The plot of this film focuses on lawyer Biegler, played by Stewart, and a new case he has taken on. One night after going to a bar, Laura Manion is raped by Barney Quill, the bartender of that bar. After her husband Lt. Manion learns of this attack, he goes to the bar and calmly shoots and kills Quill. Biegler is hesitant to take the case at first but decides to take it, with Lt. Manion pleading insanity. The plot is straightforward which was nice to see, with spectacular acting by the entire cast. I especially liked the performances by Stewart and George C. Scott and I thought the scenes with them going against each other in court were very good. With all that said however, I felt that the ending was quite weak. After spending more than two hours in the courtroom, I was hoping for a better conclusion to the story. Although that was disappointing, I think that this is a worthwhile film to see, primarily because this is Jimmy Stewart at one of his best.
Review of Anatomy of a Murder
