ARTS & CULTURE
Tuesday, January 19, 2016 11
Anatomy of a Murder:
The Glory and Pitfalls of the Adversarial Justice System
-
justin philpot t
Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder
(1959) is fifty-seven years old. Nevertheless, it
remains the finest trial drama ever put on film. It
is impossible for me to put into words why my love
affair with this film runs so deep. I first watched
Anatomy of a Murder when I was a naïve twentyyear old. This was before I even thought about going
to law school. Back then the film stood out to me for
being tremendously entertaining with great performances, especially by James Stewart. Now, the
film has a deeper meaning for me. It is a fascinating study of the adversarial system of justice and its
moral consequences.
The film, based on the novel of the same
name, details the events of a real 1952 murder trial
in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The novel was written by the trial’s defense attorney, John D. Voelker,
but published under the pen name John Traver.
Otto Preminger decided to shoot the entire film
on location believing that a studio set would not
feel authentic. The majority of the film was shot in
Voelker’s own house and the Courthouse where the
actual trial took place. Preminger’s commitment to
authenticity is felt in every frame of the film.
Few know that Otto Preminger was just as big as
Alfred Hitchcock in the 1950s. It is not just Anatomy
of a Murder, it is Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a
Murder - his name received top billing. Preminger
graduated from the University of Vienna Law School,
but he never practiced law; he was too drawn to theatre. Coming from a period when Nazism was widespread in Europe, he cherished the American system
of justice, which constitutionally protected an individual’s freedom of speech. He viewed American
lawyers as “actors” for their clients and the best
lawyers were the best actors.
Paul Biegler (John Voelker’s representation in the
film) is played by the legendary James Stewart. By
Biegler’s own admission, he is a ”simple country
lawyer,” but a murder case falls in his lap. A lieutenant in the military, Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara)
is charged in the shooting death of local bar owner
Barney Quill. Manion’s wife, Laura (Lee Remick)
was raped earlier in the evening by Quill, or at least
that is what we are supposed to believe. During his
visit with Manion at the county jail, Biegler explains
the ways in which he can defend murder. He directly
asks Manion: “What’s your excuse for shooting
Quill?” Manion, with a sinister smirk, says “I must
have been mad.” Biegler takes the case, basing the
defense on Manion suffering from temporary insanity at the time of the shooting caused by learning of
the violent rape of his wife. In other words, he acted
on an “irresistible impulse” and cannot be convicted
for something he had no control over (no mens rea).
You get the impression that Biegler does not like his
client or believe he is innocent. I get the impression
he takes the case out of his love of the law and how
the case challenges its boundaries. Biegler is your
”zealous advocate” personified. He is morally ambivalent and I am not sure I trust him. I am not sure
the audience is meant to. In the courtroom Biegler
is an operator, twisting and colouring everything in
favour of his client. He is likeable, funny, and quick
on his feet. You cheer for him to win. As an audience,
Army-McCarthy hearings. You can tell Welch
is not an actor, but it hardly matters. He provides the needed composed a WF