Ellroy introduces a crime or other flick from his personal canon at the Alamo Drafthouse in Littleton, Colorado.

James Ellroy, the Demon Dog of American literature, returns with his award-winning series “In A Lonely Place” to discuss Otto Preminger’s ANATOMY OF A MURDER.

A virtuoso James Stewart plays a small-town Michigan lawyer who takes on a difficult case: the defense of a young army lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) accused of murdering a local tavern owner who he believes raped his wife (Lee Remick). This gripping envelope-pusher, the most popular film by Hollywood provocateur Otto Preminger, was groundbreaking for the frankness of its discussion of sex—but more than anything else, it is a striking depiction of the power of words. Featuring an outstanding supporting cast—with a young George C. Scott as a fiery prosecutor and the legendary attorney Joseph N. Welch as the judge—and an influential score by Duke Ellington, Anatomy of a Murder is an American movie landmark, nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture. (The Criterion Collection)

DIRECTOR: Otto Preminger

STARRING: Ben Gazzara, James Stewart, Lee Remick