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Review Of ' Anatomy Of A Murder ' Essay

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In our world today much of how we relate to things has to do with what we see in the media. We base our views of people and places on what we see on television and in movies and less on our personal experiences. Media has lead a powerful role in shaping the way we think about our legal system and the legal actors in it such as lawyers. Movies such as Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Philadelphia (1993) were both made in largely different times in history and give different views of the way the media has portrayed lawyers throughout time. Anatomy of a Murder is a movie set in a small town in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Paul Biegler (James Stewart) is portrayed as a humble small-town country lawyer that spends his extra time fishing. Once the former district attorney, Paul Biegler now runs his small law office out of his home with his secretary Maida Rutledge (Eve Arden). Paul’s colleague and friend Parnell McCarthy (Arthur O’Connell) is portrayed as an alcoholic but chooses to become sober once a great opportunity comes to their small town. One afternoon Paul Biegler is contacted by the wife of US Army Lieutenant Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara), Laura Manion (Lee Remick). Lieutenant Manion has been arrested for the first-degree murder of a local barkeep Barney Quill. While Lieutenant Manion does not deny the murder, he claims that Quill raped his wife. During the interview with Paul Biegler, Lieutenant Manion came across as violently possessive and jealous.

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