill who supposedly raped his wife Laura (Lee Remick). Biegler leads him to claim insanity. Laura is flirty and Fred is jealous. Assistant DA Claude Dancer (George C. Scott) from the capital Lansing comes to co-chair the prosecution. James Stewart is impeccably solid. The acting is generally terrific. Ben Gazzara is filled with intensity and Lee Remick is acting through her sweater. The plot is a bit long-winded and it's a bit slower than the modern legal procedural. The movie has some of the minutia of court procedures. However this is still a great classic courtroom drama.

rochesternypizzaguy The charge is murder. The defense is that the defendant was legally insane, because his wife had been raped by the victim. The trial testimony focuses almost exclusively on whether she had or had not been raped (the implicit alternative being that she'd had consensual sex with the victim). But all that mattered was whether the defendant believed she's been raped, not with whether she really had been or not. Furthermore, one would expect the focus of the trial to be on the expert psychiatric testimony. That was over and done with in a couple of cursory scenes. It was as if the victim was on trial for rape. Meanwhile, the two attorneys are yelling at each other and getting in the witnesses' faces, while the judge sits there like a potted plant and occasionally warns them that they'd better behave (which he never follows through on). Awful.