Imagine, if you will, the combination of something that blends the norms of everything that came before it.  Something that crosses lines and breaks rules.  Something that brings together a group of people to create and produce it who are well known and highly regarded for their earlier contributions, and solidify their reputations with a work that comes out in 1959.  Imagine all of that, and then the individual behind such a project not even using his real name when creating it due to his position.

In a small town in Michigan there was a lawyer who had semi-retired, having lost his bid to be reelected as the district attorney.  He spends most of his days pursuing other hobbies and interests that include fishing, or playing the piano.  Most of his time is spent in the companionship of his friend and colleague, who is alcoholic, and his cynical secretary.

One day he is contacted by a woman to defend her husband.  It seems her spouse has been arrested for the murder of a local innkeeper.  The suspect does not deny the fact that he murdered the victim.  His excuse, it would seem, is that the victim had raped his wife.  His defense is further complicated by the fact that he claims to have no memory of the event.

Under the best of circumstances, the former district attorney would have a challenge defending the suspect.  The fact that he may be able to claim a defense of ‘irresistible impulse’ may work to his advantage.  ‘Irresistible impulse’ is a version of the insanity defense, which is very difficult to prove, especially when it looks as though the defendant claiming it might well be faking the symptoms.

The Atticus Finch-type demeanor of the defense attorney belie the fact that he is capable of a variety of courtroom theatrics and possesses a brilliant legal mind.  Regardless, the case does not go well.  The prosecutor from the Attorney General’s office is an able advisory.  Making the case even more difficult to defend is the fact that the prosecution makes every attempt to keep the motive of the murder from being admitted into evidence, perhaps for fear of how they might react to such vulgar details.  It is, after all, the late 50s.

The defense attorney finally is able to work into the record that the husband murdered the victim as a result of the victim raping the suspects wife.  During cross examination, the prosecution gets the victim’s wife to admit that she openly flirted with other men, despite her marriage vows, even the one she claims raped her.  In the details that follow, underwear allegedly torn off during the alleged rape are never found, a child out of wedlock, and a verdict of “not guilty by reasons of insanity” all become part of the story.

All of the details of the case are true.  All of them provide too much of a temptation to write a book based on their tawdriness.  A novel is written .  What makes it even more controversial than the subject matter is that it is penned by a Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, who uses a pen name to cover up his true identity.  So popular is the book that a screenplay is written and a movie produced by famous director, Otto Preminger.  Film stars James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazarra, Eve Arden, and George C. Scott all take key roles in the movie.

The result is a movie that broke the studio’s ban on discussing adult matters in a matter-of-fact manner.  Terms including ‘rape’, ‘sperm’, ‘slut’, and ‘semen’ were heard for the very first time in movie theaters as crowds watched the film.  The gorgeous Lee Remick was noted for her extraordinary portrayal of the wife of the accused who had a checkered past and an apparently insatiable appetite for sex.

The movie broke through countless barriers, all while playing a musical score provided by Duke Ellington.

At the same time, engineers, designers and management at the Ford Motor Company were working out the details for some groundbreaking, innovative and memorable automotive developments at headquarters in Dearborn. The four-seat ‘Squarebird’, as beautiful as Lee Remick, would create an entirely new class of car, the ‘Personal Luxury Coupe’. General Motors wouldn’t have an answer for it for half a decade till the 1963 Buick Riviera came out. Work was starting on the Falcon, the most successful of all the Big Three’s attempts to stop the influx of imported cars. The ‘Hide-Away-Hardtop’ was becoming a reality that wouldn’t be duplicated for fifty years by anyone.

Heady times, indeed.  I don’t know if the film, Anatomy of a Murder, features a 1959 Ford Galaxie Skyliner somewhere in it or not.  I’m going to have to take the time to take a look and see.  But it would be the perfect metaphor for the times.  Risqué.  Trend setting.  A symbol of times that were changing faster than anyone could keep up with.

If there wasn’t one featured in the film, there should have been.  And it should have been one that was Geranium and Gunmetal Gray, even though the movie was shot in black and white.  And it should have had every option, even the fender skirts and Continental kit.  Both features were over the top, but so were the topics addressed in the movie.  And Lee Remick should have been the one behind the wheel, looking her most sultry, promiscuous, adultery-committing  best.