Anatomy Lecture

Time for another classic film, this time the 1959 courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder. Though it didn't make the AFI Top 100, it is often praised by critics as one of the best courtroom dramas ever made. I decided it was worth a look.

Despite the fact that the film is in black and white, it didn't feel all that dated to me as I watched it. The pace was much closer to what is traditional today than what is typical in other movies of the period. At the heart of the case is the rape of the defendant's wife, an issue discussed openly and repeatedly -- which surely must have been shocking in 1959, but is exactly why it doesn't always feel of that time.

But moreover, the whole affair, from the structure of the story to the courtroom theatrics of the lawyers, feels very similar to the way courtroom stories are still approached today. This movie may well be the inspiration that many modern writers look to. In particular, all of David Kelley's courtroom TV series, from The Practice to Ally McBeal to Boston Legal (I actually haven't watched Harry's Law) feel like they fit very well into the Anatomy of a Murder mold.

Perhaps for that very reason, though, the movie doesn't really ever feel "movie worthy." Sure, it has the length, at 2 hours and 40 minutes. But it sort of feels like a glorified three-part episode of some legal TV series from the 50s. It's never "a night at the movies."

But for what it's worth, I would have watched that series, had it existed. James Stewart makes a likable, charismatic defense attorney. The "aw shucks" folksiness he pretends at might wear thin in another actor's hands, but manages to go the distance here.

There are two prosecutors standing against him, one an over-the-top ham that showcases what I don't like about old-style acting. But the other is George C. Scott. And he is every bit as effective in his supporting role as James Stewart is in the lead. Like any courtroom drama, a great many scenes come down to "talking heads," but when these two are involved, it doesn't bore.

I wouldn't call this as great a triumph as the classic 12 Angry Men, but I would still cite it as a very watchable example of an older movie. I rate it a B-.