Criminal Courts in England and the United States: A comparative approach to fictional representations as portrayed by two classic examples of courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

The objective of this paper is to analyse and compare representations of the legal systems of England and the United States in two courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) by Billy Wilder and Anatomy of a Murder (1959) by Otto Preminger. After a brief analysis of the links between law and...

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Main Author: Anne-Laure Dubrac
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAES 2017-04-01
Series:Angles
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/angles/1588
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author Anne-Laure Dubrac
author_facet Anne-Laure Dubrac
author_sort Anne-Laure Dubrac
collection DOAJ
description The objective of this paper is to analyse and compare representations of the legal systems of England and the United States in two courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) by Billy Wilder and Anatomy of a Murder (1959) by Otto Preminger. After a brief analysis of the links between law and fiction, the article presents an overview of how these films represent the professional environments that are central to their stories. It then explores differences and similarites between English and American law in theory and in practice. Since this article is addressed to French law students, it also makes occassional reference to the Civil Law system and to the inquisitorial procedure.
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spelling doaj-art-a005a9f44dc34f9e949b32870f1665542025-08-20T03:07:27ZengSAESAngles2274-20422017-04-01410.4000/angles.1588Criminal Courts in England and the United States: A comparative approach to fictional representations as portrayed by two classic examples of courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959)Anne-Laure DubracThe objective of this paper is to analyse and compare representations of the legal systems of England and the United States in two courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) by Billy Wilder and Anatomy of a Murder (1959) by Otto Preminger. After a brief analysis of the links between law and fiction, the article presents an overview of how these films represent the professional environments that are central to their stories. It then explores differences and similarites between English and American law in theory and in practice. Since this article is addressed to French law students, it also makes occassional reference to the Civil Law system and to the inquisitorial procedure.https://journals.openedition.org/angles/1588cinemalawEnglish for Specific Purposes (ESP)fictionadversary procedureCommon Law
spellingShingle Anne-Laure Dubrac
Criminal Courts in England and the United States: A comparative approach to fictional representations as portrayed by two classic examples of courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Angles
cinema
law
English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
fiction
adversary procedure
Common Law
title Criminal Courts in England and the United States: A comparative approach to fictional representations as portrayed by two classic examples of courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
title_full Criminal Courts in England and the United States: A comparative approach to fictional representations as portrayed by two classic examples of courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
title_fullStr Criminal Courts in England and the United States: A comparative approach to fictional representations as portrayed by two classic examples of courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
title_full_unstemmed Criminal Courts in England and the United States: A comparative approach to fictional representations as portrayed by two classic examples of courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
title_short Criminal Courts in England and the United States: A comparative approach to fictional representations as portrayed by two classic examples of courtroom films: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
title_sort criminal courts in england and the united states a comparative approach to fictional representations as portrayed by two classic examples of courtroom films witness for the prosecution 1957 and anatomy of a murder 1959
topic cinema
law
English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
fiction
adversary procedure
Common Law
url https://journals.openedition.org/angles/1588
work_keys_str_mv AT annelauredubrac criminalcourtsinenglandandtheunitedstatesacomparativeapproachtofictionalrepresentationsasportrayedbytwoclassicexamplesofcourtroomfilmswitnessfortheprosecution1957andanatomyofamurder1959