12 Angry Men (1957 film)

For other productions, see Twelve Angry Men.

12 Angry Men
File:12 angry men.jpg Original film poster
Directed by	Sidney Lumet
Written by	Reginald Rose
Produced by	Henry Fonda 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
Cinematography	Boris Kaufman
Edited by	Carl Lerner
Music by	Kenyon Hopkins
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer United Artists
Release date	April 13, 1957 (1957-04-13)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$340,000
Box office	$1,000,000 (US rentals)

Movie trailer

12 Angry Men is a 1957 American drama film adapted from a teleplay of the same name by Reginald Rose. Directed by Sidney Lumet, the film tells the story of a jury made up of 12 men as they deliberate the guilt or acquittal of a defendant on the basis of reasonable doubt. In the United States (both then and now), a verdict in most criminal trials by jury must be unanimous. The film is notable for its almost exclusive use of one set: with the exception of the film's opening, which begins outside on the steps of the courthouse and ends with the jury's final instructions before retiring, a brief final scene on the courthouse steps and two short scenes in an adjoining washroom, the entire movie takes place in the jury room. The total time spent outside of the jury room is three minutes out of the full 96 minutes of the movie.

12 Angry Men explores many techniques of consensus-building, and the difficulties encountered in the process, among a group of men whose range of personalities adds intensity and conflict. 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".

Plot

The story begins in a courtroom where an 18-year-old Mexican boy from a New York city slum, is on trial for allegedly stabbing his father to death. Final closing arguments are presented, and the judge then instructs the jury to decide whether the boy is guilty of murder. The judge further informs them that a guilty verdict will be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence.

The twelve-man jury retires to a private room, where they spend a short while getting acquainted before they begin deliberating. It is immediately apparent that the jurors have already decided that the boy is guilty, and that they plan to return their verdict quickly, without taking time for discussion – with the sole exception of Juror Number 8 (Henry Fonda). He is the only "not guilty" vote in a preliminary tally. He explains that there is too much at stake for him to go along with the verdict without at least talking about it first. His vote annoys the other jurors, especially Juror 7 (Jack Warden), who has tickets to a baseball game that evening; and Juror 10 (Ed Begley), who believes that everyone from slum backgrounds is evil.

The rest of the film's focus is the jury's difficulty in reaching a unanimous verdict. While several of the jurors harbor personal prejudices, Juror 8 maintains that the evidence presented in the case is circumstantial, and that the boy deserves a fair deliberation. He calls into question the accuracy and reliability of the only two witnesses to the murder, the rarity of the murder weapon (a common switchblade, of which he has an identical copy), and the overall questionable circumstances (including the fact that an elevated train was passing by at the time of the murder). He further argues that he cannot in good conscience vote "guilty" when he feels there is reasonable doubt of the boy's guilt.

Having argued several points and gotten no favorable response from the others, Juror 8 reluctantly agrees that all he seems to be accomplishing is hanging the jury. He takes a bold gamble: he requests another vote, this time by secret ballot. He proposes that he will abstain from voting, and if the other eleven jurors are still unanimous in a guilty vote, then he will acquiesce to their decision. The secret ballot is held, and a new "not guilty" vote appears. Juror 9 (Joseph Sweeney) is the first to support Juror 8, feeling that his points deserve further discussion.

Juror 8 presents a convincing argument that one of the witnesses, an elderly man, who claimed to have heard the boy yell "I'm going to kill you" shortly before the murder took place, could not have heard the voices as clearly as he had testified, as well as stating that "I'm going to kill you," is often said by people who do not mean it literally. Juror 5 (Jack Klugman) – who had grown up in a slum – changes his vote to "not guilty." This earns intense criticism from Juror 3 (Lee J. Cobb), who accuses 5 of switching only because he's sympathetic toward slum children. Soon afterward, Juror 11 (George Voskovec) questions whether the defendant would have reasonably fled the scene and come back three hours later to retrieve the knife, then also changes his vote.

Juror 8 then mentions the man's second claim: upon hearing the murder, he had gone to the door of his apartment and seen the defendant running out of the building from his front door in 15 seconds. He questions whether this is true, as the witness in question had had a stroke, limiting his ability to walk. Upon the end of an experiment, the jury finds that the witness wouldn't have made it to the door in enough time to actually see the defendant running out. Some of the jurors come to the conclusion that, judging from what he heard earlier, the witness must have merely assumed it was the defendant running. Juror 3, growing more irritated throughout the process, explodes in a rant: "He's got to burn! He's slipping through our fingers!" Juror 8 takes him to task, calling him a "self-appointed public avenger" and a sadist, saying he wants the defendant to die purely for personal reasons, not the facts. Juror 3 shouts "I'll kill him!" and starts lunging at 8, but is restrained by two others. 8 calmly retorts, "You don't really mean you'll kill me, do you?", proving the point he mentioned earlier.

Jurors 2 (John Fiedler) and 6 (Edward Binns) also decide to vote "not guilty", tying the vote at 6–6. Soon after, a rainstorm hits the city, meaning that the baseball game Juror 7 had tickets to will be cancelled.

When Juror 4 (E.G. Marshall) states that he doesn't believe the boy's alibi, which was being at the movies with a few friends at the time of the murder because he couldn't remember what movies he saw three hours later, 8 tests how well 4 can remember the events of previous days. When 4 only remembers the events of the previous five days, 8 explains that being under emotional stress can make you forget certain things, and since 4 hadn't been under emotional stress, there was no reason to think the boy could remember the movie he saw.

Juror 2 calls into question the prosecution's claim that the accused, who was nearly a foot shorter than the victim, was able to stab him in such a way as to inflict the downward stab wound found on the body. Jurors 3 and 8 conduct an experiment to see if it's possible for a shorter person to stab downward into a taller person. The experiment proves that it's possible, but Juror 5 then explains that he had grown up amidst knife fights in his neighborhood, and shows, through demonstrating the correct use of a switchblade, that no one so much shorter than his opponent would have held a switchblade in such a way as to stab downward, as it would have been too awkward. Rather, someone that much shorter than his opponent would stab underhanded at an upwards angle. This revelation augments the certainty of several of the jurors in their belief that the defendant is not guilty.

Increasingly impatient, Juror 7 changes his vote just so that the deliberation may end, which earns him the ire of both Juror 3 and Juror 11, who were then on opposite sides of the discussion. Juror 11, an immigrant who has repeatedly displayed strong patriotic pride, presses Juror 7 hard about using his vote frivolously, and eventually Juror 7 admits that he truly believes the defendant is not guilty.

The next jurors to change their votes are Jurors 12 (Robert Webber) and 1 (Martin Balsam), making the vote 9–3 and leaving only three dissenters: Jurors 3, 4, and 10. Outraged at how the proceedings have gone, Juror 10 proceeds to go into a rage on why people from the slums cannot be trusted, of how they are little better than animals who gleefully kill each other off for fun. His speech offends Juror 5, who turns his back to him, and one by one the rest of the jurors start turning away from him. Confused and disturbed by this reaction to his diatribe, Juror 10 continues in a steadily fading voice and manner, concluding with the entreaty, "Listen to me. Listen...!" Juror 4, the only juror still facing him, tersely responds, "I have. Now sit down and don't open your mouth again." Juror 8 speaks quietly about the evils of prejudice, and as he does, the other jurors slowly resume their seats.

When those remaining in favor of a guilty vote are pressed as to why they still maintain that there is no reasonable doubt, Juror 4 states his belief that despite all the other evidence that has been called into question, the fact remains that the woman who saw the murder from her bedroom window across the street (through the passing train) still stands as solid evidence. After he points this out, Juror 12 changes his vote back to "guilty" to make the vote 8–4 again.

Then Juror 9, after seeing Juror 4 rub his nose (which is being irritated by his glasses), realizes that, like Juror 4, the woman who allegedly saw the murder had impressions in the sides of her nose, indicating that she wore glasses, but out of vanity did not wear them in court; Juror 8 cannily asks Juror 4 if he wears his eyeglasses to sleep, and 4 admits he doesn't – no one does. Juror 8 explains that there was thus no reason to expect that the witness happened to be wearing her glasses while trying to sleep, and he points out that the attack happened so swiftly that she would not have had time to put them on. After he points this out, Jurors 12, 10, and 4 all change their vote to "not guilty."

At this point, the only remaining juror with a guilty vote is Juror 3. A long argument with Juror 8 culminates in 3 revealing that he had had a poor relationship with his son, and his anger over this fact is the main reason he wants the defendant to be guilty. Juror 3 loses his temper and tears up a photo of himself and his son, then suddenly breaks down crying and changes his vote to "not guilty", making the vote unanimous.

As the jurors leave the room, 8 helps the distraught 3 with his coat in a show of compassion. The film ends when the friendly Jurors 8 (Davis) and 9 (McCardle) exchange names, and all of the jurors descend the courthouse steps to return to their individual lives.

Cast of characters

Juror #	Character	Actor	Order that juror votes 'not guilty'
1/Mr. Foreman	The jury foreman, somewhat preoccupied with his duties; proves to be accommodating to others. An assistant high school football coach	Martin Balsam	9th
2	A meek and unpretentious bank clerk who is at first dominated by others, but finds his voice later in the story.	John Fiedler	5th
3	A businessman and distraught father, opinionated, disrespectful, and stubborn with a temper; runs a messenger service, Beck and Call. The antagonist.	Lee J. Cobb	12th
4	A rational stockbroker, unflappable, self-assured, and analytical	E. G. Marshall	11th
5	A young man from a violent slum, a Baltimore Orioles fan	Jack Klugman	3rd
6	A house painter, tough but principled and respectful	Edward Binns	6th
7	A salesman, sports fan, superficial and indifferent to the deliberations	Jack Warden	7th
8	An architect, the first dissenter and protagonist. Identified as "Davis" at the end	Henry Fonda	1st
9	A wise and observant elderly man. Identified as "McCardle" at the end	Joseph Sweeney	2nd
10	A garage owner; a pushy and loudmouthed bigot	Ed Begley	10th
11	A European watchmaker and naturalized American citizen	George Voskovec	4th
12	A wisecracking, indecisive advertising executive	Robert Webber	8th

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.

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 for Fonda and Rose, who co-produced the film, it was their first and only role 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 tight budget of $340,000, or approximately $2.6 million when adjusted for inflation.

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.

Reception

Critical 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." However, the film was a financial disaster. The advent of colour and widescreen productions resulted in a disappointing box office performance. It wasn't until its first airing on television that the movie finally found its audience.

Legacy

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. 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. In June 2008, it revealed AFI's 10 Top 10—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 January 2011, the film holds a 100% approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. In 2011, the film was the second most screened film in secondary schools in the United Kingdom.

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 and 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 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 7th Berlin International Film Festival, the film won the Golden Bear Award.

Cultural influences

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. Sotomayor noted that events such as Juror 8 entering a similar knife into the proceeding, doing 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 "Old Woman" wearing glasses) would never be allowed to occur in a real life jury situation, and would in fact have yielded a mistrial.

See also

• List of American films of 1957
• Trial movies
• The Wasps

Further reading

• Making Movies, by Sidney Lumet. (c) 1995, 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. JSTOR 3595316. In depth analysis compared with research on actual jury behaviour.
• 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 978-0-7377-0313-9
• Chandler, David. “The Transmission model of communication” Communication as Perspective Theory. Sage publications. Ohio University, 2006.
• Lanham, Richard. “Introduction: The Domain of Style analyzing prose”. (New York, NY: Continuum, 2003)

External links

• 12 Angry Men at IMDb
• Template:Allrovi/movie
• 12 Angry Men at Rotten Tomatoes
• Criterion Collection Essay by Thane Rosenbaum
• Watch film