Review of Anatomy of a Murder

Along with Witness for the Prosecution, this is a serious contender for the best courtroom drama on film. What makes it so? It is classy, it is sophisticated and it is entertaining. The story about a man accused of murdering another man after he supposedly rapes his wife is original, suspenseful and never runs out of steam. The screenplay is inventive, and while it is sophisticated and serious, it also manages to be quite funny. The character of Paul Biegler gets the best of them, including "If you do that one more time, I'll punch you all the way out into the middle of Lake Superior", "All right, the cat's out of the bag; it's fair game for me to chase it" and "Well it's like trying the take the core from the apple without breaking the skin". The cinematography is fabulous, and the score by Duke Ellington is wonderful. As for the performances, I don't think there was a bad performance at all. James Stewart, the fine actor he was, seems to be really enjoying himself as the shifty Paul Biegler, and Joseph N. Welch in one of his last roles is sensational as Judge Weaver. Lee Remick is stunningly beautiful and seductive as Laura, and while George C.Scott, yet another fine actor, has a little less to do, he still brings sly and sardonic wit to his role. And Ben Gazzara plays his problematic client part to a tee. The courtroom scenes especially were a genuine joy to watch. All in all, a real delight to watch, and I strongly recommend it. The ending does disappoint, but the performances and the sheer entertainment value of the courtroom scenes more than compensate. 10/10 Bethany Cox