Anatomy of a Murder

Film Info

United States
1959
161 minutes
Black and White
1.85:1
English
Spine #600

A virtuoso James Stewart plays a small-town Michigan lawyer who takes on a difficult case: the defense of a young army lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering a local tavern owner who he believes raped his wife (Lee Remick). This gripping envelope-pusher, the most popular film by Hollywood provocateur Otto Preminger, was groundbreaking for the frankness of its discussion of sex—but more than anything else, it is a striking depiction of the power of words. Featuring an outstanding supporting cast—with a young George C. Scott as a fiery prosecutor and the legendary attorney Joseph N. Welch as the judge—and an influential score by Duke Ellington, Anatomy of a Murder is an American movie landmark, nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture.

Cast

Paul Biegler	James Stewart
Laura Manion	Lee Remick
Lieutenant Frederick Manion	Ben Gazzara
Parnell McCarthy	Arthur O'Connell
Maida Rutledge	Eve Arden
Mary Pilant	Kathryn Grant
Claude Dancer	George C. Scott
Dr. Matthew Smith	Orson Bean
George Lemon	Russ Brown
Alphonse Paquette	Murray Hamilton
Mitch Lodwick	Brooks West
Sergeant James Durgo	Ken Lynch
Sulo, the guard	John Qualen
Dr. Dompierre	Howard McNear
Dr. W. Gregory Harcourt	Alexander Campbell
Dr. Raschid	Ned Wever
Clarence Madigan	Jimmy Conlin
Sherrif Battisfore	Royal Beal
Lloyd Burke	Joseph Kearns
Duane "Duke" Miller	Don Ross
Court clerk	Lloyd Le Vasseur
Army sergeant	James Walters
Pie-Eye	Duke Ellington
Judge Weaver	Joseph N. Welch

Credits

Director	Otto Preminger
Producer	Otto Preminger
Director of photography	Sam Leavitt and A.S.C.
Production design	Boris Leven
Music	Duke Ellington
Based on the novel by	Robert Traver
Camera operator	Irving Rosenberg
Lighting technician	James Almond
Key grip	Leo McCreary
Makeup	Del Armstrong and Harry Ray
Hairdressing	Myrl Stoltz
Wardrobe	Michael Harte and VouLee Giokaris
Editor	Louis R. Loeffler
Sound	Jack Solomon
Script supervisor	Kathleen Fagan
Music editor	Richard Carruth
Set dressing	Howard Bristol
Assistant to the producer	Max Slater
Production manager	Henry Weinberger
Assistant director	David Silver
Titles designed by	Saul Bass

Disc Features

New digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
New alternate 5.1 soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio, on the Blu-ray edition
New interview with Otto Preminger biographer Foster Hirsch
Critic Gary Giddins explores Duke Ellington’s score in a new interview
A look at the relationship between graphic designer Saul Bass and Preminger with Bass biographer Pat Kirkham
Newsreel footage from the set
Excerpts from a 1967 episode of Firing Line, featuring Preminger in discussion with William F. Buckley Jr.
Excerpts from the work in progress Anatomy of “Anatomy”
Behind-the-scenes photographs by Life magazine’s Gjon Mili
Trailer, featuring on-set footage
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Nick Pinkerton and a 1959 Life magazine article on real-life lawyer Joseph N. Welch, who plays Judge Weaver in the film