Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
96%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 7 Oscars
12 wins & 19 nominations total
One of cinema’s greatest courtroom dramas, Anatomy of a Murder is tense, thought-provoking, and brilliantly acted, with great performances from James Stewart and George C. Scott.
If you’re in the mood for a good ol’ fashioned courtroom drama, then Anatomy of a Murder is the flick for you. It’s got everything you need to keep you on the edge of your seat – tension, thought-provoking themes, and some seriously impressive acting from James Stewart and George C. Scott. These guys know how to bring the drama, let me tell ya. So grab some popcorn and settle in for a wild ride. You won’t be disappointed.
Production Company(ies)
Otto Preminger Films,
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Tripoli Bar, Ishpeming, Michigan, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1959
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby Atmos Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 40m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 1, 1959 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 11, 2000
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
Anatomy of a Murder, Crime, Mystery & Thriller, Drama, James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, George C Scott, Otto Preminger, John D Voelker, Wendell Mayes, Columbia Pictures, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Myles Standish, Mae Tinee, Peter Bradshaw, Variety Staff, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jessica Winter, Shadow Stage, Nicholas Bell, Mike Massie, Clyde Gilmour, Mattie Lucas, Miles Fielder, MPAA rating, courtroom drama, legal system, Michigan lawyer, Army Lt Manion, local innkeeper, rape, extensive trial, District Attorney Lodwick, prosecutor Claude Dancer, victim’s mysterious business partner, Kathryn Grant, dark secret, Mono, Flat (1.85:1)
Worldwide gross: $194
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,240
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,157
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 244
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Lee Remick – Laura Manion
Ben Gazzara – Lt. Frederick Manion
Arthur O’Connell – Parnell Emmett McCarthy
Eve Arden – Maida Rutledge
Kathryn Grant – Mary Pilant
Director – Otto Preminger
Producer – Otto Preminger
Writer – John D. Voelker, Wendell Mayes
Director(s)
Otto Preminger
Writer(s)
John D. Voelker, Wendell Mayes
Producer(s)
Otto Preminger
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 7 Oscars
12 wins & 19 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (50) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (50)
Director Preminger has worked out his canvas with minute thoroughness. The film is two hours and 40 minutes long, but so absorbing is it that it seems short.
June 23, 2021
Myles Standish
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
The film is lengthy, with an ending that is both enigmatic and ironic, but presented with such finesse and pace that it is guaranteed to hold your interest from start to finish.
June 18, 2020
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
To me Remick’s damaged, dysfunctional presence is the really subversive thing about the picture. And Stewart’s grandstanding attorney propels this long film to its final verdict.
October 23, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Preminger purposely creates situations that flicker with uncertainty, that may be evaluated in different ways. Motives are mixed and dubious, and, therefore, sustain interest.
October 23, 2007
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
As an entertaining look at legal process, this is spellbinding all the way, infused by an ambiguity about human personality and motivation that is Preminger’s trademark, and the location shooting is superb.
October 23, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Coolly absorbing, nonchalantly cynical.
June 24, 2006
Jessica Winter
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
People will talk about this startling courtroom drama.
June 23, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Shadow Stage
Photoplay
An exercise in moral ambiguity and borderline procedural, Preminger’s roots as a student of law in his native Austria certainly pay off for what may arguably be one of his best films.
November 19, 2020
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
It’s a taut series of duels between quick-thinkers, each one distinctly deceptive, hilarious, calculating, and creative.
August 15, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
A top-notch courtroom drama, adapted from the popular novel by Robert Traver.
October 30, 2019
Clyde Gilmour
Maclean’s Magazine
[A] fierce, uncompromising exploration of the American legal system.
June 4, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
Anatomy of a Murder remains an at times shocking indictment of Eisenhower-era America and an all-around terrific thriller.
April 24, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Miles Fielder
The List…
Plot
Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara), a lieutenant in the army, is arrested for the murder of a bartender, Barney Quill. He claims, in his defense, that the victim had raped and beaten up his wife Laura (Lee Remick). Although Laura supports her husband’s story, the local paper has reported that the police surgeon can find no evidence that she has been raped. Manion is defended by Paul Biegler (James Stewart), a humble small-town lawyer and recently deposed district attorney. During the course of interviews, Biegler discovers that Manion is violently possessive and jealous, and also that his wife has a reputation for flirting with other men. Biegler realizes that the prosecution will try to make the court believe that Laura had been drunk and was picked up by the bartender and then her husband killed him and beat her up when he discovered they had been together. Manion pleads “not guilty” and Biegler, who knows that his case is weak, tries to find evidence that will save Manion.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The cast of Anatomy of a Murder includes James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, and George C. Scott, all of whom deliver superb performances.
Otto-Preminger.jpg
