A virtuoso James Stewart (Vertigo) plays a small-town Michigan lawyer who takes on a difficult case: that of a young Army lieutenant (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie’s Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering the local tavern owner who he believes raped his wife (Days of Wine and Roses’ Lee Remick). This gripping, envelope-pushing courtroom potboiler, the most popular film from Hollywood provocateur Otto Preminger (Laura), was groundbreaking for the frankness of its discussion of sex—more than anything else, it is a striking depiction of the power of words. With its outstanding supporting cast—including a young George C. Scott (Patton) as a fiery prosecuting attorney and legendary real-life attorney Joseph N. Welch as the judge—and influential jazz score by Duke Ellington, "Anatomy of a Murder" is a Hollywood landmark; it was nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture.
James Stewart | Paul Biegler |
Ben Gazzara | Lt. Frederick Manion |
Lee Remick | Laura Manion |
George C. Scott | Asst. State Atty. Gen. Claude Dancer |
Arthur O'Connell | Parnell Emmett McCarthy |
Eve Arden | Maida Rutledge |
Kathryn Grant | Mary Pilant |
Orson Bean | Dr. Matthew Smith |
Russ Brown | George Lemon |
Murray Hamilton | Alphonse Paquette |
Brooks West | Dist. Atty. Mitch Lodwick |
Ken Lynch | Det. Sgt. James Durgo |
John Qualen | Deputy Sheriff Sulo |
Howard McNear | Dr. Dompierre |
Alexander Campbell | Dr. W. Gregory Harcourt |
Duke Ellington | Composer |
Sam Leavitt | Cinematographer |