Anatomy Of A Murder (1959)........officially kicked off director Otto Preminger's successful run of turning doorstop bestselling books into expansive all-star dramas.......(like many aging directors who lost touch with the times, Preminger's movie Book Club finally crashed and burned with his 1967 Deep South disaster "Hurry Sundown".....a crappy book made even worse)
"Anatomy" still stands as the best of Otto's Read-The-Novel-See-The-Movie blockbusters.......bursting with controversy (for 1959) and a featuring a busload of actors at the very top of their game........
James Stewart took his patented persona to all new heights.......the stuttering "Aw Shucks" country bumpkin who's actually a wily, steely operator who confounds anyone who mistakenly underestimates him.......
As a near broke former district attorney, Stewart takes on the defense of a blatantly guilty client..... a volcanic-tempered Army officer Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara) who murdered a man who may or may not have raped Manion's brazen, slutty hot-to-trot wife (Lee Remick).......
The trial that ensues is a spectacular three ring courtroom circus, filled with multiple twists and turns.......all these theatrics sorely testing the patience of the weary judge(..... played by lawyer turned actor Joseph N Welch, famous for publicly scolding the notorious commie-hunter Sen. Joseph McCarthy.... )
Stewart's 'Hail Mary' defense of Gazarra involves using a temporary-insanity longshot known as 'irresistible impulse'........an attempt to convince the jury that his client only went bonkers in the few seconds it took him to pump five slugs into his wife's supposed rapist.
And there's no end of fun watching Stewart put on a wild smoke 'n mirrors legal sideshow that leaves the prosecution apoplectic, Director Preminger, ever the envelope-pusher, throws in jaw-dropping testimony about Remick's soiled panties and the search for any left over sperm from the murder victim......
There's so much to enjoy here....the vast array of familiar character actors who appear as trial witnesses.....the pulsating jazz score by no less than Duke Ellington.......George C Scott as the slick big city D.A. who more than meets his match in Stewart's deceptive cornpone demeanor......and by far, the supporting role MVP Lee Remick, commanding the screen as the sexually restless bombshell (whom Stewart wisely re-costumes as a prim schoolmarm for the benefit of the jury.....)
And to top it off, an appropriate sardonic windup.....in which 'Irresistible Impulse' comes full circle.......
It's been a while since BQ handed out the highest rating, but I'm happy to do it......
a genuine 5 star (*****) FIND OF FINDS. For the best in disorder in the court, look no further.....
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