Paul "Polly" Biegler (James Stewart) returns from a fishing trip to find an urgent message asking him to call Laura Manion (Lee Remick). His secretary Maida Rutledge (Eve Arden) informs him that Ms. Manion's husband U.S. Army Lieutenant Paul Biegler (Ben Gazzara) has been accused of the murder of popular innkeeper Barney Quill. Ms. Manion wants to retain Paul's services as defense attorney in her husband's trial. Our film this week is Anatomy of a Murder (1959).
An exceptional cast make this courtroom drama riveting. Led by James Stewart, the film, though dialogue driven, keeps the audience guessing from the second it starts. Mr. Stewart was nominated for an Oscar for the role, which he later said was his most challenging part since It's a Wonderful Life (1946) (TCM article). The laconic Stewart charm is still present, but he uses it to camouflage a cagey attorney, who employs every tool at his disposal to defend his client.
Lee Remick is remarkable as the rape victim who keeps the audience's sympathy from start to finish. A kittenish vamp, who enjoys showing off her rather attractive body - and who tells us that her husband also enjoys showing her off, until he gets jealous - seems to be out looking for a lover. But, she informs Polly that she has never cheated on her husband, and we believe her when she says she was beaten and raped by Barney Quill. We also know that she is an abused wife, who stays with her husband out of fear and sympathy. Lana Turner was originally cast as Laura, but left the production after a run-in with director Otto Preminger.
Ben Gazzara is properly sinister as the accused murderer and abusive husband. He brings just the right amount of seething anger to the part; you know he is a dangerous man, but is he defending his wife or simply getting vengeance for Barney Quill's usurpation of Manion's personal property? This was only his second film.
The supporting players are equally remarkable. Arthur O'Connell was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Polly's partner, Parnell Emmett McCarthy, a former lawyer with a drinking partner. The case provides Polly with a mean of getting Parnell on the wagon. Also nominated in the supporting actor category was George C. Scott as visiting prosecutor Claude Dancer. Mr. Scott would later comment on his regard for James Stewart: " Some actors have a tendency to...sort of phone it in from there. But not Mr. Stewart...(he) came and stood by the camera and performed for me alone. It was a lesson I've never forgotten."
Both Spencer Tracy and Burl Ives were invited to play presiding judge Weaver; both turned it down. Instead, the part was offered to lawyer Joseph N. Welch who came to prominence in the McCarthy era. Acting as counsel for the U.S. Army, which was being accused by Senator McCarthy of \trying to blackmail him into ceasing an investigation of Army security practices, Mr. Welch said to the Senator "Have you no sense of decency?" the beginning of the end of Senator McCarthy's reign of terror (AFI catalog).Mr. Welch bring a sense of veritas to the role. The judge is both amusing and professional.
Bosley Crowther's New York Times review was extremely complimentary, calling the film "the best courtroom melodrama this old judge has ever seen.". The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, for Supporting Actor - Arthur O'Connell and George C. Scott; Actor - James Stewart; Film Editing; Motion Picture; Cinematography (Black-and-White); and Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium). It was added to the National Film Registry in 1993.
We'll leave you with a trailer and a strong recommendation that, even if you've seen it before, you give this excellent film a viewing.
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