MovieChat Forums > Anatomy of a Murder (1959) Discussion > Mary Pilant

Mary Pilant

posted 17 years ago by Vega_Brother
9 replies | jump to latest

I was very confused by this movie at first (still am) and especially confused as to how Mary Pilant fit into it and what the *beep* her being Quill's daughter had to do with anything. I had to think of this movie in two ways to really figure it out: of what is said and why. What I gathered of the plot in full truth is that:

Fact 1) Mrs. Manion was having an affair with Quill

Fact 2) Mr. Manion found out about it and hit her then went to kill Quill, but not before someone (probably Mrs. Manion) gave Quill and the bartender word and they were prepared but dropped the ball

Fact 3) Mary heard about the missing panties in the trial, went home ripped them, then brought it to the trial. In turn, Biegler may have made a deal with her to get her Quills estate.

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[–] padzok 17 years ago

Facts 1 and 2 are certainly possible. They're not the only explanations, but they might be correct.

Fact 3 (in my opinion, anyway) is well wide of the mark.

The most obvious significance of the fact that she was Quill's daughter was the exchange with George C Scott's character. He was rope-a-doped by Biegler. Biegler knew that the prosecution would try to undermine her testimony by accusing her of being Quill's lover, and he knew that the revelation that she was Quill's daughter would be devastating to their case.

Firstly, it meant that she had no motive to lie.

Secondly, and much more importantly to a trial lawyer, George C Scott made the poor girl cry. Not only had she lost her father, but this nasty city lawyer accused her of sleeping with him. Bad man. There was no way the jury was going to vote for the prosecution after that display.

[–] tieman64 16 years ago

"Fact 3) Mary heard about the missing panties in the trial, went home ripped them, then brought it to the trial. In turn, Biegler may have made a deal with her to get her Quills estate."

Why would she do that? She spends the whole film trusting her father. Why would she suddenly want to frame him? More likely she simply came to realise that her point of view may have been wrong. She thus brings the evidence in, hoping, like the others, to find some measure of truth.

"Rape is no laughing matter. Unless you're raping a clown."

[–] jimmye184 12 years ago

George C Scott's character violated a cardinal rule of trial attorneys(never ask a question you don't already know the answer to).

let's go and say a prayer for a boy who couldn't run as fast as I could

[–] 398 16 years ago

Vega Brother--There was a key scene early in which Eve Arden tells Stewart that Barney Quill was sent off the deep end because Mary Pilante was running around with some soldier. Okay, but why did he go after Mrs Manion? One possible reason--Manion was the soldier. If Mary and Manion were having an affair, it could put the whole finding the torn panties at the end in a different light. Mary watched Mrs Manion's testimony. She perhaps assumed that Laura had blown it and so took it in her own hands to save her lover. Just a thought.

[–] goyal_sanchit 14 years ago

Ok lets see it this way.

Laura vivdly described the panties in detail along with the name of the brand. And the panties presented later were EXACTLY the same. Which means noone could have planted the "panty" and they would have used the original one.

And incase they had it all the time and wanted to plant it somewhere why wait for so long?? So there is high possibility that what is shown in movie was correct and had no hidden meanings.

[–] ogami1972 14 years ago

wow. i had never thought of that, seriously. well done, sir (or madam).

[–] 398 14 years ago

Laura revealed in her testimony that she had several of the same type of panties from that shop in Phoenix, as she could not even tell what color was missing. Mary Pilante heard that testimony and a detailed description of the panties. As Laura remained in the courtroom, and by the way her dog was not in her trailer but also at the courthouse and therefore would not raise a ruckus, Mary could have sneaked over to the trailer park and stolen a pair of panties, ripped them herself, and then brought them to the courthouse.

If you remember the scene at night in which Biegler brought Laura home, Laura walked up to her trailer and opened the door without a key. The trailer was not locked when Laura left it. Mary would have been able to walk straight in and go through her clothes.

[–] barryfleckmann 12 years ago

Really? That's HOW you interpret the movie? If so, then you probably think that Rosebud is Citizen Kane's pet hamster. Jeez!

"You can't HANDLE the truth!" Jack Nicholson, "A Few Good Men."

[–] rsbrandt 12 years ago

Good point about Barney being not too happy about Mary taking up with a soldier, though. The connection with it possibly being Manion is never made but it's a little hint that resonates in the audience's mind.