Synopsis
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.
Your Movie Library
Cast
- James StewartPaul Biegler
- Lee RemickLaura Manion
- Ben GazzaraLt. Frederick Manion
- Arthur O'ConnellParnell Emmett McCarthy
- Eve ArdenMaida Rutledge
- Kathryn GrantMary Pilant
- George C. ScottClaude Dancer
- Orson BeanDr. Matthew Smith
- Russ BrownGeorge Lemon
- Murray HamiltonAlphonse Paquette
Recommendations
- 100
The New York Times
It is the best courtroom melodrama this old judge has ever seen. - 100
TV Guide Magazine
Courtroom histrionics given sizzle and sex by Otto Preminger and Duke Ellington's jazz. - 100
The A.V. Club
Anatomy Of A Murder respects the audience enough to turn us into the jury, and trusts that we, too, can consider the facts like adults. - 100
Empire
Cleverly wrought and expertly played crime thriller. - 90
Variety
Preminger purposely creates situations that flicker with uncertainty, that may be evaluated in different ways. Motives are mixed and dubious, and, therefore, sustain interest. - 88
Chicago Reader
A prime contender for Otto Preminger's greatest film—a superb courtroom drama packed with humor and character that shows every actor at his or her best. - 88
Slant Magazine
Preminger had the confidence in his performers and faith in his intelligent viewers: a happy combination. - 80
The Guardian
Otto Preminger's fiercely austere courtroom drama was strong stuff in 1959.
