12 Angry Men

From Human Science

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.

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 1.1 Critical responses 1.2 Awards 2 Characters

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 boy from the city slum in his young teenage years, 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.

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.

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.

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