12 Angry Men

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12 Angry Men
original film poster
Directed by	Sidney Lumet
Produced by	Henry Fonda Reginald Rose
Written by	Reginald Rose
Starring	Henry Fonda Lee J. Cobb E. G. Marshall Martin Balsam Jack Warden John Fiedler Jack Klugman Edward Binns Joseph Sweeney Ed Begley George Voskovec Robert Webber
Music by	Kenyon Hopkins
Cinematography	Boris Kaufman
Editing by	Carl Lerner
Distributed by	United Artists
Release date(s)	April 13, 1957
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$340,000

12 Angry Men is a 1957 American drama film adapted from a play. Directed by Sidney Lumet, the film tells the story of a jury made up of 12 men as they deliberate the guilt or innocence of a defendant on the basis of reasonable doubt. The film is notable for its almost exclusive use of one set: with the exception of two short scenes at the beginning and the end of the film set on the steps of the court building and two short scenes in an adjoining washroom, the entire movie takes place in the jury room.

Apart from two of the jurors swapping names while leaving the courthouse, no names are used in the film: the defendant is referred to as "the boy" and the witnesses as the "old man" and "the lady across the street".

In 2007, 12 Angry Men was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Reception 3.1 Critical responses 3.2 Awards 4 Adaptations 4.1 Film and TV 4.2 Stage 5 Characters 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Plot

The story begins after closing arguments have been presented in a murder case, as the judge is giving his instructions to the jury. According to American law in most states (both then and now), the verdict (whether guilty or not guilty) must be unanimous. A non-unanimous verdict results in a hung jury, which in turn forces a retrial. The question they are deciding is whether the defendant, a young teenage boy from a city slum, murdered his father. The jury is further instructed that a guilty verdict will be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence—the electric chair. The jury of twelve move to the jury room, where they begin to become acquainted with each others' personalities and discuss the case.

The plot of the film revolves around their difficulty in reaching a unanimous verdict, mainly due to the jurors' personal prejudices. An initial vote is taken and eleven of the jurors vote "guilty". Juror #8 is the lone dissenter, stating that the evidence presented is circumstantial and the boy deserves a fair deliberation, upon which he starts questioning the accuracy and reliability of the only two witnesses to the murder, the fact that the knife used in the murder is not as unusual as assumed (he produces an identical one from his pocket), and the overall shady circumstances. In a secret ballot, Juror 9 is the first to support Juror 8, not necessarily believing the accused is not guilty but feeling that Juror 8's points deserve further discussion. After listening to the complaints of Jurors 7 and 10, Jurors 5 and 11 change their votes. After Jurors 2 and 6 also decide on "not guilty", 7 becomes tired and also votes "not guilty" just so that the deliberation may end. When pressed by Juror 11, however, 7 says that he believes the defendant is not guilty. Juror 12 changes his mind after voting "not guilty", but switches back moments after; the foreman, #1, also votes "not guilty". Juror 10 loses all favor or respect after indulging in a bigoted rant, after which he is told to shut up by Juror 4, who soon becomes convinced by Juror 9 that the witness' testimony may be inaccurate because she may not have been wearing her glasses at the time of the alleged murder.

Last of all to agree is the adamant Juror 3, who, after a long confrontation with Juror 8, breaks down after glancing at and furiously tearing up a picture of him and his son. It is revealed that Juror 3 has not seen his son in two years, and his rage may be the result of a falling out with the boy. When his son was young, the father tried to teach the son to "be a man" after seeing him lose a fight. The son ended up punching his father in the mouth. The final vote is unanimous for acquittal. All jurors leave and the defendant is found not-guilty off-screen, while juror number 8 helps the angry juror number 3 with his coat in a show of compassion. In an epilogue, the friendly Jurors 8 (Davis) and 9 (McArdle) exchange surnames (all jurors having remained nameless throughout the movie) and the movie ends.

[edit] Production

Reginald Rose's screenplay for 12 Angry Men was initially produced for television, and was broadcast on the CBS program Studio One in 1954. A complete kinescope of that performance, which had been missing for years and was feared lost, was discovered in 2003.

The success of the TV film 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 for Fonda and Rose, who co-produced the film, it was their first and only roles as film producers. Fonda later stated that he would never again produce a film.

The filming was completed after a short but rigorous rehearsal schedule in less than three weeks on a budget of about $350,000.

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, who began his career as a director of photography, stated that his intention in using these techniques with cinematographer Boris Kaufman was to create a nearly palpable claustrophobia.^[1]

[edit] Reception

[edit] Critical responses

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 12 men was that "their dramas are powerful and provocative enough to keep a viewer spellbound." However, it was not a popular success: the advent of color and widescreen productions resulted in the film receiving a disappointing box office performance.

Despite this, the film is today viewed as a classic, highly regarded from both a critical and popular viewpoint: Roger Ebert lists it as one of his "Great Movies". 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, named 12 Angry Men the 42nd most inspiring film, and later named the movie as the 87th best film of the past hundred years. In June 2008, it revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. 12 Angry Men was acknowledged as the second best film in the courtroom drama genre. As of April 2009, critics from Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a 100% approval rating.^[2]

[edit] Awards

The film was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Writing of Adapted Screenplay. It lost to the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai in all three categories. At the Berlin International Film Festival, the film won the Golden Bear Award.

[edit] Adaptations

[edit] Film and TV

12 Angry Men was remade for television in 1997. Directed by William Friedkin, the remake stars George C. Scott, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza, William Petersen, Ossie Davis, Hume Cronyn, Courtney B. Vance, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mykelti Williamson, Edward James Olmos, Dorian Harewood, and Jack Lemmon. In this production, the judge is a woman and four of the jurors are African American (in interviews, producers said they decided against putting a woman in the jury because they didn't want to change the title). Still, most of the action and dialogue of the film is identical to the original. Modernizations include a prohibition on smoking in the jury room, the changing of references to income and pop culture figures, more dialogue relating to race, and occasional profanity.

In 2007, Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov completed his remake of the movie. The jury of 64th Venice Film Festival assigned its special prize to this remake 'to acknowledge the consistent brilliance of Nikita Mikhalkov’s body of work.'^[3]

Indian director Basu Chatterjee remade this film as Ek Ruka Hua Faisla in 1986.

The Lifetime Network showed a television movie, We the Jury, based on the same format and theme as this film, but with a much more diverse jury. However, in this Lifetime movie, the jury was charged with deciding whether to a convict a female defendant who killed her unfaithful husband of murder or manslaughter, and ends up being convinced to find her guilty of the more-severe charge.

Television parodies of the story have featured in Hancock's Half Hour, Happy Days, Hey Arnold, The Simpsons, Malcolm in the Middle, Robot Chicken, Veronica Mars, Touched by an Angel, King of the Hill, Family Matters and Peep Show.

The 2nd episode of the 3rd season of the TV series Crossing Jordan called "Slam Dunk", followed a very similar plot line, with Jordan being the lone dissenter in a cop killer case, and using her forensic knowledge to convince the other jurors to vote not guilty.

The fifth episode of the first season on the TV show The Dead Zone shows a similar plotline, with the main character, Johnny, playing the role of dissenting juror after having a premonition that the accused will be killed in prison. He casts doubt on the accused's guilt and begins to question the validity of the testimony, seeing the prejudices certain jurors have.

A somewhat similar plot appeared in the television series Monk, in the episode "Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty".

Also similar plot is in the Matlock series, in the episode "The Juror" (6th season, 9th episode).

In the Charmed series, the episode "Trial by Magic" (4th season, 11th episode) bases part of its story on this movie.

[edit] Stage

Rose wrote several stage adaptations of the story. In 1964, Leo Genn appeared in the play on the London stage. In other theatrical adaptations in which female actors are cast, the play is retitled 12 Angry Jurors or 12 Angry Women.

In 2004, the Roundabout Theatre Company presented a Broadway production of the play, starring Boyd Gaines as a more combative Juror No. 8, with James Rebhorn (No. 4), Philip Bosco (No. 3), and Robert Prosky as the voice of the judge. In 2007, 12 Angry Men ran on a national theater tour with Richard Thomas and George Wendt starring as Jurors No. 8 and No. 1, respectively. The 2008 tour does not include Wendt but features another popular TV personality, Kevin Dobson of Kojak and Knots Landing, as Juror No. 10.

[edit] Characters

Juror #	Character	1954 actor	1957 actor	1997 actor	2004-2005 Actor	2006-7 Actor	Order that juror votes 'not guilty'
1	The jury foreman, somewhat preoccupied with his duties; proves to be accommodating to others. An Assistant High-School Football coach	Norman Fell	Martin Balsam	Courtney B. Vance	Mark Blum	George Wendt	9
2	A meek and unpretentious bank clerk	John Beal	John Fiedler	Ossie Davis	Kevin Greer	Todd Cerveris	5
3	A businessman and an emotionally distraught father, opinionated and stubborn with a streak of sadism	Franchot Tone	Lee J. Cobb	George C. Scott	Philip Bosco (Replaced by Robert Foxworth)	Randle Mell	12
4	A rational stock broker, unflappable and self-assured	Walter Abel	E. G. Marshall	Armin Mueller-Stahl	James Rebhorn	Jeffrey Hayenga	11
5	A young man from a violent slum, a Baltimore Orioles fan	Lee Phillips	Jack Klugman	Dorian Harewood	Michael Mastro	Jim Saltouros	3
6	A house painter, tough but principled and respectful	Bart Burns	Edward Binns	James Gandolfini	Robert Clohessy	Charles Borland	6
7	A salesman, sports fan, superficial and indifferent to the deliberations	Paul Hartman	Jack Warden	Tony Danza	John Pankow	Mark Morettini	7
8	An architect, the lone dissenter (in the beginning). Identified as "Davis" at end of film	Robert Cummings	Henry Fonda	Jack Lemmon	Boyd Gaines	Richard Thomas	1
9	A wise and observant elderly man. Identified as "McArdle" at end of film	Joseph Sweeney	Joseph Sweeney	Hume Cronyn	Tom Aldredge	Alan Mandell	2
10	A garage owner; a pushy loudmouthed bigot	Edward Arnold	Ed Begley	Mykelti Williamson	Peter Friedman	Julian Gamble	10
11	An immigrant watchmaker, proud to be a naturalized American citizen	George Voskovec	George Voskovec	Edward James Olmos	Larry Bryggman (Replaced by Byron Jennings)	David Lively	4
12	An excitable, indecisive advertising executive	William West	Robert Webber	William Petersen	Adam Trese	Craig Wroe	8

[edit] See also

• List of American films of 1957
• Trial movies

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Making Movies, by Sidney Lumet. (c) 1995, ISBN 0-679-75660-4
• Phoebe C. Ellsworth. "Twelve Angry Men", Michigan Law Review, May 2003 v101 i6 p1387(21) (online at Infotrac), in depth analysis compared with research on actual jury behavior.
• The New York Times, April 15, 1957, "12 Angry Men", review by A. H. Weiler
• Readings on Twelve Angry Men, by Russ Munyan, Greenhaven Press, 2000, ISBN 0-7377-0313-X

[edit] External links

• 12 Angry Men at the Internet Movie Database
• 12 Angry Men at Allmovie

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Invitation to the Dance	Golden Bear winner 1957	Succeeded by Wild Strawberries

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