Judgment at Nuremberg

Movie Review: Judgment at Nuremberg

Year of Release: 1961
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Stanley Kramer
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland, Montgomery Clift

Plot: In 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazi judges for war crimes (IMDb).

Judgment at Nuremberg is a dramatization of a true story. The movie covers the third of thirteen Nuremberg trials wherein four high court judges were accused of participating in war crimes in support of Adolf Hitler's regime. Hitler's mad policies resulted in the deaths of some fifty million people. By 1948, Hitler was long dead, as were most of his high profile cronies. But what about the bureaucrats who carried out his policies? What about the judges who rubberstamped the decisions sending thousands of "enemies of the German state" to horrible deaths in concentration camps? Were those judges guilty of crimes against humanity, or were they "just doing their jobs"? But if the judges were guilty of being Nazi enablers, then who wasn't guilty? What about world powers who had allowed Germany to militarize, and even to occupy Austria and Czechoslovakia? What about all the German citizens, who had looked the other way as Jews and other "undesirables" were stripped of their rights, property, and lives? Aside from these imposing philosophical questions about blame and responsibility, there were practical matters to be considered. By 1948, the Soviet Union had occupied Eastern Europe, and the US badly needed the co-operation of West German to fight the Cold War. Would it be better to save Europe from Communism, than to save Germany from its former fascists? Produced and directed by Stanley Kramer, using black and white film, it garnered two Oscars, Maximilian Schell as Best Actor and another for Abby Mann's screenplay. The lead character is Spencer Tracy as Chief Judge of the American Tribunal that tries the Nazi judges. The overzealous Prosecuting Attorney is played by Richard Widmark. The Defense Attorney is played by Maximilian Schell, in a riveting performance. He plays a zealous attorney who transforms the case against his client to an indictment against the whole German people. Schell's performance is really over the top and makes the movie work. Four other characters give notable performances: Werner Klemperer, as one of the defendants, Emil Hahn, gives a convincing display of the arrogance one would associate with a man who had lived above the law for too many years; Marlene Dietrich, as the wife of an executed German general who forms a relationship with Tracy during his time off and tries to convince him that all Germans did not support Hitler; Montgomery Clift, horribly ravaged in appearance and emotions thru acute alcoholism, gave a convincing portrait of a victim of the machinations of the Nazi state whose tools were the judges; Judy Garland also gave a fine performance as a German housewife who befriended a Jewish man and was therefore punished by the Nazi tribunal. This drama kept me on the edge of my seat. The film has a few lagging moments as the scene shifts outside the courtroom to show Tracy's activities after work. Otherwise, it is a stunning movie. The German music adds a nice touch, recalling the power of the Nazi regime and taking the edge off of the all too real subject matter. (BK, GC)

My judgement: ***1/2 out of 4 stars