Anatomy of a Murder

Anatomy of a Murder is a 1959 American courtroom crime drama film. It was directed by Otto Preminger and adapted by Wendell Mayes from the bestselling novel of the same name written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker under the pen name Robert Traver. Voelker based the novel on a 1952 murder case in which he was the defense attorney.

In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, smalltown lawyer Paul Biegler James Stewart, a former district attorney who lost his reelection bid, spends most of his time fishing, playing the piano and hanging out with his alcoholic friend and colleague Parnell McCarthy Arthur OConnell and sardonic secretary Maida Rutledge Eve Arden.One day Biegler is contacted by Laura Manion Lee Remick, the wife of US Army Lieutenant Frederick Manny Manion Ben Gazzara, who has been arrested for the first degree murder of innkeeper Bernard Barney Quill. Manion does not deny the murder, but claims that Quill raped his wife. Even with such a motivation, it would be difficult to get Manion cleared of murder, but Manion claims to have no memory of the event, suggesting that he may be eligible for a defense of irresistible impulsea version of a temporary insanity defense. Bieglers folksy speech and laidback demeanor hide a sharp legal mind and a propensity for courtroom theatrics that has the judge busy keeping things under control. However, the case for the defense does not go well, especially since the local district attorney Brooks West is assisted by highpowered prosecutor Claude Dancer George C. Scott from the Attorney Generals office. ........

Source: Wikipedia