Home > 12 Angry Men

The first vote is 11-1 and the 11 jurors are angry at Henry Fonda's character for being the lone holdout. He says that it is morally wrong (and illegal) to condemn a man to death while even one juror has a reasonable doubt. Gradually, Fonda convinces every man on the jury that the defendant's guilt was not conclusively proved to convict him.

The movie was adapted by Reginald Rose from his story, and directed by Sidney Lumet; Boris Kaufman was the cinematographer.

The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.

None of the characters in the film are given a name; they are all identified by juror numbers, until the very end when Fonda meets up with Joseph Sweeney's character. Fonda's character's name is Davis, Sweeney's is McCardle.

The film was shot in 19 days on a budget of $349,000. It starts with wider lenses above eye level; by the end of the film nearly everyone is shown in closeup using a long lens from a low angle. (Wider lenses give the appearance of greater distance between objects; longer lenses give the appearance of "shortening" distance, while at the same time decreasing depth of field.) Lumet states that his intention was to cause a nearly palpable claustrophobia; and by most accounts he succeeded.

The film was parodied on BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation BBC is primarily a national publicly-funded broadcaster based in the United Kingdom, which also has some international services. Some of the international services (such as BBC cable TV in America, Canada and elsewhere televisionSee TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. The term has come to refer to all the aspects of television p in an episode of Hancock's Half HourHancock's Half Hour was a famous BBC radio comedy series of the 1950s starring Tony Hancock. Other regular cast members were Sid James, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams. Andree Melly appeared in some early episodes. The scriptwriters were Ra, starring Tony HancockAnthony John Hancock best known as Tony Hancock ( May 12, 1924 June 26, 1968) was a major figure in British television and radio comedy in the 1950s and 1960s. Early Life and Career He was born in Birmingham, England, but raised in Bournemouth where his m and Sid JamesSid James ( May 8, 1913 April 26, 1976) was a film and television actor. Sid James (Sidney Joel Cohen) was born in Natal in South Africa. During World War II, he was enlisted in an entertainment unit, and subsequently took up acting as a career. He came t.

The screenplay had first been produced on televisionSee TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band Television is a telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures and sound over a distance. The term has come to refer to all the aspects of television p, on the program Studio One , in 1954Events January events January 14 The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator forming the American Motors Corporation January 14 Marilyn Monroe weds Joe DiMaggio. January 15 Mau Mau leader Waruhiu Itote is captured in Kenya January 20 The Nati. No complete kinescopeThe term kinescope originally referred to a type of early television picture tube. Today the term is more commonly used to refer to a kinescope recording kine for short, also called a telerecording in the UK: a recording of a television program made by fi of that performance has been found.

12 Angry Men was remade for television in 1997, starring George C. Scott, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza, and Jack Lemmon. In this remake, the accused is an Hispanic, while the judge is a woman.

12 Angry Men is sometimes studied as literature. Some of the screenplays have been published and Rose wrote several stage adaptations of the story. Other theatrical adaptations in which female actors are cast as jurors are called 12 Angry Jurors or 12 Angry Women.

References

• Making Movies, by Sidney Lumet. (c) 1995, BooksEnthsiast.com