Anatomy of a Murder

Genre: Crime

Worldwide gross$8.0M

Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara), a lieutenant in the army, is arrested for the murder of a bartender, Barney Quill. He claims, in his defense, that the victim had raped and beaten up his wife Laura (Lee Remick). Although Laura supports her husband's story, the local paper has reported that the police surgeon can find no evidence that she has been raped. Manion is defended by Paul Biegler (James Stewart), a humble small-town lawyer and recently deposed district attorney. During the course of interviews, Biegler discovers that Manion is violently possessive and jealous, and also that his wife has a reputation for flirting with other men. Biegler realizes that the prosecution will try to make the court believe that Laura had been drunk and was picked up by the bartender and then her husband killed him and beat her up when he discovered they had been together. Manion pleads "not guilty" and Biegler, who knows that his case is weak, tries to find evidence that will save Manion.

🏆 Nominated for 7 Oscars. 10 wins & 18 nominations total

Genres

Drama, Mystery

Director

Otto Preminger

Cast

James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara

Released

13 July 1959

Runtime

2h 41m

Certificate

Approved

IMDb rating

8 / 10

Votes

76,917

Metascore

95

Rotten Tomatoes

100%

Box office

$11,900,000

Budget

$2,000,000

Edition

Base