WORLD TOUR Day 20 - Michigan
BEFORE: Jimmy Stewart carries over, for another murder and another trial. This time, he plays one of the attorneys, and the film is set in the upper peninsula of Michigan - the part that looks like a strip of bacon, floating over the mitten.
THE PLOT: In a murder trial, the defendant says he suffered temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?
AFTER: Jeez, if I thought they were padding the film last night, this one's got them beat, hands down. The running time on this is a "Titanic"-sized 2 hours and 40 minutes. For a film of that size, I usually demand an ocean liner splitting in two, or at least some warriors battling an army of Orcs. But a murder trial? I've served on two juries, and I think this film is longer than the amount of time I spent in court on them combined, or maybe it just feels that way.
I realize we've got a lot of witnesses to get through, but come on! A little more editing, please. And by that I mean a lot more editing, please. There's no need to prove the defendant murdered the man in question, he freely admits that. So the trial is just to determine whether said act constitutes a crime, given the circumstances, namely the murder victim's (alleged) rape of the defendant's wife.
Stewart's character used to be the district attorney in the area, but now is trying his hand as lead counsel for the defense. He's trying for this newfangled verdict called "temporary insanity", so we the audience are introduced to a lot of psychological jargon in an attempt to define that term.
I maintain that there simply must have been a way to hurry this puppy along, a cause which director Otto Preminger seems to have summarily rejected. Among this film's other sins? Forcing me to hear Jimmy Stewart, America's Sweetheart, say words like "panties" and "sperm". Ewww. Plus the film falls JUST shy of blaming the victim for her own rape, and I thought we all agreed we weren't going to do that sort of thing.
I'm not sure that the film gives away its exact location, but it was shot in the courthhouse in Marquette, Michigan, and the novel was supposedly based on a real trial that was held right there - good enough for me to work with.
Also starring Lee Remick (last seen in "The Long, Hot Summer"), Ben Gazzara (last seen in "The Thoma Crown Affair" remake), George C. Scott (last seen in "Patton"), Arthur O'Connell (last seen in "The Poseidon Adventure"), Eve Arden, Murray Hamilton (last seen in "The Spirit of St. Louis"), with cameos from a young Orson Bean (I didn't think that was possible), Howard McNear (aka Floyd the Barber), and Duke Ellington (?!)
DISTANCE TRAVELED TODAY: 477 miles / 769 km (Springfield, IL to Marquette, MI)
DISTANCE TRAVELED SO FAR: 4,995 miles / 8,040 km
RATING: 3 out of 10 objections (Sustained!)
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