I just don't know who's to blame

“More than six million! According to reports from the Nazi’s own figures. But the real figure? No one knows.”

I couldn’t help but replay the scene from The Grapes of Wrath in my mind during my seeing of Judgement at Nuremberg tonight, (cheers Jaidyn for the motivation) which has been looooooong overdue, where Muley and his family are being forced off their land because they can’t afford to keep living there anymore, and the suit behind his big wheels continues to give Muley a multitude of reasons why the taking of his land has to be so, and the suit tells Muley who gave him the orders to take his land and who gave them the orders to give them the orders and so on and so on, until Muley famously hits him back with the, “then who do we shoot?”, line, to which the suit replies, “brother, I don’t know. If I did, I’d tell ya. I just don’t know who’s to blame”.

“I just don’t know who’s to blame.”.

A question which not only Judgement At Nuremberg tries to get to the absolute crux of, but a question over eighty years now the world still continues to ask; how the human race let the human race get away with unspeakable atrocity during the era of the Nazi regime. And yet still, even when all the verdicts are proclaimed, an answer are we never truly given. I think what mesmerized me the most about Judgement at Nuremberg which I’ve never quite seen before in any other courtroom drama is the sheer size and scope of it, which very much has to do with the subject matter. Its not a case like in 12 Angry Men or The Verdict where the public exposure of the case is quite local or domestic, no, this is a trial at the world’s stage, and that is something you very well feel and carry with you during your viewing of this powerful work. Every actor is at the absolute TOP of their game here. As far as the theatrics of cinematic courtroom drama performances go, Judgement at Nuremberg houses the finest of its genre. I couldn’t even rank or pick a favourite because of how believable and commanding each presence on screen is. Whether it be Richard Widmark’s DETERMINED desire to see justice done, the cold tortured, regret-filled soul of Burt Lancaster, the vitriolic patriotism of Maximillian Schell, the mental incapability of Montgomery Clift, the grappling of what is right and is wrong from Spencer Tracy, the cold shoulder of Marlene Dietrich and the mourning of Judy Garland, holy hell, every star gives their 110% here and an over-exaggeration in the slightest it would not be to say that every single actor here gave the greatest performance of their career. One of true, great, essential courtroom dramas of all time.