Review of Anatomy of a Murder (1959) by James T — 21 Jun 2008

Ex district attorney James Stewart is brought in to defend a decorated soldier who murdered the man who raped his wife. Otto Preminger once more tests the boundaries of what the American censors deemed "acceptable" in this groundbreaking courtroom drama.

Stewart is as reliable as ever as the crusading attorney, and easily the best scenes are when he and George C. Scott do battle during the trial. Unfortunately some of the supporting cast do not quite measure up; Lee Remick's immature performance is more of a flirtatious Lolita than the victim of a traumatic attack, and Joseph N Welch, a lawyer and outspoken critic of McCarthy may have been a very worthy choice to play the judge, but I couldn't help thinking how much better Spencer Tracy, the originally intended choice, would've been.

It's intelligently written and tackles the hypocrisies of the law, such as the fact that all are innocent until proven guilty unless you are the victim of a rape, in which case it's the other way around as well as that appearances, grandstanding and innuendo are far more important in the courtroom than facts.

It's all very worthy, but courtroom dramas are inevitably following the same formula, and the clinical attention to detail makes the proceedings a little dry and predictable. Worth it to see Stewart in action and his verbal sparring with Scott, but anyone who is not a fan of this type of film will not be entirely convinced to change their mind.