"Judgment at Nuremburg" is a remarkable movie. It's set in post-war Germany, showing the trial of four German judges who'd sent defendants to concentration camps based on Nazi law. The movie creates an intense interest in the question of how guilty these men really are.

Spencer Tracy plays Dan Haywood, a humble New Hampshire district court judge who's been sent to preside over the trial. It's another sympathetic part for Tracy, who plays the simple, practical man who'd never been to Europe, and was now supposed to assess the guilt of the German judges. Inevitably, Tracy gives a thoughtful speech at the end full of common sense. The judge became guilty, he says, the first time he issued a sentence to an innocent man.

The movie does a good job of establishing its setting, showing the people of post-war Germany as well as those on trial. "Every single person I've met in Germany says they didn't know about the death camps," Tracy's character says at one point. William Shatner plays his assistant, who jokes at the end that a "guilty" verdict will decrease his prospects with a young German woman. German witnesses appear at the trial (some reluctant to remember the testimony they'd given the judges), and the judges themselves also appear, with one pleading for an understanding of his actions.

The movie boasts an incredible cast, including Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich, and Montgomery Clift. Judy Garland was one of four actors who were nominated for Oscars for their roles in this film. And one of the judges was played Werner Klemperer (who later played Colonel Clink on Hogan's Heroes), delivering an effective performance as the judge who insisted that what he'd done was right for the preservation of the German heritage. The actors create a fully-realized world, capturing the drama and the high stakes behind the verdict that Spencer Tracy will deliver.

The movie was released in 1962, after every one of the convicted judges had already been released. The movie acknowledges that the judge's mission is loaded with political implications, and the German defending attorney warns the prosecutor that "Even if you win, Germany is an important ally. You know these men will all be out and pardoned in less than five years." Sure enough, the end of the movie reminds viewers that all 99 Nuremburg defendants sent to prison were, indeed, released from jail within ten years. So where was the logic in pursuing the case?

Spencer Tracy ultimately delivers a second verdict to the movie's audience. Being logical is not the same thing as being right.

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