‘I’ve had to learn that people aren’t just good or just bad…’
Jimmy Stewart is the only actor in history who can maybe lay claim to being a better leading man than Tom Hanks. The dichotomy that makes Stewart so appealing is that he is the quintessential everyman and yet it is almost impossible to imagine him as anything other than ‘famous actor’. He was born to play on the silver screen. Anatomy of a Murder is not one of his most well known works (despite seven Oscar nominations and whole load of notoriety on release about the scandalous content) but it’s a masterpiece nevertheless…
When Lt. Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara) walks into a bar and guns down one of the patrons, it would appear to be an open and shut case. The waters are muddied however by the fact that Manion’s wife Laura (Lee Remick) was raped and beaten by the victim. Lawyer Paul Biegler (Stewart) tries to make sense of it all with his trusted friend Parnell McCarthy (Arthur O’Connell) by his side.
If you don’t like courtroom dramas, you won’t like this. Much of Anatomy of Murder’s mammoth 160 minute running time takes place in the courtroom. There is precious little else by way of action. And yet, not once was I bored. Not once did I stop the film to see how long was left. Instead I sat transfixed by Jimmy Stewart and yet another masterful performance from one of the best actors who ever lived. It’s not just the Stewart show however. Gazzara (who would go on to play Jackie Treehorn in The Big Lebowski, no less) is suitably inscrutable as the man in the dock, Remick smoulders and pops as the sultry McGuffin and George C. Scott is as brilliant as ever as the thorn in Biegler’s side.
It’s a cliche but they simply don’t make them like this anymore. The economical direction, a brilliant cast working at the top of their game and an elegant script ensure that Anatomy of a Murder deserves to be remembered as one of the all time greats.
A masterpiece.