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Release Date: July 1, 1939
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Based on the best-selling novel by Robert Traver (the pseudonym for Michigan Supreme Court justice John D. Voelker), Anatomy of a Murder stars James Stewart as seat-of-the-pants Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler. Through the intervention of his alcoholic mentor, Parnell McCarthy (Arthur O'Connell), Biegler accepts the case of one Lt. Manion (Ben Gazzara), an unlovable lout who has murdered a local bar owner. Manion admits that he committed the crime, citing as his motive the victim's rape of the alluring Mrs. Manion (Lee Remick). Faced with the formidable opposition of big-city prosecutor Claude Dancer (George C. Scott), Biegler hopes to win freedom for his client by using as his defense the argument of irresistible impulse. Also featured in the cast is Eve Arden as Biegler's sardonic secretary, Katherine Grant as the woman who inherits the dead man's business, and Joseph N. Welch -- who in real life was the defense attorney in the Army-McCarthy hearings -- as the ever-patient judge. The progressive-jazz musical score is provided by Duke Ellington, who also appears in a brief scene. Producer/director Otto Preminger once more pushed the envelope in Anatomy of a Murder by utilizing technical terminology referring to sexual penetration, which up until 1959 was a cinematic no-no. Contrary to popular belief, Preminger was not merely being faithful to the novel; most of the banter about panties and semen, not to mention the 11-hour courtroom revelation, was invented for the film. Anatomy of a Murder was filmed on location in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Starring:
James Stewart, Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, George C. Scott
Directed by:
Otto Preminger
Rating: No Rating
Genre: Drama, Suspense/Thriller
Runtime: 160 min
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Let Me In
A young boy has troubles at home and at school. Fortunately for him a little girl who has moved in next door just might be the friend he’s been looking for. Unfortunately for him, that little girl happens to be a vampire. This one’s a remake of a Swedish film – which was based on the Swedish novel “Let the Right One In.” Chloe Grace Moretz (she played the girl in “Kick Ass”) and Richard Jenkins star.
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February 1st, 2011
Conviction
This film is based on the real life case in which Betty Anne Walters, here played by Hilary Swank, put herself through law school to take on the case of her brother Kenny, played by Sam Rockwell, who was convicted of murder. Great performances by these two skilled actors are backed up by a terrific supporting cast that includes Juliette Lewis, Minnie Driver and – Melissa Leo, who just won Golden Globe and SAG trophies for her work in “The Fighter.” In this movie she plays the hard-nosed cop who made it her mission to convict a man of a crime that, as it turns out, he never committed.
Never Let Me Go
This is different kind of movie that takes place in sort of an alternate universe of the late 1970s and 1980s. Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield are best friends who grow up together during this time at an English boarding school. However, the school has a chilling secret - and they find out how it is that people in general have an average lifespan that has now passed 100 years of age. And how they factor into that equation.
1 Disc DVD: Purchase
Welcome To The Rileys
Here is a quirky film about a dark subject. James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo (again!) are two people in a marriage that has been crumbling since the death of their 15-year-old daughter in a car crash. On a business trip to New Orleans, Gandolfini’s character wanders into a strip club and meets a hooker named Malory, played by Kristen Stewart. His intentions, however, are different then she at first guesses. He wants nothing carnal from her – but he does want a daughter! Soon he sells his business and moves into her apartment, paying her 100 dollars a day for the privilege!
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© 2012
