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How refreshing is it to see a “classic” movie that actually lives up to it’s status? Everything is right in Otto Preminger’s Anatomy of a Murder. The script by Wendell Mayes is as witty and sharp today as it was in 1959. Saul Bass’ opening credits are mesmerizing. Preminger’s direction is subtle and effective, and Sam Leavitt’s cinematography is a thing of beauty. Add Duke Ellington’s jazzy score to all this, and what you’re left with is a genuine American masterpiece. Oh, did I happen to mention the acting? Every supporting turn, from George C. Scott to Lee Remick to Ben Gazzara to even Joseph Welch (the real life attorney who put a stop to Senator Joseph McCarthy) as the judge is perfect. It’s Jimmy Stewart, however, who really seals the deal. Over the last few years I’ve become more and more certain that there simply is not a better actor than Jimmy Stewart. We all know him as George Bailey in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, but take a look at him in The Philadelphia Story, Rear Window, Vertigo or any of the westerns he made with director Anthony Mann (especially Winchester ’73) and you will agree with me. Behind his country boy charm and everyman appeal, Stewart was an actor whose range was limitless. There wasn’t a role that he couldn’t inhabit completely, and in Anatomy he may be at his best.

Stewart plays Paul Biegler, a former District Attorney who now spends his time fishing and drinking with his buddy (Arthur O’Connel). Biegler is contacted by Laura Manion, played by Remick, in hopes that he will defend her husband Fred Manion (Gazzara). Fred has admitted to murdering the man who raped his wife. After meeting Fred and his promiscuous wife Laura, Biegler agrees to take the case, even though it seems to be clearly open and shut. That’s all you need to know to get you started, just sit back and watch the fireworks fly between Stewart and the rival attorney played by Scott. Trial movies are never this exciting.

Preminger was a director whose films ran the gauntlet from crap to classic. In films like Laura and this one here, he was at his best. He knows how to keep the tension cranked and to push his actors to give their best. In Anatomy, Preminger was breaking new ground. This is the first American film to use terms like “rape,” “sperm,” and “panties.” What was so taboo in the ’50′s is easily acceptable today, but the film holds up well. It runs about 2 hours and 20 minutes, but it has enough humor to make you laugh out loud, and it’s story is exciting. Preminger manages to keep the audience a little off balance throughout by not telling us too much. The film ends with a satisfying, yet still ambiguous conclusion.

The DVD does a great job of showing off the stark black and white images, and it really lets Ellington’s score shine. The features are nothing too special, but are fairly adequate seeing as how most of the films contributors are dead and gone. I’m keeping this review short to not give much away. The film is best experienced knowing as little as possible about the plot. I will just say that I really enjoyed this film. It’s very rare to find a movie in which every contributor to the film is batting a thousand, and when you do find one , you should cherish what it has to offer. So, next time, instead of turning on one of the dozen Law & Ordershows, or reading the newest trash by John Grisham, pick this movie up. You will not be disappointed.