--- title: "Anatomy of a Murder: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/anatomy-of-a-murder/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/anatomy-of-a-murder" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Anatomy of a Murder (1959): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 13 reviews: 12 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics rate this highly, and the reviews agree on why. James Stewart’s small-town defence lawyer draws the most praise, with several reviews calling it one of his best performances, and George C. Scott’s prosecutor and Ben Gazzara’s defendant also singled out. Preminger’s method is admired almost as often: the patient courtroom procedure, the refusal to tell the audience what to think, and a willingness to leave motives unsettled. Duke Ellington’s jazz score is mentioned approvingly by nearly everyone who mentions the music at all. The reservations are few and mild. The one mixed notice, from The New Yorker in 1959, finds the early stretch slow and treats the whole as a diverting romp rather than anything weightier. The Playlist admires the film but admits some discomfort with its sexual politics, a point the newer reviews raise more than the older ones. The Guardian and Slant are warm without being rapturous. Beyond that the spread is narrow; reviews written sixty years apart land in much the same place. ## Radio Times — Adrian Turner Rating 5/5. This is probably the greatest courtroom drama ever made and features James Stewart's finest screen performance. The courtroom duels are mesmerising, revealing an America leaving its traditional moral values behind, with a notable Duke Ellington score. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-kyaehm/anatomy-of-a-murder/) ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating A. 14 March 2012. The review commends the film’s commitment to candor in a trial involving rape and murder, its authentic location shooting and procedure, and how it respects the audience by letting facts emerge without easy resolutions. It singles out the cast (especially Stewart) and the value placed on truth over censorship. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/anatomy-of-a-murder-1798171960) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The film remains a trenchant, bitter, tough and witty dissection of the US legal system. It is simply the best trial movie ever made, showing that lawyers have to be not only actors but stars, performing for their 12-man audience. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/anatomy-murder-review/) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 July 1959. The critic calls it the best courtroom melodrama seen, a potent character study with strong suspense and drama in the trial details. It brilliantly reveals the defense lawyer played by James Stewart in one of his finest performances. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/03/archives/screen-a-court-classic.html) ## The Times — Ian Johns Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 April 2005. The reissued film is hailed as Preminger's greatest courtroom epic for its ambiguity, real-life judge casting, and exposure of the legal system's cynicism, with strong performances from Stewart, Gazzara and Scott standing out. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/in-the-court-of-mass-appeal-9j07hblrf8t) ## Time Out — JWin Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The film cloaks itself in smartly tailored ambiguity and irresolution, remaining coolly absorbing and nonchalantly cynical. Preminger refuses standard thriller payoffs while highlighting the score by Duke Ellington and strong performances from Stewart, Remick and Scott. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/anatomy-of-a-murder) ## Slant Magazine — Jaime N. Christley Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 February 2012. The critic praises the film’s patient, meticulous courtroom procedure and Preminger’s objective style, which presents multiple viewpoints without pushing conclusions or emotional dominance. It highlights the strong cast performances, Duke Ellington score, and the film’s era-specific pleasures alongside its timeless psychological depth. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/anatomy-of-a-murder/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 April 2005. The critic finds Preminger's austere 1959 courtroom drama still disquieting on re-release, praising James Stewart's barnstorming turn as the shrewd small-town lawyer who coaches his client on a temporary insanity plea amid moral ambiguities around the rape-murder case. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2005/apr/15/5) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1958. Preminger creates situations that flicker with uncertainty and sustain interest through mixed and dubious motives. The film balances the fascinating nastiness of the younger players with the warmth and intelligence of Stewart and O'Connell. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1958/film/reviews/anatomy-of-a-murder-1200419421/) ## The New Yorker — John McCarten Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 4 July 1959. The film is a long-drawn-out variation on a whodunit that perks up once the lawyer engages with the client, offering a reasonably diverting courtroom romp with an engaging James Stewart performance. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1959/07/11/time-preminger-time) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating A. 14 July 2011. Praises it as Preminger's most beloved film, a detailed legal thriller that holds up, with excellent performances especially from Stewart and Scott, balanced by the jazz score and humor, despite some unease with the sexual politics. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/the-films-of-otto-preminger-a-retrospective-20110714/4/) ## Collider — Kelcie Mattson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 5 May 2024. The critic hails the film as a groundbreaking and critically acclaimed legal drama that deserves more attention alongside other Preminger and Stewart classics. Stewart's layered, subversive performance as the clever, morally ambiguous defense attorney is singled out for particular praise as the film's standout element. [Read the review](https://collider.com/jimmy-stewart-anatomy-of-a-murder/) ## /Film — Ben Pearson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 12 May 2020. The critic praises it as an excellent courtroom mystery, highlighting Jimmy Stewart's powerful performance and the jazzy score by Duke Ellington. They note it's straightforward but satisfying to watch top performers. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/574096/the-quarantine-stream-anatomy-of-a-murder-is-an-excellent-jimmy-stewart-courtroom-mystery/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/anatomy-of-a-murder.md