Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

 Otto Preminger's "Anatomy of a Murder"

Many, especially in the legal community, have praised Otto Preminger's 1959 legal drama "Anatomy of a Murder" as being one of the best courtroom dramas ever put to screen. Firstly, it a film far more interested in the more mundane aspects of defense trials, namely: the research. Secondly, the first does not spend erroneously to sensationalize aspects of these proceedings or its overall tone in general. What "Anatomy of a Fall" does so well above all else is dive deep into the moral confusion of such a seemingly black-and-white case.

The film stars Hollywood icon James Stewart as a small-town lawyer tasked with representing US Army Veteran Lieutenant Manny Manion, accused of murder. The motive for the murder is clear: revenge against a man for raping his wife. As Stewart's Mr. Biegler acquires research, the film does well not to continue unveiling brand new information. Rather, the information acquired simply re-instates the basic facts of the case. What the film is more concerned with is not whether or not Mr. Manion committed this heinous act (he did), but rather, is the motive justifiable? 

To me, the focus of the justifiability of the defendants motives removes all melodrama and sensationalism from the story. While this sense of melodrama is normal to a more provocative courtroom film, "Anatomy of a Murder" seems to be far more thematically concerned with our black-and-white notions of people. The reason for this thematic spotlight stems from the recent courtroom fascinations of the 1950s: particularly the McCarthy trials.

This association with the McCarthy trials is so evident that they even procured the real-life lawyer who dressed down Joseph McCarthy during the Army-McCarthy hearings, Joseph N. Welch, to play the proceeding judge. Throughout the entirety of the film, all characters seem to contain elements of complexity in their moral judgements. However, the film asks us if these moral imperfections render a sense of absolute innocence to their character. If this is to be the case, then every single person could be under investigation for any number of moral suspicions, thus drawing the parallels to the McCarthy 'witch hunts.'

That being said, it's clear as to the legal guiltiness of the accused. He murdered someone. And under the letter of the law, this is a crime punishable by imprisonment. However, the film demands a far more nuanced view of absolutism. What it seeks in actuality is true justice.