12 Angry Men (1957 film)

12 Angry Men is a 1957 American courtroom drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, adapted from a 1954 teleplay of the same name by Reginald Rose.^[6][7] The film tells the story of a jury of 12 men as they deliberate the conviction or acquittal of a teenager charged with murder^{[note 1]} on the basis of reasonable doubt; disagreement and conflict among them force the jurors to question their morals and values. It stars Henry Fonda (who also produced the film with Reginald Rose), Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, and Jack Warden.

12 Angry Men
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sidney Lumet
Screenplay by	Reginald Rose
Based on	Twelve Angry Men 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose
Produced by	Henry Fonda Reginald Rose
Starring	Henry Fonda Lee J. Cobb Ed Begley E.G. Marshall Jack Warden
Cinematography	Boris Kaufman
Edited by	Carl Lerner
Music by	Kenyon Hopkins
Production company	Orion-Nova Productions
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date	April 10, 1957 (1957-04-10) (Fox Wilshire Theater)^[1]^[2]
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$337,000^[3]^[4]
Box office	$2 million (rentals)^[5]

12 Angry Men explores many techniques of consensus-building and the difficulties encountered in the process among this group of men whose range of personalities adds to the intensity and conflict. The jury members are identified only by number; no names are revealed until an exchange of dialogue at the very end. The film forces the audience to evaluate their own self-image through observing the personalities, experiences, and actions of the jurors. The film is also notable for its almost exclusive use of one set, where all but three minutes of the film takes place.

The film was selected as the second-best courtroom drama ever (after 1962's To Kill a Mockingbird) by the American Film Institute for their AFI's 10 Top 10 list.^[8] It is regarded by many as one of the greatest films ever made. In 2007, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".^[9]

Plot

In the New York County Courthouse, a judge instructs a jury in a first degree murder case. If there is reasonable doubt, they must find “not guilty.” A guilty verdict means a mandatory death sentence. Any verdict must be unanimous. The camera pauses on the accused, a dark-haired youth. In the stifling jury room, the men begin to work—and to reveal themselves.

In a preliminary vote, Juror 8 votes “not guilty”. He outlines the boy's “miserable” past and insists that there should be some discussion before condemning him.

They review the case. The downstairs neighbor heard the defendant say “I'll kill you,” and the father's body hitting the floor. He went to his door and saw the defendant running down the stairs. The boy had recently purchased a supposedly unique switchblade like the one, wiped of fingerprints, stuck downward in his father's chest. He claims he lost it. He says he was at the movies, but could not remember details of the films. Across the street, a woman saw him stab his father, through the windows of a passing elevated train. The boy has a violent past. Juror 3 deplores today's youth, describing how he “made a man” out of his estranged son.

Juror 8 questions the competence of the defense attorney, who failed to cross-examine the witnesses. They ask to see the knife. Juror 8 produces an identical knife, purchased in the boy's neighborhood. He proposes a secret ballot. If anyone votes not guilty, they will stay and “talk it out.” There is one "not guilty" vote. Juror 9 reveals that it is his. He agrees that there should be more discussion.

Juror 8 argues that the noise of the train would have obscured everything the old man downstairs claimed to have overheard. Why would he lie? Juror 9 describes the pathetic witness, possibly in need of attention. Juror 8 questions the importance of the threat, “I'll kill you”. More jurors raise more questions. Juror 5 changes his vote. Juror 8 uses a diagram of the witness's apartment to show that the disabled man could not have made it to his door in time. Juror 3, infuriated, flies at Juror 8, screaming “I'll kill him”. “You don't really mean [that]” Juror 8 replies. Jurors 2, 6, and 11 change their votes: The jury is now evenly split.

Juror 4 stresses the boy's inability to recall details of the films. Juror 8 tests Juror 4's own memory and makes a point. Juror 5 demonstrates the way a switchblade is really used, underhand. Juror 7 changes his vote out of impatience rather than conviction, angering Juror 11. Jurors 12 and 1 also change, leaving only three "guilty" votes.

Juror 10 goes on a bigoted rant. Most of the men stand and turn their backs, isolating him. “Don't open your mouth again”, Juror 4 tells him. Pressed to explain his verdict, he cites the woman eyewitness. Juror 12 reverts to a guilty vote. Juror 4 removes his glasses and rubs his nose. Juror 9 asks if it is because of his eyeglasses. He recalls that the woman had the same marks, and was rubbing them. She was also dressed up in clothes befitting a much younger woman. Several jurors agree. Juror 8 asks Juror 4 if he wears eyeglasses to bed. No one does, he replies. The woman had to identify someone 60 feet away at night without glasses. Everyone votes not guilty, leaving Juror 3 as the sole dissenter.

Juror 3 rages as the others watch, silent. “It's all been twisted… “I've got all the facts here.” He fumbles with his notebook and slams it on the table. The picture of him and his son spills out. “You lousy bunch of bleeding hearts, you're not going to intimidate me.” He notices the photograph. “Rotten kids, you work your life out” he cries, and tears the photo to shreds. Breaking down, he sobs, "Not guilty".

After the others leave, Juror 8 helps Juror 3 with his coat. The defendant is acquitted off-screen. As the men leave the courthouse, Jurors 8 and 9 stop to learn each other's names (Davis and McCardle, respectively), before parting.

Cast

The film's trailer

• Martin Balsam as Juror 1, the jury foreman; a calm and methodical assistant high school football coach.
• John Fiedler as Juror 2, a meek and unpretentious bank teller who is easily flustered, but eventually stands up for himself.
• Lee J. Cobb as Juror 3, a hot-tempered owner of a courier business who is estranged from his son; the most passionate advocate of a "guilty" verdict.
• E. G. Marshall as Juror 4, an unflappable, conscientious, and analytical stock broker who is concerned only with facts, not opinions.
• Jack Klugman as Juror 5, a Baltimore Orioles fan who grew up in a violent slum, and is sensitive to bigotry towards "slum kids".
• Edward Binns as Juror 6, a tough but principled house painter who objects to others, especially the elderly, being verbally abused.
• Jack Warden as Juror 7, a wisecracking salesman who is more concerned about the Yankees game he is missing than the case.
• Henry Fonda as Davis, Juror 8, a humane, justice-seeking architect and father of three; initially, the only one to question the evidence and vote "not guilty".
• Joseph Sweeney as McCardle, Juror 9, a thoughtful and intelligent elderly man who is highly observant of the witnesses' behaviors and their possible motivations.
• Ed Begley as Juror 10, a pushy, loud-mouthed, and xenophobic garage owner.
• George Voskovec as Juror 11, a polite European watchmaker and naturalized American citizen who demonstrates strong respect for democratic values such as due process.
• Robert Webber as Juror 12, an indecisive and easily distracted advertising executive.
• Rudy Bond as the Judge
• Tom Gorman as the Stenographer
• James Kelly as the Bailiff
• Billy Nelson as the Court clerk
• John Savoca as the Defendant
• Walter Stocker as Man waiting for elevator

Themes

Professor of Law Emeritus at UCLA School of Law Michael Asimow referred to the film as a "tribute to a common man holding out against lynch mob mentality".^[10] Gavin Smith of Film Comment called the film "a definitive rebuttal to the lynch mob hysteria of the McCarthy era".^[11]

Business academic Phil Rosenzweig called the jury in 12 Angry Men being made up entirely of white men "especially important", writing: "Many of the twelve would have looked around the room, and, seeing other white men, assumed that they had much in common and should be able to reach a verdict without difficulty. As they deliberate, however, fault lines begin to appear—by age, by education, by national origin, by socioeconomic level, by values, and by temperament."^[12]

Production

Reginald Rose's screenplay for 12 Angry Men was initially produced for television (starring Robert Cummings as Juror 8), and was broadcast live on the CBS program Studio One in September 1954. A complete kinescope of that performance, which had been missing for years and was feared lost, was discovered in 2003. It was staged at Chelsea Studios in New York City.^[13]

The success of the television production resulted in a film adaptation. Sidney Lumet, whose prior directorial credits included dramas for television productions such as The Alcoa Hour and Studio One, was recruited by Henry Fonda and Rose to direct. 12 Angry Men was Lumet's first feature film, and the only producing credit for Fonda and Rose (under the production company, Orion-Nova Productions).^[3] Fonda later stated that he would never again produce a film.

The film was shot in New York and completed after a short but rigorous rehearsal schedule, in less than three weeks, on a budget of $337,000 (equivalent to $3,251,000 in 2021). Rose and Fonda took salary deferrals.^[3]

At the beginning of the film, the cameras are positioned above eye level and mounted with wide-angle lenses, to give the appearance of greater depth between subjects, but as the film progresses the focal length of the lenses is gradually increased. By the end of the film, nearly everyone is shown in closeup, using telephoto lenses from a lower angle, which decreases or "shortens" depth of field. Lumet stated that his intention in using these techniques with cinematographer Boris Kaufman was to create a nearly palpable claustrophobia.^[14]

Reception

Initial response

On its first release, 12 Angry Men received critical acclaim. A. H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote, "It makes for taut, absorbing, and compelling drama that reaches far beyond the close confines of its jury room setting." His observation of the twelve men was that "their dramas are powerful and provocative enough to keep a viewer spellbound."^[15] Variety called it an "absorbing drama" with acting that was "perhaps the best seen recently in any single film",^[16] Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times declared it a "tour de force in movie making",^[17] The Monthly Film Bulletin deemed it "a compelling and outstandingly well handled drama",^[18] and John McCarten of The New Yorker called it "a fairly substantial addition to the celluloid landscape".^[19]

The film was a box office disappointment in the US^[20][21] but did better internationally.^[3] The advent of color and widescreen productions may have contributed to its disappointing box office performance.^[20] It was not until its first airing on television that the movie finally found its audience.^[22]

Legacy

The film is viewed as a classic, highly regarded from both a critical and popular viewpoint: Roger Ebert listed it as one of his "Great Movies".^[23] The American Film Institute named Juror 8, played by Henry Fonda, 28th in a list of the 50 greatest movie heroes of the 20th century. AFI also named 12 Angry Men the 42nd-most inspiring film, the 88th-most heart-pounding film and the 87th-best film of the past hundred years. The film was also nominated for the 100 movies list in 1998.^[24] In 2011, the film was the second-most screened film in secondary schools in the United Kingdom.^[25] As of September 2021^[update], the film holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 55 reviews, with a weighted average of 9.10/10. The site's consensus reads: "Sidney Lumet's feature debut is a superbly written, dramatically effective courtroom thriller that rightfully stands as a modern classic".^[26]

American Film Institute lists:

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – No. 88
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains: Juror No. 8 – No. 28 Hero
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – No. 42
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – No. 87
• AFI's 10 Top 10 – No. 2 Courtroom Drama

Awards

The film was selected as the second-best courtroom drama ever by the American Film Institute during their AFI's 10 Top 10 list, just after To Kill a Mockingbird,^[8] and is the highest rated courtroom drama on Rotten Tomatoes' Top 100 Movies of All Time.^[27]

Award ceremony	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref(s)
Academy Awards	March 26, 1958	Best Picture	Henry Fonda and Reginald Rose	Nominated	^[28]
		Best Director	Sidney Lumet	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Reginald Rose	Nominated
British Academy Film Awards	March 6, 1958	Best Film	12 Angry Men	Nominated	^[29]
		Best Foreign Actor	Henry Fonda	Won
Berlin International Film Festival	June 21–July 2, 1957	Golden Bear	Sidney Lumet	Won	^[30]
Blue Ribbon Awards	February 5, 1960	Best Foreign Film		Won	^[31]
Edgar Awards	1958	Best Motion Picture	Reginald Rose	Won	^[32]
Golden Globe Awards	February 22, 1958	Best Motion Picture – Drama	12 Angry Men	Nominated	^[33]
		Best Director	Sidney Lumet	Nominated
		Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama	Henry Fonda	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture	Lee J. Cobb	Nominated
National Board of Review	December 1957	Top Ten Films	12 Angry Men	Won	^[34]
Writers Guild of America Awards	1958	Best Written Drama	Reginald Rose	Won	^[35]

Legal analyses

Speaking at a screening of the film during the 2010 Fordham University Law School Film festival, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor stated that seeing 12 Angry Men while she was in college influenced her decision to pursue a career in law. She was particularly inspired by immigrant Juror 11's monologue on his reverence for the American justice system. She also told the audience of law students that, as a lower-court judge, she would sometimes instruct juries to not follow the film's example, because most of the jurors' conclusions are based on speculation, not fact.^[36] Sotomayor noted that events such as Juror 8 entering a similar knife into the proceeding; performing outside research into the case matter in the first place; and ultimately the jury as a whole making broad, wide-ranging assumptions far beyond the scope of reasonable doubt (such as the inferences regarding the woman wearing glasses) would not be allowed in a real-life jury situation, and would in fact have yielded a mistrial^[37] (assuming, of course, that applicable law permitted the content of jury deliberations to be revealed).

In 2007, Michael Asimow argued that the jury in 12 Angry Men reached an incorrect verdict, writing that the amount of circumstantial evidence against the defendant should have been enough to convict him, even if the testimony of the two eyewitnesses were disregarded.^[10]

In 2012, Mike D'Angelo of The A.V. Club also questioned the verdict of the jury in the film, writing: "What ensures The Kid's guilt for practical purposes, [...] is the sheer improbability that all the evidence is erroneous. You'd have to be the jurisprudential inverse of a national lottery winner to face so many apparently damning coincidences and misidentifications. Or you'd have to be framed, which is what Johnnie Cochran was ultimately forced to argue—not just because of the DNA evidence, but because there's no other plausible explanation for why every single detail points to O.J. Simpson's guilt. But there's no reason offered in 12 Angry Men for why, say, the police would be planting switchblades."^[38]

Adaptations and parodies

There have been a number of adaptations. A 1963 German TV production Die zwölf Geschworenen [de] was directed by Günter Gräwert, and a 1973 Spanish production, Doce hombres sin piedad, was made for TV 22 years before Spain allowed juror trials, while a 1990 stage play homage by Kōki Mitani (also turned into a movie in 1991), Juninin no Yasashii Nihonjin ("12 gentle Japanese"), posits a Japan with a jury system and features a group of Japanese people grappling with their responsibility in the face of Japanese cultural norms. Season 5, Episode 27 of the sitcom Happy Days titled, "Fonzie for the Defense" ran their take on 12 Angry Men, which aired May 30, 1978. A 1986 episode of Murder, She Wrote entitled "Trial by Error" pays tribute to 12 Angry Men. The major twists are originally 10 jurors vote for "not guilty" due to self defense, Jessica votes "unsure" and another juror votes "guilty". Jessica and other jurors recall the evidence, as more and more jurors switch from "not guilty due to self defense" and come to a realization as to what actually occurred the night of the murder. The 1987 Indian film in Hindi language Ek Ruka Hua Faisla ("a pending decision") and also in Kannada as Dashamukha ("ten faces") are the remakes of the film, with an almost identical storyline. Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov also made a 2007 adaptation, 12, featuring a Chechen teen on trial in Moscow. A 2015 Chinese adaptation, 12 Citizens, follows the plot of the original 1957 American movie, while including characters reflecting contemporary Beijing society, including a cab driver, guard, businessman, policeman, a retiree persecuted in a 1950s political movement, and others.^[39] The detective drama television show Veronica Mars, which like the film includes the theme of class issues, featured an episode, "One Angry Veronica", in which the title character is selected for jury duty. The episode flips the film's format and depicts one holdout convincing the jury to convict the privileged defendants of assault against a less well-off victim, despite their lawyers initially convincing 11 jury members of a not guilty verdict.

In 1997, a television remake of the film under the same title was directed by William Friedkin and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In the newer version, the judge is a woman and four of the jurors are black, but the overall plot remains intact. Modernizations include not smoking in the jury room, changes in references to pop culture figures and income, references to execution by lethal injection as opposed to the electric chair, more race-related dialogue and profanity.

The film has also been subject to parody. In 2015, the Comedy Central TV series Inside Amy Schumer aired a half-hour parody of the film titled "12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer".^[40][41] The BBC Television comedy Hancock's Half Hour, starring Tony Hancock and Sid James, and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, was parodied in the episode broadcast on October 16, 1959. Family Guy paid tribute to the film with its Season 11 episode titled "12 and a Half Angry Men", and King of the Hill acknowledged the film with their parody "Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men" in season 3.

See also

• Twelve Angry Men
• List of American films of 1957
• List of films considered the best

Notes

1. In the United States, a verdict in criminal trials by jury must be unanimous.

References

1. "12 Angry Men – Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
2. "New Acting Trio Gains Prominence". Los Angeles Times. April 9, 1957. p. 23.
3. Hollinger, Hy (December 24, 1958). "Telecast and Theatre Film, Looks As If '12 Angry Men' May Reap Most Dough As Legit Play". Variety. p. 5. Retrieved May 21, 2019 – via archive.org.
4. Parsons, Louella, "Anita Ekberg Chosen for 'Mimi' Role", The Washington Post and Times-Herald, Washington, D.C., April 8, 1957: A18.
5. "Top Grosses of 1957", Variety, January 8, 1958: 30
6. Hollinger, Hy (February 27, 1957). "Film reviews: 12 Angry Men". Variety. p. 6. Retrieved June 7, 2019 – via archive.org.
7. "12 Angry Men". Harrison's Reports. March 2, 1957. p. 35. Retrieved June 7, 2019 – via archive.org.
8. "AFI's 10 Top 10 Courtroom Drama". American Film Institute. June 17, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
9. "Librarian of Congress Announces National Film Registry Selections for 2007". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
10. Asimow, Michael (April 2007). "12 Angry Men: A Revisionist View". Chicago-Kent College of Law Review. 82 (2): 711–716. ISSN 0009-3599. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
11. Rapf, Joanna E. (2005). Sidney Lumet: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. 131. ISBN 978-1578067244.
12. Rosenzweig, Phil (2021). Reginald Rose and the Journey of 12 Angry Men. Empire State Editions. ISBN 978-0823297740.
13. Alleman, Richard (February 1, 2005). New York: The Movie Lover's Guide: The Ultimate Insider Tour of Movie New York. Broadway Books. p. 231. ISBN 978-0-7679-1634-9.
14. . Playhouse Square. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
15. Weiler, A.H. (April 15, 1957). "Twelve Angry Men (1957) Movie Review". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
16. "12 Angry Men". Variety. February 27, 1957. p. 6.
17. Scheuer, Philip K. (April 11, 1957). "Audience Sweats It Out—Literally—With Jury". Los Angeles Times. Part II, p. 13.
18. "Twelve Angry Men". The Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 24, no. 281. June 1957. p. 68.
19. McCarten, John (April 27, 1957). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. p. 66.
20. 12 Angry Men Filmsite Movie Review. AMC FilmSite. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
21. 12 Angry Men at AllMovie. Rovi. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
22. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making 12 Angry Men featurette on Collector's Edition DVD
23. . Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
24. "America's Greatest Movies" (PDF). American Film Institute. 2002. (PDF) from the original on March 13, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
25. "Top movies for schools revealed". BBC News. December 13, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
26. "12 Angry Men Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
27. "Top 100 Movies of All Time". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
28. "The 30th Academy Awards | 1958". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
29. "Film Awards in 1958 | BAFTA Awards". bafta.org. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
30. "Prize & Honours 1957". berlinale.de. Berlin International Film Festival. from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
31. [Hiroyuki Nagato beats Kinnosuke Nakamura, he is the youngest person in history to win the Best Leading Actor Award]. Cinema Hochi (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
32. "Best Motion Picture Award Winners". theedgars.com. Mystery Writers of America. from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
33. "12 Angry Men". goldenglobes.com. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
34. . nbrmp.org. National Board of Review. Archived from the original on December 11, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
35. "WGA Awards Winners 1949–95". wga.org. Writers Guild of America. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
36. Semple, Kirk (October 18, 2010), "The Movie That Made a Supreme Court Justice", The New York Times, retrieved October 18, 2010
37. "Jury Admonitions In Preliminary Instructions (Revised May 5, 2009)1" (PDF). (PDF) from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
38. D'Angelo, Mike (August 2, 2012). "Did 12 Angry Men get it wrong?". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
39. Young, Deborah (June 23, 2015). "'12 Citizens' Shanghai Review". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
40. Lyons, Margaret. "Behold Inside Amy Schumer's Dead-On 12 Angry Men". Vulture. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
41. Homes, Linda. "Amy Schumer Puts Her Own Looks On Trial". NPR. Retrieved May 6, 2015.

Further reading

• Lumet, Sidney (1995). Making Movies. ISBN 978-0-679-75660-6
• Ellsworth, Phoebe C. (2003). "One Inspiring Jury [Review of 'Twelve Angry Men']". Michigan Law Review. 101 (6): 1387–1407. doi:10.2307/3595316. JSTOR 3595316. In depth analysis compared with research on actual jury behaviour.
• The New York Times, April 15, 1957, Screen: '12 Angry Men'; Jury Room Drama Has Debut at Capitol review by A. H. Weiler
• Munyan, Russ (2000). Readings on Twelve Angry Men. Greenhaven Press. ISBN 978-0-7377-0313-9.
• Chandler, David (2005). "The Transmission model of communication" Communication as Perspective Theory. Sage publications. Ohio University
• Lanham, Richard (2003). Introduction: The Domain of Style analyzing prose. New York: Continuum

External links

 

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