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Ave Maria Law Professor Eugene Milhizer will be at the Portage Lake District Library Wednesday evening to talk about the UP’s most famous film. Anatomy of a Murder was the first movie to be shot on location and saw the likes of Jimmy Stewart and George C. Scott make their way to Marquette County.
It was released in 1959. The year before, it was a national bestseller as a novel, all based on a real-life murder case at the Lumberjack Tavern in Big Bay. Milhizer says the film is the reason he got into law and talks about why it still matters today.
Ave Maria Law School was originally founded in Ann Arbor before relocating to Florida. Milhizer himself hails from the Detroit area, but loves this part of the state. He says Anatomy author John Voelker made the region a true character in the novel because he had a special connection to it.
Just after the success of the book and film, Voelker was named to the Michigan Supreme Court. He lasted only a couple of years before heading back home.
Milhizer’s book, Dissecting Anatomy of a Murder, is available on Amazon and copies can be found in downtown Houghton shops soon. His talk at the library begins at 6:00 PM on Wednesday.
