Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg | |
---|---|
Ernest Gold | |
Production companies | Roxlom Films Amber Entertainment |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 179 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | English German |
Budget | $3 million[2] |
Box office | $16 million[3] |
Judgment at Nuremberg is a 1961 American epic legal drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, and written by Abby Mann. It features Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, William Shatner, and Montgomery Clift. Set in Nuremberg, West Germany, the film depicts a fictionalized version – with fictional characters – of the Judges' Trial of 1947, one of the twelve Nuremberg Military Tribunals conducted under the auspices of the U.S. military in the aftermath of World War II.
The film centers on a
An earlier version of the story was broadcast as an episode of the same name of the television series Playhouse 90 in 1959.[4] Popular interest in this effort caused an expanded focus on its dramatic elements. Maximillian Schell and Werner Klemperer portrayed the same characters in both productions.
In 2013, Judgment at Nuremberg was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[5][6] The production's presentation of historical events has attracted interest over decades before and since then due to its place in the narrative portrayals of the Holocaust in film.
Plot
Judgment at Nuremberg centers on a
Judge Dan Haywood is the chief judge of a three-judge panel of Allied jurists who will hear and decide the case against the defendants. Haywood is particularly interested in learning how the defendant Ernst Janning, a respected jurist and legal scholar, could have committed the atrocities he is accused of, including sentencing innocent people to death.
Haywood seeks to understand how the
Other characters the judge meets are
German defense attorney Hans Rolfe argues that the defendants were not the only ones to aid or ignore the Nazi regime. He claims the United States has committed acts just as bad or worse than the Nazis, such as US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.'s support for the first eugenics practices; the German-Vatican Reichskonkordat of 1933, which the Nazi-dominated German government exploited as an implicit early foreign recognition of Nazi leadership; Joseph Stalin's part in the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939, which removed the last major obstacle to Germany's invasion and occupation of western Poland, initiating World War II; and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final stage of the war in August 1945.[7][8]
Meanwhile, as a strict constructionist jurist, Janning refuses to testify or participate in a legal proceeding that he profoundly feels is no better than a post-WWII Western kangaroo court of its own. As the proceeding becomes more and more intolerable to him, he dramatically breaks his silence. He chooses to testify before the Tribunal as a witness for the prosecution, admitting he is guilty of condemning to death a
Haywood must weigh considerations of geopolitical expediency against his own ideals of justice. The trial is set against the background of the Berlin Blockade, and there is pressure to let the German defendants off lightly to gain German support in the growing Cold War against the Soviet Union.[9]
While the four defendants maintain their pleas of "not guilty" in their closing statements, Janning and fellow defendant, Werner Lampe, show clear remorse for their actions, while a third, Friedrich Hofstetter, claims they
Haywood visits Janning in his cell. Janning affirms to Haywood that his verdict was a just one, but asks him to believe that, regarding the mass murder of innocents, he never knew that it would come to that. Judge Haywood replies it came to that the first time Janning condemned a man he knew to be innocent.
Haywood departs; a
Cast
- Spencer Tracy as Chief Judge Dan Haywood
- Burt Lancaster as defendant Dr Ernst Janning
- Richard Widmark as prosecutor Col. Tad Lawson
- Maximilian Schell as defense counsel Hans Rolfe
- Marlene Dietrich as Frau Bertholt
- Montgomery Clift as Rudolph Peterson
- Judy Garland as Irene Hoffmann
- William Shatner as Captain Harrison Byers
- Howard Caine as Hugo Wallner – Irene's husband
- Werner Klemperer as defendant Emil Hahn
- Weimar Germany
- Karl Swenson as Dr Heinrich Geuter, Feldenstein's lawyer
- Ben Wrightas Herr Halbestadt, Haywood's butler
- Virginia Christine as Mrs Halbestadt, Haywood's housekeeper
- Edward Binns as Senator Burkette
- Torben Meyer as defendant Werner Lampe
- Martin Brandt as defendant Friedrich Hofstetter
- Kenneth MacKenna as Judge Kenneth Norris
- Ray Teal as Judge Curtiss Ives
- Alan Baxter as Brig. Gen. Matt Merrin
- Joseph Bernard as Major Abe Radnitz, Lawson's assistant
- Olga Fabian as Mrs Elsa Lindnow, witness in Feldenstein case
- Otto Waldis as Pohl
- Paul Busch as Schmidt
- Bernard Kates as Max Perkins
Production
Background
The film's events relate principally to actions committed by the German state against its own racial, social, religious, and eugenic groupings within its "in the name of the law" (from the prosecution's opening statement in the film), from the time of Hitler's rise to power in 1933. The plot development and thematic treatment question the legitimacy of the social, political, and alleged legal foundations of these actions.
The real Judges' Trial focused on 16 judges and prosecutors who served before and during the Nazi regime in Germany, and who embraced and enforced laws—passively, actively, or both—that led to judicial acts of compulsory sexual sterilization and to the imprisonment and execution of people for their religions, racial or ethnic identities, political beliefs, and physical handicaps or disabilities.
A key thread in the film's plot involves a "
The film is notable for its use of
According to numerous sources, Tracy's climactic monologue was filmed in one take using several cameras.[12] Clift had trouble remembering his lines, so Kramer told him to do the best he could, correctly figuring that Clift's nervousness would be central to his character's mental state.[13] (Clift was so eager to do the film that he worked just for expenses.[14]) Lancaster speaks only three lines (none in the courtroom) until his lengthy monologue roughly 135 minutes into the film. Meanwhile Garland was so happy to be working in a motion picture again after seven years away that it took her a while to get into the proper frame of mind to break down and cry.
Soundtrack
- "Lili Marleen"
- Music by Norbert Schultze (1938)
- Lyrics by Hans Leip (1915)
- "Liebeslied"
- Music by Ernest Gold
- Lyrics by Alfred Perry
- Music by
- "Wenn wir marschieren"
- German folk song (ca. 1910)
- “Wenn die Soldaten”
- German folk song (ca. 1840)
- "Care for Me"
- By Ernest Gold
- "Notre amour ne peur"
- By Ernest Gold
- "Du, du liegst mir im Herzen"
- German folk song, arrangement by Ernest Gold
- "Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13"
Reception
The
Kramer's film received positive reviews from critics and was lauded as a straight reconstruction of the famous trials of Nazi war criminals. The cast was especially praised, including Tracy, Lancaster, Schell, Clift and Garland. The film's release was perfectly timed, as its subject coincided with the trial and conviction in Israel of Nazi SS officer Adolf Eichmann.
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times declared it "a powerful, persuasive film" with "a stirring, sobering message to the world".[16] Variety wrote: "With the most painful pages of modern history as its bitter basis, Abby Mann's intelligent, thought-provoking screenplay is a grim reminder of man's responsibility to denounce grave evils of which he is aware. The lesson is carefully, tastefully and upliftingly told via Kramer's large-scale production."[17] Harrison's Reports awarded its top grade of "Excellent", praising Kramer for employing "an ingenious device of fluid direction" and Spencer Tracy for "a performance of compelling substance".[18]
Brendan Gill of The New Yorker called the film "a bold and, despite its great length, continuously exciting picture", which asks questions that "are among the biggest that can be asked and are no less fresh and thrilling for being thousands of years old". Gill added that the cast was so loaded with stars "that it occasionally threatens to turn into a judicial Grand Hotel. Luckily, they all work hard to stay inside their roles."[19] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post declared it "an extraordinary film, both in concept and handling. Those who see this at the Warner will recognize that the screen has been put to noble use."[20]
The Monthly Film Bulletin of Britain dissented, writing in a mostly negative review that "this large-scale trial film undermines faith in its philosophical and historical merit by colouring the better part of its message with hackneyed court-room hysteria", explaining that "in a series of contrived scenes ... the point is hammered home right down to the last shock-cut. The same specious technique (zoom-lens shots and camera-circlings predominant) and showmanship turn the trial into little more than a travesty—notably in the melodramatic switch in the character of Janning."[21]
The film grossed $6 million in the United States and $10 million in worldwide release.[22]
The television network premiere of the film was shown on
Awards and nominations
In June 2008, the
Release
Judgment at Nuremberg was released in American theatres on December 19, 1961.
Three
The Australian Blu-ray was released as part of The Hollywood Gold Series.[32]
Adaptations
In 1985, a Soviet stage adaptation of the film under the title Judgment was produced for Baltic House Festival Theatre, with Gennady Egorov as director.
In 2001, another stage adaptation of the film was produced for Broadway, starring Schell (this time in the role of Ernst Janning) and George Grizzard, with John Tillinger as director.[33]
See also
- German Concentration Camps Factual Survey, British and American army film of the camps
- List of Holocaust films
- Message picture
- Nuremberg Trials (a Soviet film on the trials)
- Spencer Tracy filmography
- Trial films
- War crimes trials
- Nuremberg, a 2000 TV miniseries about the actual Nuremberg Trials
Notes
- ^ This does not refer to the 1946 Nuremberg trials of the leadership of Nazi Germany, which was in front of an international panel of judges, not solely American ones. Of the 20 defendants in that trial, as of 1961 three men still remained in prison: Rudolf Hess, Albert Speer and Baldur von Schirach.
- ^ Tied with Anthony Perkins for Goodbye Again.
References
- ^ a b c Scott, John L. (December 14, 1961). "West Berlin Reaction on 'Nuremberg' Awaited". Los Angeles Times: Part IV, p. 7.
- ISBN 978-0299114404.
- ^ "Box Office Information for Judgment at Nuremberg". The Numbers. Archived from the original on November 28, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ "Playhouse 90 – Season 3, Episode 28: Judgment at Nuremberg – TV.com". TV.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ^ "Library of Congress announces 2013 National Film Registry selections". The Washington Post (Press release). December 18, 2013. Archived from the original on December 18, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
- ^ Nixon, Rob (2012). "Pop Culture 101: Judgment at Nuremberg". TCM.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2012.
- ^ Mann, Abby (1961). Judgment at Nuremberg. London: Cassell. p. 93.
- University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.for the judges. [...] Why did the educated stand aside? Because they loved their country.
He argues that the love of country led to an attitude of "my country right or wrong." Obedience or disobedience to the Fuehrer would have been a choice between patriotism or treason
- ^ "Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
- ^ King, Susan (October 11, 2011). "'Judgment at Nuremberg' 50 years later". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
- ^ Chilton, Martin (April 6, 2020). "The monster of MGM: was Spencer Tracy the most toxic man in Hollywood?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
- ^ Morris, Brogan (October 16, 2020). "Angel Of Death: Reframing Montgomery Clift At 100". The Quietus. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-4967-2479-3.
- ^ a b Scott, John L. (December 24, 1961). "Berlin 'Judgment' Draws Jas, Neins". Los Angeles Times: Calendar, p. 4.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (December 20, 1961). "The Screen: 'Judgment at Nuremberg'". The New York Times: 36. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
- ^ "Judgment at Nuremberg". Variety: 6. October 18, 1961.
- ^ "Film Review: Judgment at Nuremberg". Harrison's Reports: 166. October 21, 1961.
- ^ Gill, Brendan (December 23, 1961). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. p. 68.
- ^ Coe, Richard L. (February 15, 1962). "'Nuremberg' Is Great Film". The Washington Post. p. D6.
- ^ "Judgment at Nuremberg". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (337): 19. February 1962.
- ^ "Box office / business for Judgment at Nuremberg". IMDb. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
- ^ Glass, Andrew (March 7, 2013). "600 begin Selma-to-Montgomery march, March 7, 1965". Politico. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-136-17376-9.
- ISBN 978-0-295-80607-5.
- ^ "NY Times: Judgment at Nuremberg". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on November 9, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2008.
- ^ "AFI's 10 Top 10". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
- ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
- ASIN B0002CR04A. Archivedfrom the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
- ^ "Judgment at Nuremberg Blu-ray Limited Edition". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
- ^ "Judgment at Nuremberg Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ^ "Judgment at Nuremberg Blu-ray Hollywood Gold Series". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
- ^ Burke, Thomas (March 27, 2001). "Judgment at Nuremberg Theatre Review". Talkin' Broadway. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2018.