‘Anatomy of a Murder’: the best courtroom drama ever made
If you’re anything like me, you may well have inexplicably spent a lot of time when you were younger thinking that old black and white films couldn’t possibly be of interest, or have any relevance, simply because they were made so long ago.
It was a theory based on stupidity that, for many years, led to my missing out on some incredible movies like Citizen Kane, Casablanca and, more recently, the 1959 James Stewart movie Anatomy of a Murder.
And what a shame that was, because in my opinion, it is the finest courtroom drama in movie history, outdoing even some true greats that include more modern films like A Few Good Men or Primal Fear. It even in my mind outstrips some of the all-time classics; To Kill a Mockingbird, maybe even 12 Angry Men, which is an astonishing film.
But Anatomy of a Murder is truly special. By 1959, James ‘Jimmy’ Stewart was already established as one of Hollywood’s finest actors, thanks to his work with Hitchcock on Vertigo and Rear Window, and Frank Capra’s Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life. He had never done anything quite on the scale of this, though; a near three-hour legal drama directed by Otto Preminger that was based on a novel written about a real situation by a Supreme Court judge in 1952.
The story of a small town lawyer who is dragged into a major case involving the rape of a woman and subsequent murder of the man responsible by her soldier husband, the dialogue and court scenes were so realistic that it was used in law schools around the US for the perfect way it represented how to build and argue a case for the defence in a criminal trial.
It is iconic right from the off; jazz legend Duke Ellington’s score was written for the movie and performed by his orchestra, sitting over the intro of graphics put together by the legendary designer Saul Bass, who was responsible for some memorable movie intros as well as some of the most recognisable corporate logos in America.
Anatomy was also controversial – the language used in describing the alleged acts at the core of the film, like ‘contraception’ and ‘climax’, hadn’t been heard in Hollywood productions before, leading to it being temporarily banned in cities like Chicago.
One of the reasons the film is so gripping and compelling is that it is full of moral quandaries, most of which are experienced by Stewart as he does his best to win a case at all costs, using every trick he can think of, all while being seduced by the wife of his client. He fights desperately to cling to the fact that just because a woman is flirtatious, or dresses a certain way, or might have had a few drinks, it doesn’t give a man the right to rape her.
But does her husband then have the right to shoot the rapist while in the midst of fury at the act? That’s what provides the central question in Anatomy of a Murder, and Stewart decides the best plan of action is to plead temporary insanity; that his client couldn’t possibly have known what he was doing, due to his being so anguished at hearing what had happened.
Add in an alcoholic old legal partner, a struggling legal practice in which he can’t afford to pay his own staff and a crack team of opposing lawyers, including an FBI expert, and you have all the makings of a film that has you gripped from minute one to minute 160.
While Anatomy was rightly nominated for seven Oscars, it didn’t win any of them, and in fact, it was that soundtrack by Ellington that won several Grammys. Stewart did win several ‘Best Actor’ awards around the globe, however, and when you watch the film, you’ll see exactly why.
