Moral Ambivalence
For our May presentation, we are screening Otto Preminger’s 1959 release Anatomy of a Murder, an acclaimed masterpiece in the oeuvre of one of Hollywood’s most prolific directors. All the court’s a stage in this brilliantly acted legal drama, centring on a small-town attorney defending an army lieutenant after he shoots the man who allegedly raped his wife. As the opposing legal teams battle it out in grandstanding games of verbal ping pong, innocence takes second place to their technical prowess. The law may not be an ass but the lawyers make donkeys of due process. Moral ambivalence cuts right through the heart of this picture.
Controversial on its release, time has blunted much of the film’s ironic take on notions of guilt and innocence. Yet it still stands as a telling commentary on 1950s America, as exemplified by this extract from Variety’s contemporaneous review, “There are […] scenes that contain language certainly never before heard in an American film with the [Hays] Code Seal. Such words as ‘contraceptive’, ‘climax’, ‘spermatogenesis’ and others dealing with the technicalities of rape […] are likely to be startling and distasteful to many customers (sic). It seems to be realism for its own sake, rather than for the necessities of the story.”
The screening will be charged at our usual rate of £7.00, which includes £1.00 membership fee.
To access Abbey Cinema’s booking page for Anatomy of a Murder, please use the following link
https://theabbey.ac/web?film=63ea69616afb0427bdea8ef7
Then select 7.30pm GUILDHALL where you can make your booking.
More information about the booking process and our current programme schedule can be found by searching under ‘About Us’ on the ABCD Website, https://abfilms.org.uk
For this screening, a member of our Front of House team will be on hand to assist anyone who wants to see the film but has not been able to book online.
A Programme Note for the film has been produced and is attached to this Newsletter – it can be accessed via the link at the bottom of the page, and provides a descriptive context to film you are about to see, plus technical credit details and ‘trailers’ for forthcoming films. Please print the Note if you wish to retain a paper copy.
Reaction Slips, for comments on the film and any other points about ABCD you may wish to make, will be available at the screening. Please use them freely – your comments and scores will be published on the Website in due course.
Note:
If this is the first time you have received an ABCD Newsletter and would like to find out more about the Film Society, please contact our Membership Secretary by Emailing info@abfilms.org.uk
http://abfilms.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ABCD-Prog-Note-Anatomy-25-05-23.pdf