Anatomy of a Murder (film)

• Release Date: 1959
• Director(s): Otto Preminger
• Writer(s): Wendell Mayes
• Principal Actors and Roles: Ben Gazzara (Lt. Frederick Manion); Arthur O'Connell (Parnell Emmett McCarthy); Lee Remick (Laura Manion); James Stewart (Paul Biegler); Joseph Welch (Judge Weaver); Brooks West (Mitch Lodwick)
• Book / Story Film Based On: Anatomy of A Murder by Robert Traver

Anatomy of a Murder is a black-and-white courtroom crime drama based on a novel by Robert Traver, a pseudonym for John D. Voelker, an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. The best-selling novel was based on a real case that took place in Big Bay, Michigan. The film ranks among the top-ten best courtroom dramas and was noted by many for its extraordinary direction and top-notch cast.

The main character in the film is an attorney named Paul Biegler and is set in a small town in Michigan. Biegler is hired to defend an army lieutenant, Frederick Manion, who is accused of murdering an inn owner, Barney Quill. Manion confesses to the crime but explains that he did it because Quill raped his wife.

The 160-minute film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including James Stewart’s portrayal of the defendant’s attorney Paul Biegler, but did not win in any category. The film was considered a riveting melodrama but also risqué. The Board of Censors in Chicago tried to ban the film but was rejected by a federal district judge.

Plot

The film takes place in a small town in Michigan, which is rocked by the murder of Quill, who owned Thunder Bay Inn. Army lieutenant Frederick Manion is charged with the murder. He contends that Quill raped and beat his wife, an attractive woman named Laura, which led him to commit the murder. Laura goes to attorney Biegler to defend her husband. He agrees to take the job, although reluctantly. Biegler seems more interested in listening to jazz music (which Duke Ellington provides throughout the film) and going fishing, but he takes the case because he is underemployed. Biegler tells Manion that he needs to have an excuse because he feels that the case against Manion will be strong. Manion explains that he was crazy at that time he committed the murder. He tells Manion to contact the army about doing a psychiatric evaluation. In the meantime, Biegler tries to interview people who work at the inn and restaurant that Quill owned but he comes up cold.

When the trial begins, Biegler tells the court that Manion is not guilty and that his reason is an irresistible impulse to shoot. When the psychiatrist is on the witness stand he supports Manion’s temporary insanity plea. However, the prosecuting attorney, Claude Dancer pushes for a conviction, painting Laura as a seductress and putting witnesses on the stand that testify that Manion was calm and coherent when shot Quill. He tells the court that Mary Pilant, the manager of the inn that Quill owned, was Quill’s mistress and that Laura and Quill were having an affair. It seems that a guilty verdict is in order based on the testimony to this point, but the course of the trial starts to change. When Pilant is on the witness stand, she reveals that she is actually the illegitimate daughter of Quill and therefore inherited her father’s business. She also shows Laura’s torn panties to the jury, which she said she found in Quill’s clothes chute.

Pilant’s testimony convinces the jury to find the defendant not guilty. The jury cites the reason is temporary insanity. After the verdict, Biegler tries to collect legal fees from Manion the next day. Yet he finds a note that Manion and his wife have left town. Manion writes that they had an impulse to leave quickly. In the end, Biegler does not get paid for defending his client.

Significance

In the 1930s, Hollywood’s Production Office adopted a way in which the Hays Code, a set of rules on censorship in movies, could be enforced. Without approval from the Production Office, movies could not be shown in theatres. Yet, in the 1950s the US Supreme Court ruled that films were protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Films such as Anatomy of a Murder were shown in theatres that would feature the films even though the Production Office did not approve them. Anatomy of a Murder not only broke the studio’s rules about adult subject matter, it broke down barriers. It shattered Hollywood’s moral code and rules of censorship. It used forbidden swear words and other blacklisted words. It included hot scenes and controversial subject matter such as rape, the possibility of an extramarital affair, and illegitimate offspring. Laura’s panties were shown as evidence. These features illustrate how director Otto Preminger felt about censorship (he was opposed to it), yet Preminger was authentic to the novel. He chose to have the film shot in Ishperning, Marquette, and Michigamme, Michigan, with Voelker’s home standing in for Biegler’s home. The film was technically accurate and included a plethora of legal details and terms.

When the film was released in 1959, the Army-McCarthy hearings had taken place on television several years beforehand. Viewers in the United States were amazed and awed by the controversy and "courtroom" action they saw live. The army had hired defense attorney, Joseph N. Welch, as special counsel, as Senator Joseph R. McCarthy tried to weed out alleged Communists in the US military. Welch eventually clashed with and ridiculed McCarthy during the hearings and ultimately ended McCarthy’s career. Preminger cast Joseph N. Welch as the judge in Anatomy of a Murder. In this role Welch showed a much calmer demeanor. He is recognizable to the audience because of the Army-McCarthy hearings, and his presence and legal background make the case and the film authentic.

In addition to the highly acclaimed direction of the film, the cinematography and score were also applauded. The film was shot in black-and-white by cinematographer Sam Leavitt. Leavitt’s work created a dramatic mood for the suspenseful crime film. Many consider the score a landmark in film music. Duke Ellington, with Billy Strayhorn, arranged the film’s jazz score. Ellington also appeared in the film. It was Ellington’s first movie score.

Awards and nominations

Nominated

• Academy Award (1959) Best Picture
• Academy Award (1959) Best Actor: James Stewart
• Academy Award (1959) Best Supporting Actor: Arthur O'Connell, George C. Scott
• Academy Award (1959) Best Screenplay (Adapted): Wendell Mayes
• Academy Award (1959) Best Film Editing
• Academy Award (1959) Best Cinematography (Black-and-White)
• Golden Globe (1959) Best Motion Picture (Drama)
• Golden Globe (1959) Best Director: Otto Preminger
• Golden Globe (1959) Best Motion Picture Actress (Drama): Lee Remick
• Golden Globe (1959) Best Supporting Actor: Joseph N. Welch

Bibliography

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