Anatomy of a Murder

Genre: courtroom drama (in black and white)

With: James Stewart (Paul Biegler), Ben Gazzara (Lt. Frederick Manion), Lee Remick (Laura, Frederick’s wife), Arthur O’Connell (Parnell Emmett McCarthy), Brooks West (Mitch Lodwick, the D.A.), George C. Scott (Claude Dancer), Eve Arden (Maida Rutledge), Murray Hamilton (Alphonse Paquette), Joseph N. Welch (Judge Weaver), Kathryn Grant (Mary Pilant)

Director: Otto Preminger

Screenplay: Wendell Mayes (based on John D. Voelker’s novel)

Release: 1959

Studio: Carlyle Productions (Otto Preminger Films)

Rating: PA

MBiS score: 8.6/10 

 

See You in Court! 

 

QuickView

Story-line: a Michigan lawyer easing his way into retirement is asked to defend an Army officer accused of murder. For Paul Biegler, the veteran barrister, representing Frederick Manion would be quite a challenge since he has never worked for the defence and Manion has clearly caused the death of Barney Quill, a local bar operator.

Pluses: a tremendous turn by James Stewart (notice his voice, his delivery, his looks) and fine support from an awesome cast, a very detailed and wily screenplay filled with suspicious characters, flavourful dialogues and quirky moments, splendid direction and cinematography, credible production values and a swinging musical score by Duke Ellington (who also graces the screen with a cameo).

Minuses: the movie is rather long (2 hours, 40 minutes) but uses every second to develop a complex, intelligent and captivating story. 

Comments: ANATOMY OF A MURDER has a lot to please movie buffs, from admirable performances by older and younger actors to a courtroom duel as intense, messy and disgraceful as you will ever see in cinema. With all its drama, nasty dealings, legal sparring and acrimony, Otto Preminger’s film is everything life shouldn’t be… and everything a great movie should. 

 

MBiS 

© 2021 – All rights reserved

Vérité (la)

English title: The Truth

Genre: judicial drama (in black and white)

With: Brigitte Bardot (Dominique Marceau), Paul Meurisse (Éparvier, the prosecutor), Charles Vanel (Guérin, Dominique’s lawyer), Sami Frey (Gilbert Tellier), Marie-José Nat (Annie, Dominique’s sister), Jean-Loup Reynold (Michel), André Oumansky (Ludovic, from the Spoutnik), Claude Berri (Georges), Jacques Perrin (Jérôme Lamy), Barbara Sommers (Daisy), Louis Seigner (the presiding judge), René Blancard (the general counsel)

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot

Screenplay: Henri-Georges Clouzot, Simone Drieu, Michèle Perrein, Jérôme Géronimi, Christiane Rochefort and Véra Clouzot

Release: 1960

Studio: Han Productions et al.

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.3/10

  

One Is Prim, The Other Is Liberated… and I Love ’em Both

  

QuickView

Story-line: when a nun comes over to unlock her prison cell, Dominique Marceau is in no hurry to get out of bed. Her day will be excruciatingly painful. Appearing before judges, barristers and a crowd of strangers, she will be formally tried for the murder of a man she loved.  

Pluses: a remarkable performance by Brigitte Bardot in an unflattering role, strong support from Sami Frey, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel and a credible cast, a   straightforward and flawless screenplay that uses flashbacks, dialogues and contradictions to devastating effect and develops tension in a treacherous way, satisfying production values and, of course, efficient direction by a master filmmaker.  

Minuses: none really.

Comments: according to my old Canadian Oxford Dictionary, the word ordeal refers historically to ‟an ancient esp. Germanic test of guilt or innocence by subjection of the accused to severe pain or torture, survival of which was taken as divine proof of innocence”. On a psychological level, Dominique’s treatment by the judicial system in this tragic case may also be considered an ordeal. Barristers trying to top each other in outrage and innuendo, witnesses jousting with the accused, judges intervening, a scavenger press… this kind of process – which faithfully reflects the justice system of the period in France – is much freer and more damaging than what we’re used to in Canada. Not only that, it yields gut-wrenching results in this complicated case of a woman searching cluelessly for a better life. Cynical, implacable but interesting throughout, LA VÉRITÉ stands as another great work by Henri-Georges Clouzot.

 

MBiS 

© 2021 – All rights reserved