Movie of the Week – Judgment at Nuremberg

This week’s movie: Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

The film is about the Nuremberg trials following the end of WWII, specifically the trial of four Nazi judges charged with war crimes.

Director Stanley Kramer followed up his great legal drama Inherit the Wind with another legal drama focusing on social and moral questions, making what are probably his best two films. He worked with composer Ernest Gold, cinematographer Ernest Laszlo, and production designer Rudolph Sternad.

The strongest aspect of the film, however, is its strong performances. Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell (who won an Oscar for his work), Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift, and William Shatner highlight the great ensemble.

Judgment at Nuremberg was nominated for eleven Oscars including Best Picture, winning two. It is one of the great legal dramas in film history, relying on great performances (from its fantastic cast). The politics of the film are also interesting. When the Nuremberg Trials began there was a need for someone to blame (with most of the Nazi high command committing suicide or fleeing in the final days of the war), while most of the German population professed that they did not know to the horrifying extent what the Nazis were up to (specifically, they claim to have not known about the concentration camps and mass murder), something that has always felt more or less untrue. The German people were suddenly not Nazis, condemning the political party even more fervently than the allies; and thus, known and convenient members of the party would take the fall for an entire country. Yet, in the late 1940s, the Soviet Union was beginning to assert its power a bit more, bucking its partnership with the other allied countries. Fear of communism and what the future held began to greatly overtake the distain felt towards Germany as a whole. The allies needed Germany to be strong and partner with them against the Soviets more than they needed to punish a whole country and its people (the effects of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany and their direct correlation to the Nazi Party taking power also well in the minds of many). Thus, there was a change during the trials. Germany was forgiven and even accepted as a friend among the allies – all easily accepting the position of throwing blame on a few Nazis and believing that most Germans were not party members and did not know or play a role in the murder of millions (although, to that point, many international, US included, companies are probably just as complicit; for example, IBM designed and did in-person maintenance on machines used to count the prisoners collected at the concentration camps; and, Coca Cola creating a new product, Fanta, so that it could continue doing business in Germany after removing its main brand when war was declared). Forgiveness is the best step forward, but it is interesting to see a complete attitude change on the basis of fear, beginning the Cold War. Judgment of Nuremberg is worth checking out for fans of war dramas and legal dramas.

Trailer: Here

Available on: DVD

Movie of the Week – Inherit the Wind

This week’s movie: Inherit the Wind (1960)

The film is based on the real-life case from 1925 in which two great lawyers argue for and against a science teacher who is accused of the crime of teaching evolution.

Director Stanley Kramer is maybe best known for his films It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, but I would argue that his courtroom dramas Inherit the Wind and Judgment at Nuremberg are his best. He worked with composer Ernest Gold, cinematographer Ernest Laszlo, and production designer Rudolph Sternad on this film.

The cast is fantastic and the film’s strongest aspect. Each actor gives a phenomenal performance. The film stars Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, and Gene Kelly, while featuring Dick York, Harry Morgan, Claude Akins, and Elliot Reid in support.

Inherit the Wind is a very good courtroom drama and fans of those types of films should enjoy it (although, I am not convinced that the procedures and protocol resemble a real courtroom in any way). The film, however, is an even better social drama. And sadly and maybe surprisingly, the issues tackled in the film are still present in modern society. Things like: freedom of speech, freedom to discover and learn new things (regardless of whether these things are treated as facts/truths or not), and freedom to be different. In the film the science teacher is persecuted for teaching evolution in a small town that is very religious (some protestant faction). The law forbids him from teaching the topic in the local public high school (despite the whole separation of church and state), but he does it anyway believing that his students should be aware of all possibilities and decide for themselves (which seems reasonable). What strikes me is that even today, eighty-nine years after the original case this is still a hot topic, religious groups clashing with public education/science. It is just kind of sad that we as a people have not progressed past a place of fear, ignorance, and mistrust (regardless of religious beliefs). It is a little frightening as well. Films like Inherit the Wind are important as they expose and explore the power and narrow-mindedness (on both sides) of beliefs existing in a state of ‘tunnel vision’ often leading to people becoming their worst-selves.

Trailer: Here

Available on: DVD and Video On-Demand