#70, 7/22 – Anatomy of a Murder (1959) (dvd)
Two words: Lee Remick.
One more word: Wow.
I have to be in the right mood to get into a courtroom drama, which is probably why it took me so long to finally watch this in its entirety. I’d seen bits and pieces before—the scene where panties are first mentioned in the courtroom, for instance—but I’d never seen it from start to finish. I think it’s a great ride, thanks in large part to the fantastic cast (you never could go wrong with George C. Scott, Eve Arden, Ben Gazzara, or Lee Remick) and a solid script.
I’m trying to remember back to when I distinctly didn’t like James Stewart because I can’t imagine why I ever felt that way. I think it was largely due to a belief that the Stewart persona was, well, a bit too hokey. But I’ve come around on this, somehow. Largely thanks to three of the movies he did with Hitchcock (Rope, Rear Window, and Vertigo), actually.
This is right up there on my list of favorite Otto Preminger movies, tied perhaps, with the sadly underrated Carmen Jones.