Anatomy of a Murder, directed by Otto Preminger in 1959, was based on a novel by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker writing under the pseudonym Robert Traver.
Starring James Stewart, Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, George C. Scott, and Duke Ellington, who wrote the soundtrack,Anatomy of a Murder was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture.
In this newsreel preview, witness the film’s world premiere in Detroit, Michigan.
On the red carpet are Lee Remick, lawyer Joseph N. Welch who plays the judge, and iconic producer-director-actor Otto Preminger.
Joseph N. Welch, who had previously come to national attention with his public defiance of Senator Joseph McCarthy when he went after the US Army, is a national hero.
Anatomy of a Murder was ultimately recognized by the Library of Congress for being a film that is “culturally, historically, (and) aesthetically significant” to the American canon.
