Anatomy of a Murder (film)

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Movie
German title Anatomy of a Murder
Original title Anatomy of a Murder
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1959
length 160 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Otto Preminger
script Wendell Mayes
production Otto Preminger
music Duke Ellington
camera Sam Leavitt
cut Louis R. Loeffler
occupation
Marquette County Courthouse in Marquette, Michigan, listed on the National Register of Historic Places No. 7800150

Anatomy of a Murder (original title: Anatomy of a Murder ) is the film adaptation of the crime novel of the same name by Robert Traver . The film from 1959 was directed by Otto Preminger .

action

Attorney Paul Biegler, longtime district attorney for a small Michigan community , lost his post to rival Mitch Lodwick in the last election. Since then he has mainly devoted himself to fishing and jazz music. In his small law firm he only takes on insignificant cases in order to stay afloat, and otherwise philosophizes with his friend Parnell Emmett McCarthy, also an accomplished lawyer but who is addicted to alcohol, on theoretical legal issues.

Suddenly an interesting case falls to him. Frederick Manion, a lieutenant in the local garrison, shot and killed Barney Quill, who was believed to have raped his wife Laura in a remote forest. Biegler's opponent in the trial, District Attorney Mitch Lodwick, enlists experienced prosecutor Claude Dancer from the capital Lansing . Paul Biegler asks his friend Parnell to support him, but he has to promise him not to drink alcohol.

The culprit of Lt. Manion has no doubts, but lawyer Biegler wants to prove with the help of his friend that he was in an emotional state of emergency due to the rape of his wife, which makes the act excusable. However, the prosecutors question whether Lt. Manion's wife was actually raped. Since they are unable to keep this issue out of the trial, they want to give the jury the impression in the course of the trial that the woman made advances to the bar owner or even had an affair with him and Lt. Manion therefore shot him out of jealousy.

However, when the daughter of the shot bar owner testifies against her father in the proceedings, the tide finally turns and Lt. Manion is acquitted.

A little later, lawyer Biegler drives with his friend Parnell to the trailer park where the Manions live to talk about paying the fee. They have to find out that Lt. Manion and his wife left the day before.

Emergence

Parts of the film were shot in the small town of Marquette , Michigan , USA . The local district court (Marquette County Courthouse) was used for the court scenes.

criticism

“Dialogue drama with an excellent cast. The brilliant direction turns the material into a clearly structured experiment that dissects the 'mental anatomy' of all those involved with almost scientific precision. "

- Lexicon of international film

Awards (selection)

The film was nominated for an Oscar in seven categories in 1960 , including Best Picture . At the Laurel Awards 1960, the film won three prizes. James Stewart and Arthur O'Connell were recognized for their roles and the film received the award in the Top Drama category . Duke Ellington received a Grammy for Best Soundtrack Album .

In 2012, Anatomy of a Murder was included in the National Film Registry , which lists films that are considered particularly worth preserving.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Anatomy of a Murder. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ The National Film Registry makes it official at filmstarts.de. Retrieved February 5, 2015.