12 Angry Men
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| 12 Angry Men | |
|---|---|
 original film poster |
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| 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 John Fiedler Jack Klugman Ed Binns Jack Warden 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) | United States: 13 April 1957; |
| Running time | 96 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$340,000 (estimated) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
12 Angry Men is an American drama film produced in 1957 by first time director Sidney Lumet based on the play of the same name by Reginald Rose. It is about a jury member who tries to persuade the other 11 members to acquit the suspect on trial on the basis of reasonable doubt. The film is notable for its use of almost just one single set: with the exception of three minutes of screen-time split between the beginning and the end and two short scenes in an adjoining washroom, the entire movie takes place in the jury room.
The titular twelve "angry men" (the jurors) are played by an ensemble cast:
- Martin Balsam,
- John Fiedler,
- Lee J. Cobb,
- E.G. Marshall,
- Jack Klugman,
- Ed Binns,
- Jack Warden,
- Henry Fonda,
- Joseph Sweeney (in his last appearance in motion pictures).
- Ed Begley,
- George Voskovec,
- Robert Webber,
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 |
[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 at the time, any jury that will decide whether the death penalty is appropriate must be unanimous. The question they are deciding is whether the defendant, a young teenaged boy from the 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 due, in some cases, to the jurors' prejudices. Juror #8 dissents in the initial voting, 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 sole two witnesses to the murder, the fact that the knife used in the murder is not as unique as assumed (he produces an identical one from his pocket) and that the overall circumstances are rather shady.
His most fierce opponents - Jurors 3, 4 and 10 - claim that the boy's alibi is botched, since he does not remember any detail from the movies he watched at the theatre the night of the murder and he has sufficient motivation to kill his father. His lack of memory, however, is excused by panic attack; also, one of the witnesses is accused of wanting attention whilst the other might have "witnessed" the murder without her glasses on. As the deliberation goes on, the jurors go on to vote not guilty - in order, Jurors 9, 5, 11, 2, 6, 7, 12, 1, 4, 10 and finally 3. Juror 8 makes up his mind at the very beginning, in a secret vote; after hearing his reasons and listening to the complaints of Jurors 7 and 10, Jurors 5 and 2 change their votes. After Jurors 11 and 6 also decide on "not guilty," 7 becomes tired and also votes "not guilty" just so that the deliberation may end. Juror 12 changes his mind after voting "not guilty," but switches back moments after; the jury 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 in turn is convinced that the witness who "saw" the murder may be inaccurate in her account owing to the fact that she may not have been wearing glasses at the time.
Last of all 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, whom he hasn't seen in two years (his angry rage suggesting a probable falling out with the boy). All jurors leave and clear the accused of all charges off-screen. In the epilogue, the friendly Jurors 8 and 9 exchange surnames (all jurors have 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.[citation needed]
[edit] Responses
[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 100 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. As of May 3, 2008, 12 Angry Men is ranked as the 12th Best Film in existence on the IMDb Top 250.
Several of the actors became well known (especially Warden, Klugman, Binns, Fiedler, Begley, Cobb, Balsam and Marshall) for distinguished performances in this film and in the remainder of their careers.
[edit] Awards
The film was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. In all of these categories, the film was eclipsed by The Bridge on the River Kwai, which won seven Academy Awards that year. At the Berlin International Film Festival, the film won the Golden Bear Award.
[edit] Remake and other 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, 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.
The film's premise has been utilized (both dramatically and comically) in numerous TV shows, including:
- 3rd Rock from the Sun, "Eleven Angry Men and One Dick", 1997 (the defendant is obviously guilty of telemarketing fraud, but the defendant has a friendly personality and Dick can't bring himself to send him to jail.)
- 7th Heaven, The WB, "Twelve Angry People", 2000 (the jury foreman, Reverend Eric Camden, argues for a conviction)
- All in the Family, "Edith's Jury Duty", 1971 (Edith as a lone dissenter in a murder trial)
- Andy Griffith Show, "Aunt Bee on the Jury," in which Aunt Bee is the lone dissenting juror who refuses to vote guilty against a burglary suspect played by Jack Nicholson. Andy flushes out the real thief, right in the courtroom.
- Charmed, The WB, "Trial By Magic", 2002 (Phoebe must convince a jury that a man is innocent, despite overwhelming evidence against him.)
- Crossing Jordan, NBC, "Slam Dunk", 2004 (Jordan, as a juror, has her suspicions over an alleged cop-killer during his re-trial.)
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS, "Eleven Angry Jurors", 2004
- Cupid, ABC, "Hung Jury", 1998
- The Dead Zone, USA Network, "Unreasonable Doubt", 2002
- Family Guy, Comedy Central, "Jury in the Court", 2006
- The Dick Van Dyke Show, CBS, "One Angry Man", 1962
- Doogie Howser, M.D., ABC, "Eleven Angry People. ..and Vinnie", 1993
- Doordarshan (TV Movie), India, "Ek Ruka Hua Faisla", 1986, directed by Basu Chatterjee[1]
- Family Matters, ABC, "The Jury," 1996
- Hancock's Half Hour, BBC, "Twelve Angry Men", 1959. A parody version starring Tony Hancock and Sidney James. The lead juror (Hancock) protests the innocence of the defendant because he has 'such a nice face', and his impoverished companion (James) sides with him to keep the trial going, as they are being paid as long as the jury made no decision. This version ends with the jury themselves being tried for the supposed theft of a diamond ring used as evidence.
- In an episode of Happy Days, Fonzie employs his knowledge of motorcycles to prove that a man accused of stealing a woman's purse and escaping on a motorcycle was in fact innocent.
- Here's Lucy, CBS, "Lucy and Joan Rivers Do Jury Duty", 1973
- Hey Arnold!, Nickelodeon, "False Alarm", 1997
- Judge John Deed, BBC, "One Angry Man", 2006[2]
- King of the Hill, Fox, "Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men", 1998
- Matlock, ABC, "The Juror," 1993
- Malcolm in the Middle, Fox, "Jury Duty", 2002. (Lois consistently flips her opinion back and forth to keep the other jurors in the room talking about the case, finally requesting to leave after realizing she was prejudiced due to past issues with her son Francis.)
- Monk, USA Network, "Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty", 2006
- My Wife and Kids, ABC, "Jury Duty", 2003 (Jay is the only woman on the jury. The rest of the men want to get it over with because of the 'Godfather' marathon that was to be shown later that day. Jay votes not guilty in the initial vote.)
- The Odd Couple, ABC — co-starring Jack Klugman, who had appeared in the original film — "The Jury Story", 1970
- Pepper Ann, ABC, "One Angry Woman", 2000 (Pepper Ann's mother has to decide whether or not a child should receive a strict community service sentence after he allegedly spat on a bank's camera. A notable similarity was the line 'I spit on you! I spit on you!' from said episode and the line from 12 Angry Men: "I'll kill him! I'll kill him!").
- The Robot Chicken episode Midnight Snack has a humorous short named "12 Angry Little People", making fun of "12 Angry Men".
- The Simpsons, FOX, "The Boy Who Knew Too Much," 1994. When Homer is on the jury for a man who seems completely guilty, he purposely puts in the only "not guilty" vote so that he'll be sequestered at a nice hotel. As it turns out, he was right and the man really was innocent.
- The Tracy Morgan Show, NBC, "A Call to Duty", 2004
- Veronica Mars, UPN, "One Angry Veronica", 2005
- WKRP in Cincinnati In a reversal of the traditional plot, Herb Tarlek convinces a jury he is on that the man is guilty.
- Yes Dear, CBS, "Mr. Fix It", 2001 (Christine drags out the case so she will not have to go home to her kids)
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]
[edit] Theatre
The screenplay has been published, and 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 pre-occupied 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 stockbroker, unflappable and self-assured | Walter Abel | E.G. Marshall | Armin Mueller-Stahl | James Rebhorn | Jeffrey Hayenga | 10 (tie) |
| 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 | Ed 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 (tie) |
| 11 | An immigrant watchmaker, proud to be a naturalized American citizen | George Voskovec | George Voskovec | Edward James Olmos | Larry Bryggman | David Lively | 4 |
| 12 | An indecisive advertising executive | William West | Robert Webber | William L. Petersen | Adam Trese (Replaced by Byron Jennings) | Craig Wroe | 8 |
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Although none of the jurors' names are given throughout the film, Sweeney's (Juror #9) and Fonda's (Juror #8) characters give each other their last names (McArdle and Davis, respectively) at the very end.
- The story is set on a Friday. (When Juror #8 questions Juror #4 about what he recalls from "previous nights", he traces back to the previous night, the night before, and then goes on to ask what he did the night before then. Juror #4, trying to joggle his faltering memory, mumbles that the night in question was a Tuesday. This indicates that the day when the story develops is a Friday).
- When Juror #2 times Juror #8, who is recreating the limp of a dubious witness, he states that 41 seconds go by. In reality, Juror #8 takes 31 seconds.
- George C. Scott played Juror #3 (originally played by Lee J. Cobb) in the 1997 remake. Seven years before, Scott had played Lieutenant Kinderman in The Exorcist III - a character originally played by Cobb in The Exorcist.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Ek Ruka Hua Faisla. IMDB. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
- ^ Judge John Deed. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-04-16.
- ^ Official Awards at the 64th Venice Film Festival. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
[edit] Bibliography
- 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
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Invitation to the Dance |
Golden Bear winner 1957 |
Succeeded by Wild Strawberries |
