Anatomy of a Murder (1959) - Full Reaction
Added 2022-05-23 08:12:43 +0000 UTCHey guys! I think I've loved almost all of the old movies that I've watched on the channel. Also, I don't know what it is about James Stewart but he is just so great. This'll be the 3rd (?) movie I've watched with him in it? Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the reaction and please don't mind my laugh attack at the end...
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Comments
As you noted, the movie is in black and white, but the movie is not black and white :)
Clay F
2024-01-16 05:25:43 +0000 UTCI think the jury got the verdict correct. But it still doesn't mean the lieutenant wasn't a bad person. He admitted to slapping his wife a few times in the film (although he said he never 'beat' her) and of course he ran off without paying his lawyer's fee. The park guard was saying the wife was crying too,
Prince Andrey
2022-12-31 05:30:00 +0000 UTCI just watched Shop Around the Corner a couple days ago. Great 1940 film that I only discovered a few years ago on TCM. And I thought I knew them all. Anyway Cassie, if you like Jimmy Stewart you'll adore Margaret Sullavan his co-star in that film.
Prince Andrey
2022-12-31 05:04:45 +0000 UTCConfused as to why Cassie wondered whether Manion was legally insane or not, as per the jury verdict. They made it pretty clear, during his first two meetings with Paul, that he was making up his defense to match the only legal defense available to him. Short of turning to the camera and saying "I'm gonna lie my ass off and claim I was nuts when I actually knew exactly what I was doing" I can't imagine them making it more clear.
Just Plain Bob
2022-07-06 04:01:04 +0000 UTCI'm certain you'll love James Stewart in The Shop Around the Corner. You need to add that to your Christmas playlist this year.
Henry Graham
2022-06-18 13:48:10 +0000 UTCYeah - I don't think he truly believed in his client's innocence and wasn't that surprised when Manion didn't pay him. It makes sense that he would only take the case for publicity to drum up some much-needed business, which he gets from Barney's daughter. Since he was basically bullying her earlier to help him get the testimony to clear Manion, it's kind of creepy that he wound up benefiting from the whole thing. It's also worth noting that both Biegler was recruited partly because he was an ex-DA and could fight the current DA on his own terms -- meaning morally grey courtroom tactics, particularly pandering to the jury. You could argue that this is "just the way things are done" in the court system, but does that make it right?
Michael Jung
2022-05-25 23:49:15 +0000 UTCI think Biegler’s moral ambiguity — and the degree to which he believes the Manions — is probably cemented at the end when he tells McCarthy they’re going to administer Barney Quill’s estate.
Jason Chirevas
2022-05-25 23:02:06 +0000 UTCHeartily second the A TIME TO KILL rec. Cassie would love it for some very specifically Cassie reasons.
Jason Chirevas
2022-05-25 22:58:15 +0000 UTCLol, If you watch The Philadelphia Story, you should also watch High Society with Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby. It was a musical version of it if memory serves.
3dbadboy1
2022-05-25 18:29:28 +0000 UTCI really like your comment and thought it is very credible and well presented. However I am still biased to Biegler's side and think he was the "good guy'. I think he was just doing his job to present the best defense. His defense was advised by the army psychiatrist, and he found legal precedent. But the prosecution was definitely shady, they tried to suppress evidence and interviewing all Manion's cell mates was very underhanded.
Mike LL
2022-05-25 17:47:19 +0000 UTCWow, did not know this. Thanks for the info. I really like belonging to this Patreon channel.
Mike LL
2022-05-25 17:40:45 +0000 UTCBtw, the actor who played the bartender was also the actor who played the Mayor for 'Shark City' in the movie Jaws.
3dbadboy1
2022-05-25 16:31:58 +0000 UTCAs an actor, I have to give props to Ben Gazzara and Lee Remick, who played the Manions. For the story to work, you had to be unsure of the truth, and they presented a nuanced portrait of a dysfunctional couple that could be telling their version of the truth or could be lying outright. Gazzara’s Manion was obviously a controlling, possibly abusive jerk from the outset, and Remick’s Laura seemed just flighty enough that you couldn’t be sure of anything she had to say. Her last conversation with Biegler is especially well-played. There’s just something off with her in that scene. She’s not nervous or anxious, she even seems optimistic. Maybe she really is that certain he’s going to get off. Maybe she’s waiting for a guilty verdict so she can take off and be free of this albatross around her neck. Impossible to know. To me, ambiguity is important in storytelling. The truth is never as good as what the audience decides in their own imaginations. For my money, I think Laura was probably raped and beaten by Quill, but Manion was cool as a fox when he shot him. I don’t even think he shot Quill for raping his wife - I think he shot Quill for what in his mind was violating his “property.” And if Manion had gone to jail, Laura would not have wept too many tears over it. She was ready to move on. And yes, check out Mr. Smith and Harvey and The Philadelphia Story. You’ll love all of them. Jimmy Stewart had one of the greatest careers in movie history. Classic after classic. Nobody ever quite had the same relationship with the moviegoing public - Tom Hanks is kind of close, and gets compared to Stewart a lot, but even Hanks does not draw the kind of shining idolatry Stewart inspired in three generations of movie fans.
Brian Harris
2022-05-25 11:02:27 +0000 UTCCassie - you asked if something like this happened in real life, how it would go. Actually, Anatomy of a Murderer was based on a true court case in 1952 where a Lt. Coleman A. Peterson killed a tavern owner in revenge for raping his wife and was found innocent through an insanity defense (he was later declared sane). Soon after, he and his wife divorced. As in the movie, Peterson stiffed his defense attorney, John D. Voelker, by skipping town. Voelker (who became a Michigan Supreme Court judge) got the last laugh though - he wrote a fictionalized version of the case under the pen name Robert Traver, which became the movie Anatomy of a Murder. The book became so successful, Voelker resigned from the Michigan Supreme Court to become a full-time writer and fisherman!
Michael Jung
2022-05-25 05:15:36 +0000 UTCI'm curious as to how many people watching this movie would have found the defendant guilty or innocent based on the arguments and testimony offered. Personally, if I was part of the jury, I would have found Manion guilty. If this was a rape trial and Stewart was charged with proving whether or not the wife had been raped, the panties presented at the end would have been enough to make me feel Barney had raped her. However, the only question the jury had to answer here was whether or not the Lieutenant was temporarily insane when he killed Barney - and I just didn't hear enough overwhelming evidence to convince me that he was. Sure, the army psychiatrist offered his opinion (and had examined the Lieutenant) but the fact that the prosecution had their own "expert" with a differing opinion just showed the idea of "irresistible impulse" was shaky at best. Frankly, while it's easy to put Jimmy Stewart in the "good guy" category and the prosecutors as the "bad guys," the film intentionally shows both sides engaging in manipulative, underhanded tactics. Stewart gets the Lieutenant's wife to dress conservatively to sway the jury, influences the Lieutenant's "temporary insanity" position (and may have even made sure to get an army psychiatrist who could back him up), emphasizes the Lieutenant's "exemplary" war record, and engages in hammy showmanship throughout the trial to paint the prosecutors as the "bad guys." He even pressures Barney's daughter to try and manipulate the bartender into giving testimony that Barney confessed to the rape (even though he has no idea that Barney said any such thing). Frankly, if this was real (and the judge wasn't so easygoing), I doubt any of his behavior would have been considered acceptable. Meanwhile, the prosecutors are shown as slimy jerks who try to paint the Lieutenant's wife as a cheating seductress (which she may have been, although that shouldn't have been relevant to the case itself) and who were all too eager to put the Lieutenant's cellmate on the stand to sway the jury. (While his story could have been true, the fact that he'd been previously arrested for perjury and had been attacked by the Lieutenant - giving him a revenge motive - was enough to give me a reasonable doubt about his testimony). On the other hand, the prosecution did repeatedly show that the Lieutenant had a history of violence toward other men and his wife, was violently jealous (something the wife indicated was true to Stewart) and had no prior history of temporary insanity. Based on this - and the fact that he most definitely shot and killed Barney - he should have been sentenced. The fact that we uncovered a possible motive shouldn't have influenced the jury We don't know if he shot Barney out of jealousy, hatred, or because he wanted to defend his wife's honor... and frankly, even if he had "honorable" motives, we'd only be able to find him not guilty if we bought the "irresistible impulse" defense. Where other courtroom dramas like "A Few Good Men" are concerned with uncovering the truth and finding justice for the defendants, "Anatomy of a Murderer" highlights the manipulative aspects of the U.S. court system and challenges us to accept that the usually virtuous Jimmy Stewart can be just as underhanded as any shady lawyer. Incidentally, if you're interested in more of these type of court movies, Cassie, I'd suggest "Chicago" or "A Time to Kill"
Michael Jung
2022-05-25 04:01:25 +0000 UTCHarvey is such a wonderful, feel-good film! 🙂
Alex Villarreal
2022-05-25 01:38:38 +0000 UTCSo the second time Biegler talks to the Lt. he asks "what is your legal excuse"? He first tells him he must have been mad and after Biegler says that a bad temper is no excuse, he replies that he must have been crazy. Biegler deliberately pushes him towards a plea of insanity and both of them know. This movie is one of my favorites :)
Tscherni
2022-05-25 00:38:37 +0000 UTCThis was my first watch of this and I was convinced the defendant (the husband and wife not the defense team) was lying where you were convinced they weren’t so the movie achieved it’s goal of making it so you don’t know if they were or not much like a real trial.
Trembling Colors
2022-05-25 00:24:01 +0000 UTCI'm glad you watched this because it forced me to watch it. It was so good. It was 2 hours 40 minutes, but it didn't feel long, and the trial portion was so engrossing.
ExploreWinnipeg
2022-05-24 20:25:01 +0000 UTCignore the nasty comments...You eating on camera just makes it more homey for me. Next thing you know they'll want you to stop talking. Your reactions have made my day many a time.
Anthony Perez
2022-05-24 18:32:58 +0000 UTCYes, Hitchcock poll.
Mr Jordan
2022-05-24 17:15:19 +0000 UTCYoung James Stewart – MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) (dramedy) suggested many times here and THE PHILIDELPHIA STORY (1940) (comedy) he won his Best Actor Oscar Mature Man James Stewart – ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) (dramedy) and REAR WINDOW (1954) (suspense thriller) you've seen both and HARVEY (1950) (comedy) his favorite role suggested here many times Going into his middle years James Stewart – VERTIGO (suspense thriller) (1958) still crushed it lost the Detective/Investigation poll Where is my Hitchcock Poll? and ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959)(courtroom drama) Middle Aged James Stewart THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE (1962) (western) with John Wayne suggested many times here Senior James Stewart THE SHOOTIST (1976) (western) plays a bit part in John Wayne's last movie suggested here many times
MikeLL
2022-05-24 13:13:40 +0000 UTCI love a good courtroom drama, and the courtroom scenes are my favorite parts. And love the Jimmy Stewart as the wisened attorney versus the young prosecuting attorney George C. Scott and seeing those sparks fly as they go after each other.
Alex Villarreal
2022-05-24 07:04:43 +0000 UTCEvery rec in the above post is a great one.
Jason Chirevas
2022-05-23 22:34:50 +0000 UTCPut “Harvey” on your Jimmy Stewart comedy list— right at the top.
Stephen Aech
2022-05-23 22:12:21 +0000 UTCP.S. Your two-minute-long laughing fit at the end reminded me a lot of my younger sister. The later it gets into the night, the more giggly she becomes. :-)
Stick Figure Studios
2022-05-23 21:22:00 +0000 UTCBTW Cassie, a "dish" is slang for an attractive woman... like in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN when the German they capture ('Steamboat Willie") starts desperately spouting American-isms to keep them from killing him, one of the things he says is, "Betty Grable: what a dish."
Stick Figure Studios
2022-05-23 19:57:13 +0000 UTCA
20 16
2022-05-23 18:57:56 +0000 UTCI meant to ask you, Cassie, what do you think is the better courtroom film, A Few Good Men, My Cousin Vinny, or Anatomy of a Murder?
MikeLL
2022-05-23 17:41:02 +0000 UTCThanks again for a great reaction. You do get extra points today for recognizing the wonderful Eve Arden from Grease, she is marvelous in everything she does. I guess you can be forgiven for not knowing what a girdle is, I guess nobody wears them anymore, you are right, they were your grandmother's Skims. Every professional impressionist of the last 70 years has tried to copy James Stewart's voice. This classic film was nominated for Best Picture and 3 actors were nominated for Oscars, Stewart for lead actor, and Arthur O'Connel who played McCarthy for Supporting Actor, and George C. Scott, who played Asst Att Gen Dancer was also nominated in that category. I've always thought that the defense won in the case not only because they did what they set out to do, give the jury a legal excuse for the murder, but also because the prosecution was so shady in their presentation and efforts to withhold information from the jury, trying to suppress details about the rape, as well as soliciting a very dubious testimony from Manion's cell mate. The laughing fit at the end was truly endearing. I liked your comment about popcorn that you said after Manion joked that he was divorced because of his cruelty of leaving crackers in bed. You have nothing to worry about, Cassie, Ben would never divorce you for finding popcorn in your bed!
MikeLL
2022-05-23 17:25:19 +0000 UTCyou will really love the Rainmaker , a great court room drama
zynjams
2022-05-23 17:10:07 +0000 UTCI read about that after it’s a wonderful life, what a great man!
Cassie
2022-05-23 16:38:37 +0000 UTCloved this comment thank you, my connotation of the word panties is now forever changed by this movie too i think! You are so right, the acting was so natural, a great way to put it!
Cassie
2022-05-23 16:38:11 +0000 UTCvimeo is struggling!! we are on it
Cassie
2022-05-23 16:36:50 +0000 UTCA very good movie. Jimmy Stewart is always great (and might I recommend VERTIGO, ROPE, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE or MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON for your next Jimmy Stewart movie), but you also get to see the brilliant George C. Scott in this film (who you should also check out in DR. STRANGELOVE and THE HUSTLER with Paul Newman). Also, a terrific jazz score by Quincy Jones.
Stick Figure Studios
2022-05-23 16:11:31 +0000 UTCJimmy Stewart was a great actor in his day,powerful performance..He was a war hero piloting a B-24 of the 15th AF over war torn southern Europe..Retired a USAF Lt.Col..
Celeste McAllister
2022-05-23 15:48:50 +0000 UTCThanks for the laugh at the end Cassie. Laughter is contagious and I was cracking up watching you cracking up! I love this movie and I think it is one of Jimmy Stewart's best films. Everything is so authentic and the acting is so natural. The fact that the director Otto Preminger filmed this in black and white when he could have made it in color makes the film seem grittier, not Hollywood in any way. Trivia - the judge was real life lawyer Joseph Welch, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_N._Welch. He was instramental in turning the tide on McCarthyism in the 50's. I thought he was perfect for this role. Any time I hear the word "panties" I always hear his voice. Another great classic film Cassie. I think you should watch at least one true classic each month. There are so many wonderful films out there just waiting to be discovered by you!
Kat Farlowe
2022-05-23 14:45:54 +0000 UTCim si proud of myself hahaha
Cassie
2022-05-23 13:52:23 +0000 UTCDownload links are not working
William Russell
2022-05-23 13:32:44 +0000 UTCCassie would love MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON.
Jason Chirevas
2022-05-23 13:24:36 +0000 UTCShe also hates the word "giggle", which is ironic given her laughing fit at the end.
Mr Jordan
2022-05-23 13:22:49 +0000 UTCLove the new mic😀
Steven Ashford
2022-05-23 13:18:13 +0000 UTC"Charge the jury" is after closing arguments and when the judge gives instructions to the jury on what points of law they are supposed to deliberate and reach a verdict. Usually find the defendant guilty or not guilty on the count of so and so. Love this quote from Parnell - "Twelve people go off into a room. Twelve different minds, twelve different hearts, from twelve different walks of life, twelve sets of eyes, ears, shapes, and sizes. And these twelve people are asked to judge another human being as different from them as they are from each other. And in their judgment, they must become of one mind. Unanimous. It's one of the miracles of Man's disorganized soul that they can do it, and in most instances, do it right well. God bless juries." It makes you want to go back and watch "12 Angry Men" again. Even there, it wasn't certainty, just reasonable doubt.
Mr Jordan
2022-05-23 13:07:19 +0000 UTCI'd never seen this movie before, and I loved it! I'm a sucker for legal procedurals, and I think you might be too! I've suggested this before, but I really think you'd love Erin Brokovich. It's a legal movie, and one with more heart than some of the ones you've watched for the channel.
XanderWhat
2022-05-23 11:39:59 +0000 UTCCassie, you should watch Mr. Smith Goes to Washington also starring Jimmy Stewart. It's in Black & White
Shawn Kildal
2022-05-23 11:39:08 +0000 UTCGet some sleep, Cassie.
Carol_White
2022-05-23 11:36:10 +0000 UTCTo Cassie's editor, you BETTER leave that giggle fit in at the end for the YouTube edit!
XanderWhat
2022-05-23 11:32:42 +0000 UTCLinks are not working
John Cranberry
2022-05-23 11:25:37 +0000 UTCSorry We’re having a little trouble.
John Cranberry
2022-05-23 11:25:14 +0000 UTCAnd yes Cassie, the actress who played the feisty secretary, Eve Arden, was Principal McGee in "Grease". Good catch.
Mr Jordan
2022-05-23 11:21:30 +0000 UTCCassie giggling at the end was the best part of the reaction for me... so relatable and so endearing.
Andrew Rose
2022-05-23 11:19:41 +0000 UTCThat was a long damn movie lol.. the part that vexes me the most though is Cassie and her issue with the word hiccup? what the actual hell? lmao
Andrew Rose
2022-05-23 11:16:13 +0000 UTCGreat reaction Cassie. You totally got it in your summary outro. While most legal dramas focus on establishing clear guilt or innocence, this movie is all about ambiguity and doubt, even when the facts are clear. The movie does a great job exploring big gray areas, which, btw, I loved when you were laughing hysterically at the end when you said the movie wasn't black and white, even though technically it was :-D
Mr Jordan
2022-05-23 11:09:48 +0000 UTCAhh, I always thought he looked familiar.
MikeLL
2022-05-23 10:16:51 +0000 UTCThe bartender was also the mayor who wouldn't close the beaches in the movie JAWS
Shawn Kildal
2022-05-23 10:09:39 +0000 UTCTwo of my favorite Jimmy Stewart films are Mr Smith Goes to Washington and The Spirt of St Louis.
Doug R
2022-05-23 09:12:46 +0000 UTCI hope "The Philadelphia Story" is on your radar.
Rose
2022-05-23 08:54:53 +0000 UTCLee Remick was quite the femme fatale here. I also loved her in The Days of Wine and Roses, The Omen and the film noir Experiment in Terror among with many others.
Shawn Kildal
2022-05-23 08:42:34 +0000 UTCI haven't seen this one yet , I'll have to check it out . I've seen rear window and it's a wonderful life I like bolth of them a lot so this one should be good
Wyatt Nuxoll
2022-05-23 08:16:45 +0000 UTCI think Harvey was suggested a couple times in your livestream today. That's one of James Stewart's most famous films.
Brad P
2022-05-23 08:16:22 +0000 UTC
