Dr.

Ram ManoharLohiya
National Law University, Lucknow

2014-1

ENGLISH
[Final draft]

On

Film Review – ‘Anatomy of a Murder’

Under the Guidance of: Submitted By:

Mrs. Alka Singh

(R.M.L.N.L.U.) 1st Semester

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs. Alka Singh whose valuable
support, guidance and advice has helped me to complete this project. I would also
like to thank the library staff for working long hours to facilitate us with required
material going a long way in quenching our thirst for education. I would like to
thank my seniors for guiding me through tough times they themselves have been
through, and lastly I would like to thank my friends for keeping alive the spirit of
competition in me.

INDEX

• Anatomy of a Murder

• Plot

• Storyline

• Awards
 • Conclusion

• Bibliography

ANATOMY OF MURDER

Directed by- Otto Preminger

Produced by- Otto Preminger

Screenplay by- Wendell Mayes

Story by- John D. Voelker

Starring- James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell, George C.

Scott

Music by- Duke Ellington

Cinematography- Sam Leavitt

Editing by- Louis R. Loeffler

Plot
In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, small-town lawyer Paul Biegler (James Stewart), a
former district attorney who lost his re-election bid, spends most of his time fishing, playing the
piano and hanging out with his alcoholic friend and colleague Parnell McCarthy (Arthur
O'Connell) and sardonic secretary Maida Rutledge (Eve Arden).
One day Biegler is contacted by Laura Manion (Lee Remick), wife of the loutish US
Army Lieutenant Frederick "Manny" Manion (Ben Gazzara), who has been been arrested for the
first degree murder of innkeeper Barney Quill. Manion does not deny the murder, but claims that
his wife was raped by Quill.

Even having such a motive behind the murder, it would be difficult to get Manion cleared from
the charge of murder, so Biegler pushes him into a position where he claims to have no memory
of the event, thus giving them a chance of winning his freedom with a defense of irresistible
impulse — a version of a temporary insanity defense.

As he sets about preparing his case, Biegler catches Laura Manion flirting with other army
officers during a roadhouse party. He has to practically order her to stay away from "men, juke
joints, booze, and pinball machines" and wear a girdle in order to play the part of a "meek little
housewife" rather than that of a happy-go-lucky party girl. She also agrees to give up her tight-
fitting clothes and wears a formal dress, glasses, a hat and a woman's suit in court.

Biegler's folksy speech and laid-back demeanor hide a sharp legal mind and a propensity for
courtroom theatrics that has the judge busy keeping things under control. However, the case for
the defense does not go well, especially since the local D.A. (Brooks West) is assisted by a high-
powered big city prosecutor named Claude Dancer (George C. Scott). Furthermore, the
prosecution goes all the way to block any mention of Manion's motive for killing Quill, i.e. the
raping of Laura. Biegler eventually manages to get the rape issue into the record and Judge
Weaver (Joseph N. Welch) agrees to allow the matter to be part of the deliberations. However,
Dancer's cross-examination of Laura effectively portrays her as a woman who was not satisfied
with her marriage and openly flirted with other men, including the one she claimed raped her.

A doctor casts doubt on whether she was raped or not, though Biegler questions the method he
used to obtain the results, and psychiatrists give conflicting testimony to Manion's state of mind
when he killed Quill. Furthermore it comes out that even Lt. Manion doubted his wife, as Laura,
a Catholic, had to swear on a rosary to persuade her husband that the sex with Quill was indeed
non-consensual.

Quill's inn is due to be inherited by Mary Pilant (Kathryn Grant), a mysterious Canadian who is
suspected of being his mistress. Inquiries by Biegler's partner Parnell McCarthy, however, reveal
that she is in fact Quill's daughter, but is anxious to keep this secret since she was born out of
wedlock. Biegler, who is losing the case, tries to persuade her that Al Paquette (Murray
Hamilton), a bartender who witnessed the murder, knows that Quill raped Laura but is covering
this up, either out of love for Mary or loyalty to his late friend. Through Mary, Biegler tries to
persuade Paquette to testify for the defense on these grounds but he refuses. Annoyed, Biegler
leaves saying: "I'll leave a pass for you and Al at the trial. You might like to watch Lt. Manion
get convicted."

Mary does actually attend the final day of the trial when the issue is raised about the panties that
Laura was wearing on the night of the murder. These panties were never found at the spot she
claims the rape took place. Mary, who was unaware of this, later returns to testify that she found
the panties in the inn's laundry room, presuming that Quill dropped them down the laundry
chute when he returned home. Dancer insistently quizzes her that she was lying and that Quill
was her lover. She shocks the court and torpedoes Dancer by stating that Quill was her father.

Biegler has played heavily on the issue that he is "just a humble country lawyer" facing a
"brilliant prosecutor from the big city of Lansing", a factor which has played well with the jury.
After the closing speeches, however, he privately admits that Dancer delivered the "best
summary I've ever heard in a courtroom". It is to no avail, however: Manion is found "not guilty
by reason of insanity".

The next day Biegler and McCarthy go to see the Manions at their trailer park home in order to
collect their fee only to find the trailer missing. A note left by Manion tells Biegler that he was
"seized by an irresistible impulse" — the defense used by Biegler during the trial. Evidence left
lying around indicates that Manion was actually a heavy drinker who beat Laura before they left.
This might indicate that Laura's sexual encounter with Quill was consensual (or that Manion
believed it was) and that Manion killed Quill out of drunken jealousy; or that Laura was raped
but that Manion killed Quill in a drunken rage and not due to irresistible impulse.

Biegler suggests to McCarthy that they solicit Mary Pilant to administer Barney Quill's estate,
quipping that it would be "poetic justice."
Storyline
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 police surgeon can
find no evidence that she has been raped. Manion is defended by Paul Biegler (James Stewart), a
rather humble small-town lawyer. During the course of interviews, Biegler discovers that
Manion is violently possessive and jealous, and also that his wife has a reputation for giving her
favors to other men. Biegler realizes that the prosecution will try to make the court believe that
Laura was the lover of the bartender and that Manion killed him and beat her up when he
discovered them together. Manion pleads of being "not guilty" and Biegler, who knows that his
case is weak, sets his assistants to try to find a witness who will save Manion.

Awards
Wins:

• New York Film Critics Circle Awards: NYFCC Award Best Actor - James Stewart, Best
Screenplay - Wendell Mayes; 1959.

• Venice Film Festival: Volpi Cup; Best Actor - James Stewart; 1959.

• Two Grammy Awards: Grammy; Best Soundtrack Album, Background Score from Motion
Picture or Television, Duke Ellington; 1959.

• Laurel Awards: Golden Laurel; Top Drama; Top Male Dramatic Performance - James
Stewart; Top Male Supporting Performance - Arthur O'Connell; 1960.

• Michigan Product of the Year.

• Best Actor in a Leading Role: James Stewart

• Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Arthur O'Connell

• Best Actor in a Supporting Role: George C. Scott

• Best Cinematography, Black-and-White: Sam Leavitt

• Best Film Editing: Louis R. Loeffler

• Best Picture: Otto Preminger

• Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium: Wendell Mayes 1960

British Academy of Film and Television Arts:

• BAFTA Film Award

• Best Film from any Source Otto Preminger, USA

• Best Foreign Actor James Stewart, USA

• Most Promising Newcomer Joseph N. Welch, USA; 1960.

• Directors Guild of America:

• DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, Otto Preminger;

• Golden Globe Award: Golden Globe; Best Motion Picture - Drama; Best Motion Picture
Actress - Drama, Lee Remick; Best Motion Picture Director, Otto Preminger; Best
Supporting Actor, Joseph N. Welch; 1960.

CONCLUSION
In the movie, Anatomy of a murder, One controversial legal issue in this film is possible witness
coaching, a violation of  legal canons. The only plausible legal defense Lt. Manion has –
the insanity defense – is virtually spelled out to a befuddled Manion by his prospective counsel,
who then temporarily suspends the conversation and suggests that Manion rethink his
factual/legal position. Witness coaching by the prosecution is even more blatant as they call in
other jail inmates awaiting sentencing to testify against Manion, and is portrayed as subornation
of perjury to an extent. The first suggests that the defendant may be concealing the truth and
manipulating his story in order to obtain the best possible verdict, and the latter that the
prosecution dangled a possible lighter sentence through plea bargain as an incentive to perjury.

• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?
res=940DEED81239F930A35757C0A960958260

• http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/anatomy-of-a-murder

• http://karisable.com/crmh.htm