A courtroom drama can be told from any number of perspectives and often in combination to give a more complete view of the case. Where 12 Angry Men gives a look into the jury room, Anatomy of a Murder (playing at the Louisville Palace Aug. 26th at 8:00 P.M.) gives the audience a step-by-step recipe for how to defend a client who admits to the crime. Anatomy of a Murder also gives the screenwriter a tutorial on how to build suspense. Primarily, create conflict, provide opposition, increase the tension and maintain doubt up until the very end.
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) is a film from director Otto Preminger, screenwriter Wendell Mayes, and stars James Stewart as the defense attorney for a decorated soldier who admits to shooting a man. Michael Asimow, from UCLA Law School, called the film, “probably the finest pure trial movie ever made.” A big reason for that accuracy and its influence on future films is that it is based on a book written by a Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker, under the pseudonym Robert Traver. The film walks the line of truth and ethics and holds the distinction of being one of the first movies to grapple with the graphic nature of sex and rape.