History Film / AnatomyOfAMurder

* InherentlyFunnyWords: "There's a certain light connotation attached to the word 'panties.'"

* IdiotBall: Dancer, the ace lawyer, completely botches the cross-examination of [[spoiler:Mary Pilant]]. First he violates the rule to never ask a question you don't know the answer to, thus blundering into the ambush where [[spoiler:Pilant says she was Quill's daughter, not his lover]]. Then he fails to make the obvious point that even if [[spoiler:Quill did bring Laura's underwear home, that doesn't prove that he raped her]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_1191.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:350: Trust a humble country lawyer to behave unprofessionally at trial... he [[ObfuscatingStupidity knows what he is doing]] better than you do.]]

The soundtrack was composed and performed by Music/DukeEllington, who also makes a [[TheCameo cameo appearance]].

* YouJustToldMe: Biegler uses this to get the DA to admit that Laura passed a lie-detector test.

* NeverTrustATrailer: Besides being one of the most uninteresting trailers ever, the trailer implies that James Stewart will be a witness as opposed to a lawyer: he is shown taking an oath on the Bible just as witnesses do.

* CourtroomAntic:
** {{Invoked}} so many times that we don't know where to begin.
** {{Lampshaded}} in the following exchange, which takes place after Dancer has been "inadvertently" blocking Biegler's view of his witness during cross-examination and then responds to Biegler's objection by implying that Biegler has been signaling the witness:
--->'''Dancer:''' I'm sorry, Mr. Biegler. I wouldn't want to interfere with your signals to the witness.\\
'''Biegler:''' ''[angrily]'' I object to the implication that I'm signaling the witness. This is the shabbiest courtroom trick I've ever seen.\\
'''Dancer:''' You haven't lived, Mr. Biegler.

* AmbiguousEnding: And yet it's almost ''the least'' ambiguous part of the film. In fact, the whole film is about as MindScrew'y as a 100% realistic movie can get.
* AmoralAttorney: Neither counsel is above resorting to dirty tricks to win the case. The worst offender is probably Biegler, despite being the protagonist of the film. It's not wrong for a defense attorney to do his best to get his client acquitted even if he's obviously guilty (that's his job, after all), but his behavior is still questionable. While it's illegal for an attorney to openly advise their client to lie to the court, Biegler not-so-subtly nudges his client into falsely claiming insanity as his defense. Despite this, Biegler comes off as down-to-earth and approachable, while prosecuting attorney Dancer comes off as more unlikeable - just as planned.
** Biegler also repeatedly makes remarks during the trial, implying things which, as an attorney, it is improper for him to imply. Even though the jury is officially told to disregard such remarks, Biegler knows the jury can't un-hear something once it has heard it... and Dancer uses the same strategy.

* AssholeVictim: The Manions' story paints Quill as one, but we never get a definitive answer as to whether he did rape Laura (though it's implied he did).[[note]]Mike Chenoweth, the victim in the RealLife case this story is based on, had a reputation as a serial rapist, though he never got arrested for any of them[[/note]]

* BatmanGambit: Dancer decides to call Manion's cellmate to the stand to give evidence on Manion's history of manic rage, despite the cellmate's embarrassingly poor credibility. [[spoiler: Dancer does this knowing that Biegler will call Manion to the stand a second time to refute the cellmate's evidence, which would give Dancer a second opportunity to cross-examine Manion. Biegler falls for the trap, and Dancer shreds Manion this time.]]

--> '''Biegler''': ''[half-humorously]'' None but the lonely heart shall know my anguish.

--->'''Dancer: '''I'm sorry, Mr. Biegler. I wouldn't want to interfere with your signals to the witness.\\
'''Biegler: '''''[angrily]'' I object to the implication that I'm signaling the witness. This is the shabbiest courtroom trick I've ever seen.\\
'''Dancer: '''You haven't lived, Mr. Biegler.

* CreatorInJoke: In one scene the desk clerk at the Thunder Bay Inn is very conspicuously reading the Leon Uris novel ''Literature/{{Exodus|Uris}}'', which Creator/OttoPreminger had already chosen as [[Film/Exodus1960 his follow-up project]] to this film.

* DramaticIrony: Dancer going for the kill in the cross-examination of [[spoiler: Mary Pilant]] is a major example, since he doesn't know that [[spoiler:she's Quill's daughter, not his mistress]].

-->'''Dancer: '''When I was overseas during the war, Your Honor, I learned a French word. I'm afraid that might be slightly suggestive.\\
'''Judge Weaver: '''Most French words are.

--> '''Biegler''': Me, I love fishing and an old guy named Parnell.
* IdiotBall: Dancer, the ace lawyer, completely botches the cross-examination of [[spoiler: Mary Pilant]]. First he violates the rule to never ask a question you don't know the answer to, thus blundering into the ambush where [[spoiler: Pilant says she was Quill's daughter, not his lover]]. Then he fails to make the obvious point that even if [[spoiler: Quill did bring Laura's underwear home, that doesn't prove that he raped her]].

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Manion. The insanity defense as cooked up by Biegler is clearly BS. Manion recalls the murder quite well when first questioned by Biegler but, after Biegler not-so-subtly encourages him, later comes up with the "dissociative state" story that is Biegler's defense at trial. Then, to top it all off, he skips town after the trial without paying Biegler the money he'd promised.]]

---> '''Biegler: '''It's easy to see that Muff doesn't know who his enemies are.

--> '''Laura''': ''[speaking about her marriage]'' I should've known how it would be. It's funny though. He likes to show me off. He likes me to dress the way I do. Then he gets furious if a man pays any attention to me. I've tried to leave him, but I can't - he begs and I give in.

* OhCrap: The expression on Dancer's face when he [[DidntSeeThatComing gets an answer he wasn't expecting]] during his cross-examination of [[spoiler: Mary Pilant]] (which is why trial lawyers are careful not to ask questions they don't know the answers to).

* SurpriseWitness: [[spoiler: Mary Pilant, who brings in the panties]].
** A jailhouse snitch, who says that Manion concocted the insanity defense. [[spoiler: Which as a viewer you know is true - but at the same time, the snitch is ''very obviously lying''.]]

-->'''Judge Weaver:''' For the benefit of the jury - but more especially for the spectators - the undergarment referred to in the testimony was, to be exact, [the victim's] panties. (''courtroom spectators laugh for several seconds; the judge then restores order'') I wanted you to get your snickering over and done with. This pair of panties will be mentioned again in the course of this trial, and when it happens, there will not be one laugh, one snicker, one giggle, or even one smirk in my courtroom. There isn't anything comic about a pair of panties which figure in the violent death of one man and the possible incarceration of another.

* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler: Did Quill actually rape Laura at all, and who really hit her? The film seems to be setting up TheKillerWasLeftHanded-Laura's black eye was her right eye, Quill is shown in a picture with a gun in his right hand, and Manion smokes a cigarette with his left hand-but this is not followed up on in the movie.]] There's also much play between both Manions and Biegler over who lights up with which cigarette lighter, but in the end no lighter has any plot significance.

Paul Biegler ([[Creator/JimmyStewart James Stewart]]) is a small-town lawyer in Michigan's Upper Peninsula who can't be bothered with doing legal work, and spends most of his time fishing and playing jazz piano. That is, until he's called in to defend loutish, wife-beating U.S. Army Lieutenant Frederick "Manny" Manion (Ben Gazzara), who has been arrested for killing innkeeper Barney Quill. Manion does not deny the murder, and smugly insists he was perfectly justified because Quill raped his wife, Laura (Creator/LeeRemick). Biegler knows better, however, and the story follows his attempts to get Manion acquitted, opposed by a prosecution team headed by assistant Attorney General Claude Dancer (Creator/GeorgeCScott, in only his second film role). Assisting Biegler in his efforts are his alcoholic friend and colleague Parnell [=McCarthy=] (Arthur O'Connell) and sharp-tongued secretary Maida Rutledge (Creator/EveArden).

* {{Corpsing}}: Not in the movie but in the trailer. It opens with a scene where Creator/OttoPreminger "swears in" the cast, and Creator/JimmyStewart is clearly trying not to laugh while Preminger administers his oath.

* CreatorInJoke: In one scene the desk clerk at the Thunder Bay Inn is very conspicuously reading the Leon Uris novel ''Film/{{Exodus}}'', which Creator/OttoPreminger had already chosen as his follow-up project to this film.

* AmoralAttorney: Neither counsel is above resorting to dirty tricks to win the case. The worst offender is probably Biegler, despite being the protagonist of the film. It's not wrong for a defense attorney to do his best to get his client acquitted even if he's obviously guilty (that's his job, after all), but his behavior is still questionable. While it's illegal for an attorney to openly advise their client to lie to the court, Biegler not-so-subtly nudges his client into falsely claiming insanity as his defense. Dancer comes off as more unlikeable, while Biegler comes off as down-to-earth and approachable - just as planned.

Paul Biegler ([[Creator/JimmyStewart James Stewart]]) is a small-town lawyer in Michigan's Upper Peninsula who can't be bothered with doing legal work, and spends most of his time fishing and playing jazz piano. That is, until he's called in to defend loutish, wife-beating U.S. Army Lieutenant Frederick "Manny" Manion (Ben Gazzara), who has been arrested for killing innkeeper Barney Quill. Manion does not deny the murder, and smugly insists he was perfectly justified because Quill raped his wife, Laura (Creator/LeeRemick). Biegler knows better, however, and the story follows Biegler's attempts to get Manion acquitted, opposed by a prosecution team headed by assistant Attorney General Claude Dancer (Creator/GeorgeCScott, in only his second film role).

* SassySecretary: Maida Rutledge (Creator/EveArden) is this to Biegler.

''Anatomy of a Murder'' was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to address sex and rape in graphic terms and use taboo words such as "sperm", "rape", "bitch", "slut", "penetration", and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking "panties"]].

Paul Biegler ([[Creator/JimmyStewart James Stewart]]) is a small-town Michigan lawyer who can't be bothered with doing legal work, and spends most of his time fishing and playing jazz piano. Then he's called in to defend loutish, wife-beating U.S. Army Lieutenant Frederick "Manny" Manion (Ben Gazzara), who has been arrested for killing innkeeper Barney Quill. Manion does not deny the murder, and smugly insists he was perfectly justified because Quill raped his wife, Laura (Creator/LeeRemick). Biegler knows better, however, and the story follows Biegler's attempts to get Manion acquitted, opposed by a prosecution team headed by assistant Attorney General Claude Dancer (Creator/GeorgeCScott, in only his second film role).

''Anatomy of a Murder'' was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to address sex and rape in graphic terms and use taboo words such as "sperm", "rape", "bitch", "slut", "penetration" and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking "panties"]].

* TheFilmOfTheBook: Interestingly, the initial plan was to turn it into a play, then adapt it into a film, but the playwright drafted for the job, John Van Druten, suffered AuthorExistenceFailure, then, once he bought the film rights, Creator/OttoPreminger hurried it into production. A stage adaptation was finally completed in 1963.

* AmoralAttorney: Neither counsel is above resorting to dirty tricks to win the case. The worst offender is probably Biegler, despite being the protagonist of the film. It's not wrong for a defense attorney to do his best to get his client acquitted even if he's obviously guilty (that's his job, after all), but his behavior is still questionable. While it's illegal for an attorney to openly advise their client to lie to the court, Biegler not-so-subtly nudges his client into falsely claiming insanity as his defense. Dancer comes off as more unlikeable, but Biegler, despite his amoral actions, comes off as down-to-earth and approachable - just as planned.

* AmoralAttorney: Neither counsel is above resorting to dirty tricks to win the case. The worst offender is probably Biegler, despite being the protagonist of the film. It's not wrong for a defense attorney to do his best to get his client acquitted even if he's obviously guilty (that's his job, after all), but his behavior is still questionable. While it's illegal for an attorney to openly advise their client to lie to the court, Biegler not-so-subtly nudges his client into falsely claiming insanity as his defense. Dancer comes off as more unlikeable, but Biegler, despite his amoral actions, comes off as down-to-earth and approachable - exactly as he intended.