12 Angry Men Back to Index

Imdb Rating: 8.7
Genre: Drama
Directed: Reginald Rose (story), Reginald Rose (screenplay)
Country: USA
Year: 1957
Duration: 96 min

Media: Hot stuff
Recommended by zMin

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Actors: Martin Balsam (as Juror #1), John Fiedler (as Juror #2), Lee J. Cobb (as Juror #3), E.G. Marshall (as Juror #4), Jack Klugman (as Juror #5), Ed Binns (as Juror #6 (as Edward Binns)), Jack Warden (as Juror #7), Henry Fonda (as Juror #8/Mr. Davis), Joseph Sweeney (as Juror #9/Mr. McCardle), Ed Begley (as Juror #10), George Voskovec (as Juror #11), Robert Webber (as Juror #12)

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Description: "Life Is In Their Hands -- Death Is On Their Minds!"

A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court.

Comment: Intense courtroom drama which has 12 very different people, all males, struggling with a murder case involving a young Puerto Rican boy that seems cut-and-dried. However, juror Henry Fonda does not believe it to be as sure-fire as it appears. He votes not guilty and what follows is a chain of events that will test the views, beliefs and thoughts of the other 11 members. Fonda is great, but Lee J. Cobb steals every scene (and that is not easy to do in a film like this). Ed Begley, Martin Balsam, Jack Warden, Jack Klugman, Joseph Sweeney, E.G. Marshall and John Fiedler are among the other individuals caught in a situation that is much more difficult than it appears on the surface. An excellent character-study that should be studied and embraced by all present and future film-makers. 5 stars out of 5.

IMDB TRIVIA FOR 12 ANGRY MEN (1957):
- When first broadcast as a teleplay on TV's "Studio One" on 20 September 1954, the jurors were Norman Fell, John Beal, Franchot Tone, Walter Abel, Lee Philips, Bart Burns, Paul Hartman, Robert Cummings, Joseph Sweeney, 'Edward Arnold' , George Voskovec, Will West. Joseph Sweeney and George Voskovec were the only two actors to reprise their roles for the film.
- As shooting of the film went on, director Sidney Lumet gradually changed to lenses of longer focal lengths, so that the backgrounds seemed to close in on the characters, creating a greater feeling of claustrophobia.
- Lee J. Cobb makes a reference to The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956). Both he and Joseph Sweeney (Juror #9) had roles in that movie.
- For many years, only the first half of the kinescope of the live 1954 TV version of "12 Angry Men" upon which this movie version is based (shown in the series "Studio One" (1948)) was thought to survive, and had been in the possession of the Museum of Television and Radio since 1976. In 2003 a complete 16mm kinescope was discovered in the collection of Samuel Liebowitz (former defense attorney and judge) and was also acquired by the museum.
- Because the painstaking rehearsals for the film lasted an exhausting two weeks, filming had to be completed in an unprecedented 21 days.
- There is not a single woman in the cast and only one ('Faith Elliott' ) in the credited crew.
- Henry Fonda was asked by United Artists to make this film, so he did it as both actor and producer. He was, however, very frustrated at being producer and decided never to do so again.
- Henry Fonda disliked watching himself on film, so he did not watch the whole film in the projection room. But before he walked out he said quietly to director Sidney Lumet, "Sidney, it's magnificent."
- In the jury room, the characters are identified by their numbers as they are seated around the table. Only two have their surnames revealed. In an epilogue, Henry Fonda (Juror #8), and Joseph Sweeney (Juror #9), meet briefly on the courthouse steps. Fonda introduces himself as "Davis", Sweeney as "McCardle".
- All but three minutes of the film was shot inside the bare and confining, sixteen by twenty-four foot "jury room".
- Only two jurors are ever identified by name: #8 Mr. Davis and #9 Mr. McCardle. And all but two are identified by job or profession: #1 High School Football Coach, #2 Bank Teller, #3 Owns Messenger Service, #4 Stock Broker, #6 Painter, #7 Salesman, #8 Architect, #10 Garage Owner, #11 Watch Maker, and #12 Advertising Exec.
- Set in Manhattan several references are made to a an Elevated train that played a big part in disproving the prosecutions case. However by 1957 the last El train Manhattan, the Third Avenue el (closed in 1955), had already been closed and demolished.
- Juror #4 (E.G. Marshall) recalls going to a theater to see The Scarlet Hour (1956). Both Marshall and Ed Binns (Juror #6) had roles in that movie.

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