12 Angry Men

1957 film by Sidney Lumet Twelve Angry Men January 2025 February 2026 12 Angry Men 12 Angry Men (1957 film poster).jpg Poster depicting twelve jurors and an enlarged switchknife Theatrical release poster Sidney Lumet Reginald Rose Twelve Angry Men Reginald Rose Henry Fonda Reginald Rose Henry Fonda Lee J. Cobb Ed Begley E. G. Marshall Jack Warden Boris Kaufman Carl Lerner Kenyon Hopkins Orion-Nova Productions United Artists 1957 4 10 Fox Wilshire Theater http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/53690#3 12 Angry Men – Details AFI Catalog of Feature Films July 8, 2018 July 9, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180709010229/http://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/53690#3 liveApril 9, 1957 New Acting Trio Gains Prominence Los Angeles Times 23 96 minutes United States English $337,000Hollinger Hy Hy Hollinger Telecast and Theatre Film, Looks As If '12 Angry Men' May Reap Most Dough As Legit Play http://www.archive.org/stream/variety213-1958-12#page/n263/mode/1up Variety December 24, 1958 5 May 21, 2019 Internet ArchiveParsons, Louella, "Anita Ekberg Chosen for 'Mimi' Role", The Washington Post and Times-Herald, Washington, D.C., April 8, 1957: A18. $2 million (rentals)"Top Grosses of 1957", Variety, January 8, 1958: 30 12 Angry Men is a 1957 American legal drama film directed by Sidney Lumet in his feature directorial debut, adapted by Reginald Rose from his 1954 teleplay.Hollinger Hy Film reviews: 12 Angry Men http://www.archive.org/stream/variety205-1957-02#page/n237/mode/1up Variety February 27, 1957 6 June 7, 2019 archive.orgHarrison's Reports 12 Angry Men March 2, 1957 35 http://www.archive.org/stream/harrisonsreports39harr#page/n42/mode/1up June 7, 2019 archive.org A critique of the American jury system during the McCarthy era,Rapf Joanna E. 12 Angry Men https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/12_angry_men.pdf November 1, 2024 Library of CongressSterngold James August 17, 1997 A Tense Jury Room Revisited, And Racism Is Given a Twist https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/17/arts/a-tense-jury-room-revisited-and-racism-is-given-a-twist.html https://web.archive.org/web/20230811044735/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/17/arts/a-tense-jury-room-revisited-and-racism-is-given-a-twist.html August 11, 2023 November 1, 2024 New York Times the film tells the story of a jury of twelve men as they deliberate the conviction or acquittal of a teenager charged with murder on the basis of reasonable doubt; disagreement and conflict among the jurors forces them to question their morals and values. It stars an ensemble cast, featuring Henry Fonda (who also produced the film with Rose), Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, and Jack Warden. An independent productionhttps://www.ign.com/articles/best-independent-indie-movies-cinefix-list The Top 10 Indie Movies of All Time | A Cinefix Movie List Clint Gage June 26, 2022 IGNhttps://trailersfromhell.com/12-angry-men-4k/ 12 Angry Men 4K Glenn Erickson April 25, 2023 distributed by United Artists, 12 Angry Men received acclaim from critics, despite a lukewarm box-office performance. At the 30th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. It is regarded by many as one of the greatest films ever made. In 2007, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". Additionally, it was selected as the second-best courtroom drama ever (after 1962's To Kill a Mockingbird by the American Film Institute for their AFI's 10 Top 10 list.AFI's 10 Top 10 Courtroom Drama https://www.afi.com/afis-10-top-10/ American Film Institute June 17, 2008 November 29, 2014 June 19, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080619174154/http://www.afi.com/10top10/animation.html live Plot On a hot summer day in the New York County Courthouse, the trial has just concluded of an 18-year-old boy, characterized as a "slum kid", who is accused of killing his abusive father. The judge instructs the jury that if there is reasonable doubt, they must return a verdict of "not guilty". If found guilty by unanimous verdict, the defendant will receive a mandatory death sentence via the electric chair. At first, the case seems clear. A neighbor who lives opposite testifies to having seen the defendant stab his father, as she lay in bed looking out of her window and through the windows of a passing elevated train into the apartment where the killing took place. A disabled neighbor living below testifies that he heard the defendant threaten to kill his father, then heard the body hitting the floor. He says that on going to his door and opening it, he saw the defendant running down the stairs. The defendant had recently purchased, but claims he had lost, a switchblade of the same type that was found at the murder scene, wiped of fingerprints. In a preliminary vote, all jurors vote "guilty" except Juror 8, who wants discussion before any verdict. When his first few arguments – including proving that the switchblade, believed to be unique, is in fact not – fail to convince the other jurors, he suggests a secret ballot. This reveals one other "not guilty" vote; Juror 9 reveals that he, too, now agrees there should be more discussion. Juror 8 argues that the noise of the passing train would have obscured everything the second witness claimed to have overheard. Several jurors question whether the death threat, even if correctly overheard, was simply a figure of speech. Juror 11 doubts that a defendant who was clear headed enough to wipe the blade of fingerprints would risk returning to the crime scene. Jurors 5 and 11 change their votes. After looking at a diagram of the second witness's apartment and conducting an experiment, the jurors determine that it was impossible for the disabled witness to have made it to the door in the time he stated. Infuriated at a comment made by Juror 8, Juror 3 lunges at him and threatens to kill him; all go silent as they realize his words cannot reasonably be taken literally. Jurors 2 and 6 change their votes; the jury is now evenly split. The victim's stab wound was angled downwards. Juror 5, who has had personal experience with switchblades, points out that such blades are designed to be thrust upwardly, and that a downward thrust from a shorter, experienced assailant is inconceivable, as it would have required the blade to have been repositioned in the killer's hand. Jurors 7, 12 and 1 change their votes, leaving the jurors split 9:3. Juror 10 delivers a prejudiced rant against people from slum backgrounds, and the other jurors distance themselves from him. Juror 4 states that the evidence from the woman who saw the killing from her bed is incontrovertible, convincing Juror 12 to revert to a guilty vote. After watching Juror 4 remove his glasses and rub the impressions they made on his nose, Juror 9 realizes that the witness was constantly rubbing similar marks on her own nose, showing that she was a regular glasses-wearer despite not wearing them in court. Juror 8 remarks that the witness's evidence must be questionable, as she said she was in bed trying to sleep at the time, when she would not have been wearing her glasses, nor would she have had time to put them on. All jurors apart from Juror 3 now vote not guilty. Failing to convince the others, Juror 3 explodes in a fit of rage, opens his wallet and rips up a photograph of himself and his son. Seemingly realizing that his strained relationship with his son is the reason for his certainty, he breaks down in tears, and changes his vote. The jurors leave the jury room, now unanimous that the defendant should be acquitted. Juror 8 helps Juror 3 with his jacket. As they leave the courthouse, Jurors 8 and 9 briefly exchange names before parting ways. Cast thumb|245px|thumbtime=20|The film's trailer Juror Actor Description 1 Martin BalsamThe foreman; a calm and methodical assistant high school football coach.2John FiedlerA meek and unpretentious bank teller who is easily flustered, but eventually stands up for himself.3Lee J. CobbA loud, hot-tempered owner of a messenger service who is estranged from his son; the most passionate advocate of a "guilty" verdict.4E. G. MarshallAn unflappable, conscientious, and analytical stockbroker who is concerned only with facts, not opinions.5Jack KlugmanA Baltimore Orioles fan who grew up in a violent slum, and is sensitive to bigotry towards "slum kids".6Edward BinnsA tough but principled and courteous house painter who stands up to others, especially over the elderly being verbally abused.7Jack WardenAn impatient and wisecracking salesman who is more concerned about the Yankees game he is missing than the case.8Henry FondaA humane, justice-seeking architect and father of three; initially, the only one to question the evidence and vote "not guilty". The closing scene reveals his surname is 'Davis'.9Joseph SweeneyA thoughtful and intelligent elderly man who is highly observant of the witnesses' behaviors and their possible motivations. The closing scene reveals his surname is 'McCardle'.10Ed BegleyA pushy, loud-mouthed and xenophobic garage owner.11George VoskovecA polite European watchmaker and naturalized American citizen who demonstrates strong respect for democratic values such as due process.12Robert WebberAn indecisive and easily distracted advertising executive. Other, uncredited actors in the film include Rudy Bond as the judge, Tom Gorman as the court stenographer, James Kelly as the bailiff, Billy Nelson as the clerk, and John Savoca as the defendant.https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/53690 12 ANGRY MEN (1957) AFI Catalog of Feature Films Themes Professor of Law Emeritus at UCLA School of Law Michael Asimow referred to the film as a "tribute to a common man holding out against lynch mob mentality".Asimow Michael 12 Angry Men: A Revisionist View https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol82/iss2/12/ Chicago-Kent College of Law Review 82 2 711–716 April 2007 April 14, 2022 September 20, 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220920081811/https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol82/iss2/12/ live Gavin Smith of Film Comment called the film "a definitive rebuttal to the lynch mob hysteria of the McCarthy era".Rapf Joanna E. Sidney Lumet: Interviews University Press of Mississippi 2005 131 978-1578067244 Business academic Phil Rosenzweig called the jury in 12 Angry Men being made up entirely of white men "especially important", writing: "Many of the twelve would have looked around the room, and, seeing other white men, assumed that they had much in common and should be able to reach a verdict without difficulty. As they deliberate, however, fault lines begin to appear—by age, by education, by national origin, by socioeconomic level, by values, and by temperament."Rosenzweig 2021 223–224 Production Development Reginald Rose's screenplay for 12 Angry Men, titled Twelve Angry Men, was initially produced for television and was inspired by a jury summons.Spiegel 2019 184 Although it is unclear what trial he was summoned to,According to scholar Phil Rosenzweig, although the prosecution of William Viragh was the most likely trial Rose served on according to his account, a handwritten list of jurors that served on that trial does not include Rose.Rosenzweig 2021 60–61 according to Rose, in early 1954, he served as a juror on a manslaughter case in the New York Court of General Sessions. Though he and the other eleven jurors initially attended begrudgingly, Rose was deeply affected by the impassioned and deliberate atmosphere of the trial and the finality of his and the jury's verdict. Rose began writing Twelve Angry Men upon realizing that very few people knew what occurred during jury deliberations and that they could serve as an exciting setting for a drama.Rose 1956 155–156Rosenzweig 2021 57–58 While writing the screenplay, Rose cut planned passages of dialogue to account for a fifty-minute time slot on television, leading to the characters to be less nuanced.Rose 1956 157 A live production of "Twelve Angry Men", directed by Franklin Schaffner and starring Robert Cummings as Juror 8 and Franchot Tone as Juror 3, was broadcast on the CBS program Westinghouse Studio One on September 20, 1954, to positive reviews.Munyan 2000 19, 145–146Rosenzweig 2021 74, 76–77, 80 It received four nominations for the 7th Primetime Emmy Awards, winning three on March 7, 1955: "Best Actor in a Single Performance", "Best Direction", and "Best Written Dramatic Material".Munyan 2000 146Rosenzweig 2021 87 In February 1955, actor Henry Fonda formed Orion Productions under a three-year deal with distributor United Artists.Rosenzweig 2021 97 He reportedly first saw Westinghouse Studio One "Twelve Angry Men" as a kinescope in a Hollywood projection room following its success in the 7th Primetime Emmy Awards. He was impressed with the story and wanted to star as Juror 8.Rosenzweig 2021 98–99Spiegel 2019 184Fonda 1981 248 In mid-1956, Fonda partnered with Rose to produce a film adaptation of 12 Angry Men.McKinney 2012 331Fonda 1981 248 As part of the partnership, Rose formed Nova Productions and combined it with Fonda's Orion Productions to form Orion-Nova Productions,Rosenzweig 2021 99–100Pryor Thomas M. July 18, 1955 Fonda and Rose to Film TV Play; Actor and Author of 'Twelve Angry Men' Team for First of Star's Productions The New York Times 16 https://www.nytimes.com/1955/07/18/archives/fonda-and-rose-to-film-tv-play-actor-and-author-of-twelve-angry-men.html May 13, 2024 and production of the film was budgeted at $340,000.Spiegel 2019 185 To develop the screenplay and characters, Rose restored material he had cut for the broadcast and added dialogue that revealed character's backgrounds and motivations.Rosenzweig 2021 105Spiegel 2019 184 Fonda and Rose recruited Sidney Lumet to direct 12 Angry Men, his film directorial debut. Lumet had previously directed numerous episodes, including adaptations of Rose's plays, for TV series such as Danger and You Are There.Rosenzweig 2021 114 Fonda said he hired Lumet because of his proficient directing skills and because he was "wonderful with actors".Spiegel 2019 185 Lumet recruited Boris Kaufman as the cinematographer. Kaufman had recently won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for On the Waterfront (1954),Spiegel 2019 186http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36311/On-the-Waterfront/awards On the Waterfront (1954) The New York Times https://web.archive.org/web/20090429083620/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36311/On-the-Waterfront/awards April 29, 2009 July 2, 2024 and Lumet believed Kaufman's "realist style" suited the film.Rosenzweig 2021 115 Filming The film was shot in New York and completed after a short but rigorous rehearsal schedule, in less than three weeks, on a budget of $337,000 (US 337000 1957 -3 eq). Fonda said in 1957, "We shot this picture in 21 days, for $40,000 less than our modest $380,000 budget....we rehearsed for two weeks before even a thought of shooting. Everybody had a firm idea of what he was to say and do."Carmody, Jay. "The Passing Show: Fonda More Relaxed The Busier He Gets." Washington Evening Star, April 16, 1957, A16. Rose and Fonda took salary deferrals. Faith Hubley, later to be known for her Oscar-winning animated efforts with spouse John, was script supervisor for the film.https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-08-me-12827-story.html Faith Hubley, 77; Groundbreaking Film Animator Jon Thurber December 8, 2001 Los Angeles Timeshttps://books.google.com/books?id=Cf3bsozs4-EC Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons Nichola Dobson August 3, 2009 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Google Books Cinematographer Boris Kaufman described the film's longest single take beginning under the opening credits: "The opening scene was the longest single take I have ever done in all my years as a cinematographer. It ran for seven consecutive minutes. It was made up of 18 separate camera movements which actually showed 18 basic fact situations. It also established the basic style and mood of the picture. During the seven-minute take the camera introduces the twelve men in a very casual way as they bump into each other and exchange casual remarks which are not at all related to the case on trial. Yet in this way each character immediately begins to relate to every other man in the room and to the story."Kaufman, Boris. “Filming ’12 Angry Men’ On A Single Set.” American Cinematographer, December 1956, 724-25. The film was shot out-of sequence and without all 12 actors always present, as director Lumet explained: "When you shoot a movie that is nothing by 12 men's faces as they talk angrily to one another and you shoot it out of sequence and the camera is being moved from one angle to another around a room, then you go elaborately nuts trying to be consistent about who is looking where and at whom. In making 'Angry Men' the camera went around the table, shooting chair by chair. Once lights and cameras were pointed at a chair, then every speech, no matter its order in the movie, was shot. That meant that often you had only two or three actors in or near chairs, talking and arguing across the table with actors who were not there. You had to figure out where the nonexistent actor's eyes would be, so that the existent actor could stare him down. I spent nights puzzling the problem and my script became a maze of diagrams. We had arguments on the set as people tried to explain to me that I was crazy. But the diagrams came out right 396 times in 397 scenes. One we had to reshoot because I had the stockbroker looking the wrong way as he spoke to another actor." Fonda described the efficient filming similarly: "Normally, setup is worked out carefully, the scene is shot and there's a long lull while the next setup is being made. Not this time. With the camera positioned for, say, Scene 24, Lumet shot that one, and followed it immediately with Scenes 82, 105, or whatever others called for the same placement of the camera. Rehearsals, of course, had made everyone totally familiar with every scene in the picture.""Good Men and True and All Angry: Movie's Director Talks of Tricky Troubles." Life, 42:16 (April 22, 1957), 138. 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 stated that his intention in using these techniques with Kaufman was to create a nearly palpable sense of claustrophobia.http://www.playhousesquare.org/bbuzz/12angrymen/d-evolution.html Evolution of Twelve Angry Men Playhouse Square January 6, 2009 September 11, 2008 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090106012115/http://www.playhousesquare.org/bbuzz/12angrymen/d-evolution.html As director Lumet told Life magazine: "We did all we could honestly do on a one-set movie to heighten the drama. We created a claustrophobic tension by gradually changing camera lenses to narrow the room and crowd up the table. Little by little we lowered the camera level to shoot up at the furious jurymen. And the rate of changes in camera angles is stepped up as the talk grows larger and fiercer." Cinematographer Boris Kaufman discussed his efforts: "The entire story was straitjacketed inside a one-room set. After much thought and discussion, we decided there was only one way to overcome the possibility of static cinematography. That was to turn the disadvantage of a single set into a pictorial advantage. We decided to use the camera to play up the feeling of confinement and thus contribute dramatically to the total expression of the story, making the confinement an integral pictorial part of the mood. There was another pictorial technique we used to emphasize changes in the mood of the story and in the interlocking themes of the plot. This was in the basic lighting patterns, three in all. First the lighting suggests bright daylight as the hot afternoon sun shines through the windows as the jury files into the room. The second stage is reached when the action in the room becomes tight and charged with the oppressive heat of the summer day; the camera moves in again and again to show the tense, electric undercurrents related to the drama going on between the men of the jury. This effect is then heightened by darkening skies in the background, a sudden darkness in the room, and the sound of thunder off in the distance. And finally, the pictorial effect of a rainstorm which pours down on the city, and breaks the tension within the room at the height of the emotional battle that has been going on for over an hour and a half(…).The storm breaks only after the jurors' fateful decision has been made." Reception Box office The film was a box office disappointment in the US12 Angry Men Filmsite Movie Review. https://web.archive.org/web/20120501161330/http://www.filmsite.org/twelve.html May 1, 2012 AMC FilmSite. Retrieved April 14, 2012.12 Angry Men at AllMovie. https://web.archive.org/web/20120320215824/http://www.allmovie.com/movie/12-angry-men-v51289 March 20, 2012 Rovi. Retrieved April 14, 2012. but did better internationally. The advent of color and widescreen productions may have contributed to its disappointing box office performance. It was not until its first airing on television that the film finally found its audience.Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making 12 Angry Men featurette on Collector's Edition DVD Contemporary 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."Weiler A.H. Twelve Angry Men (1957) Movie Review https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9f02e3de1730e23bbc4d52dfb266838c649ede The New York Times April 15, 1957 August 28, 2011 April 30, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110430044536/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F02E3DE1730E23BBC4D52DFB266838C649EDE live Variety called it an "absorbing drama" with acting that was "perhaps the best seen recently in any single film",February 27, 1957 12 Angry Men Variety 6 adding: "Perhaps the motivations of each juror are introduced too quickly and are repeated too often [...] However, the film leaves a tremendous impact."Variety Staff January 1, 1957 Film Review: '12 Angry Men' https://variety.com/1956/film/reviews/12-angry-men-review-1200418382/ October 24, 2024 Variety en-US Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times declared it a "tour de force in movie making",Scheuer Philip K. Audience Sweats It Out—Literally—With Jury Los Angeles Times April 11, 1957 Part II, p. 13 The Monthly Film Bulletin deemed it "a compelling and outstandingly well-handled drama",June 1957 Twelve Angry Men The Monthly Film Bulletin 24 281 68 and John McCarten of The New Yorker called it "a fairly substantial addition to the celluloid landscape".McCarten John April 27, 1957 The Current Cinema The New Yorker 66 The Chicago Tribune reviewer thought the script "one of the best constructed and tautly written of the year....[Reginald Rose's] gift for reproducing the present day idiom adds to the validity of his 12 subjects as they struggle to reach common ground."Tinee, Mae. "April Brought Shower of 5 Fine Movies." Chicago Tribune, May 5, 1957, E15. Legacy The film is viewed as a classic, highly regarded from both a critical and popular viewpoint: Roger Ebert listed it as one of his "Great Movies".http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020929/REVIEWS08/209290301/1023 12 Angry Men Movie Reviews, Pictures Chicago Sun-Times August 17, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100913153843/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20020929%2FREVIEWS08%2F209290301%2F1023 September 13, 2010 dead en 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. In 2011, the film was one of the top 20 most screened films in secondary schools in the United Kingdom.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16160605 Top movies for schools revealed BBC News December 13, 2011 January 4, 2012 January 9, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120109103732/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16160605 live en The February 2020 issue of New York Magazine lists 12 Angry Men as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars".The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html New York Magazine March 17, 2025 en 2023 March , the film holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 61 reviews, with a weighted average of 9.10/10. The site's consensus reads: "Sidney Lumet's feature debut is a superbly written, dramatically effective courtroom thriller that rightfully stands as a modern classic".http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1000013-12_angry_men/ 12 Angry Men Movie Reviews, Pictures Rotten Tomatoes September 20, 2021 February 28, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090228173351/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1000013-12_angry_men/ live en Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the episode series season film a score of 97 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".12 Angry Men https://www.metacritic.com/movie/12-angry-men Metacritic Fandom, Inc. March 4, 2025 12 Angry Men Reviews https://www.metacritic.com/movie/12-angry-men/ March 4, 2025 Metacritic en 2026 May , the film is the 3rd highest rated narrative feature film on Letterboxd with an average rating of 4.6/5.2013-11-08 Letterboxd's Top 500 Films https://letterboxd.com/official/list/letterboxds-top-500-films/ 2026-06-01 Letterboxd en Awards and nominations The film was selected as the second-best courtroom drama ever by the American Film Institute during their AFI's 10 Top 10 list, just after To Kill a Mockingbird, and is the highest rated courtroom drama on Rotten Tomatoes' 300 Best Movies of All Time.300 Best Movies of All Time https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/guide/best-movies-of-all-time/ July 17, 2025 editorial.rottentomatoes.com en-US Award ceremony Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s) References Academy Awards March 26, 1958 Best Picture Henry Fonda and Reginald Rose https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1958 The 30th Academy Awards | 1958 Oscars.org October 4, 2014 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences September 16, 2021 live https://web.archive.org/web/20210912030408/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1958 September 12, 2021 Best Director Sidney Lumet Best Adapted Screenplay Reginald Rose British Academy Film Awards March 6, 1958 Best Film 12 Angry Men https://awards.bafta.org/award/1958/film Film Awards in 1958 | BAFTA Awards bafta.org British Academy of Film and Television Arts September 16, 2021 live https://web.archive.org/web/20210704190806/https://awards.bafta.org/award/1958/film July 4, 2021 Best Foreign Actor Henry Fonda Berlin International Film Festival July 2, 1957 Golden Bear Sidney Lumet https://www.berlinale.de/en/archive/jahresarchive/1957/03_preistraeger_1957/03_preistraeger_1957.html Prize & Honours 1957 berlinale.de Berlin International Film Festival September 16, 2021 live https://web.archive.org/web/20210820170220/https://www.berlinale.de/en/archive/jahresarchive/1957/03_preistraeger_1957/03_preistraeger_1957.html August 20, 2021 Blue Ribbon Awards February 5, 1960 Best Foreign Film http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/b_award/1959/ 中村錦之助を長門裕之が逆転 史上最年少で主演賞に Hiroyuki Nagato beats Kinnosuke Nakamura, he is the youngest person in history to win the Best Leading Actor Award Cinema Hochi Japanese September 16, 2021 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120219003525/http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/b_award/1959/ February 19, 2012 Edgar Awards 1958 Best Motion Picture Reginald Rose http://theedgars.com/awards/category-list-best-motion-picture/ Best Motion Picture Award Winners theedgars.com Mystery Writers of America September 16, 2021 live https://web.archive.org/web/20210421032718/http://theedgars.com/awards/category-list-best-motion-picture/ April 21, 2021 Étoiles de cristal April 15, 1958 Prix International 12 Angry Men Variety April 16, 1958 French Film Academy Tabs 'Angry Men' Best 8 https://archive.org/details/variety210-1958-04/page/n205/mode/1up?view=theater May 8, 2023 Archive.org Golden Globe Awards February 22, 1958 Best Motion Picture – Drama https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/12-angry-men-1957 12 Angry Men goldenglobes.com Hollywood Foreign Press Association September 16, 2021 live https://web.archive.org/web/20210411060303/https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/12-angry-men-1957 April 11, 2021 Best Director Sidney Lumet Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Henry Fonda Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Lee J. Cobb National Board of Review December 1957 Top Ten Films 12 Angry Men http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/past.cfm?year=1957 NBR Awards for 1957 nbrmp.org National Board of Review September 16, 2021 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20071211183420/http://www.nbrmp.org/awards/past.cfm?year=1957 December 11, 2007 Writers Guild of America Awards March 12, 1958 Best Written Drama Reginald Rose http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 WGA Awards Winners 1949–95 wga.org Writers Guild of America September 16, 2021 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20130117005354/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 January 17, 2013 http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/year/1957/1957wga.htm 10th Writers Guild Awards 1957 Los Angeles Times August 23, 2025 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20061017181447/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/extras/lostmind/year/1957/1957wga.htm October 17, 2006 American Film Institute lists: AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – No. 88 AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & 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 Legal analyses Speaking at a screening of the film during the 2010 Fordham University School of Law 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.Semple Kirk The Movie That Made a Supreme Court Justice October 18, 2010 https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/nyregion/18sonia.html live The New York Times October 18, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20101018044919/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/nyregion/18sonia.html October 18, 2010 Sotomayor noted that events such as Juror 8 entering a similar knife into the proceeding; performing 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 woman wearing glasses) would not be allowed in a real-life jury situation, and in fact would have yielded a mistrialhttp://www.nycourts.gov/cji/1-General/CJI2d.Jury_Admonitions.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20100528102537/http://www.nycourts.gov/cji/1-General/CJI2d.Jury_Admonitions.pdf May 28, 2010 live Jury Admonitions In Preliminary Instructions (Revised May 5, 2009)1 June 23, 2011 (assuming that applicable law permitted the content of jury deliberations to be revealed). In 2007, legal scholar Michael Asimow argued that the jury in 12 Angry Men reached an incorrect verdict, writing that the amount of circumstantial evidence against the defendant should have been enough to convict him, even if the testimony of the two eyewitnesses was disregarded. In the same year, drawing on empirical research, legal scholar Valerie Hans noted that while 12 Angry Mens depiction of a lone dissenter converting the majority is rare in reality, the film accurately portrays how quality deliberation, diverse perspectives, and the unanimity requirement can enable thoughtful dissenters to meaningfully influence jury outcomes, particularly when arguing for acquittal.Hans Valerie April 1, 2007 Deliberation and Dissent: 12 Angry Men Versus the Empirical Reality of Juries https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol82/iss2/4/ Chicago-Kent Law Review 82 2 579 0009-3599 In 2012, Mike D'Angelo of The A.V. Club questioned the verdict of the jury in the film, writing: "What ensures The Kid's guilt for practical purposes, [...] is the sheer improbability that all the evidence is erroneous. You'd have to be the jurisprudential inverse of a national lottery winner to face so many apparently damning coincidences and misidentifications. Or you'd have to be framed [...] But there's no reason offered in 12 Angry Men for why, say, the police would be planting switchblades."D'Angelo Mike August 2, 2012 Did 12 Angry Men get it wrong? https://www.avclub.com/did-12-angry-men-get-it-wrong-1798232604 live https://web.archive.org/web/20220424060009/https://www.avclub.com/did-12-angry-men-get-it-wrong-1798232604 April 24, 2022 April 24, 2022 The A.V. Club Adaptations and parodies Adaptations of Twelve Angry Men Adaptations of Twelve Angry Men There have been a number of adaptations of 12 Angry Men owing to its popularity and legacy. Following the film's release, the stage rights were sold. It quickly became a popular play in Europe, including in a French version by Andre Obey, which was a hit in Paris in 1958, and a German version by Horst Budjuhn de. It has been very popular on stage, in part due to its single location. Rose also created a stage version himself. A 1963 German TV production, Die zwölf Geschworenen, was directed by Günter Gräwert, and a 1973 Spanish production, Doce hombres sin piedad, was made for TV 22 years before Spain allowed jury trials, while a 1991 homage by Kōki Mitani, 12 gentle Japanese 12人の優しい日本人 Juninin no Yasashii Nihonjin yes, posits a Japan with a jury system and features a group of Japanese people grappling with their responsibility in the face of Japanese cultural norms. A 1970 episode of The Odd Couple television series (also co-starring Jack Klugman) entitled "The Jury Story" is reminiscent of 12 Angry Men, as it tells in a flashback the circumstances behind the meeting of roommates Oscar Madison and Felix Unger. Klugman (Madison) plays a juror on a panel during a supposedly open-and-shut case. Co-star Tony Randall (Unger) portrays the lone holdout who votes not guilty, eventually convincing the other eleven jurors. A 1978 episode of Happy Days entitled "Fonzie for the Defense" contains a situation similar to 12 Angry Men when Howard Cunningham and Fonzie find themselves the only members of the jury who are not ready to convict the defendant just because he rides a motorcycle. A 1986 episode of Murder, She Wrote entitled "Trial by Error" pays tribute to 12 Angry Men. The major twists are originally 10 jurors vote for "not guilty" due to self defense, Jessica votes "unsure" and another juror votes "guilty". Jessica and other jurors recall the evidence, as more and more jurors switch from "not guilty due to self defense" and come to a realization as to what actually occurred the night of the murder. The 1986 Hindi film hi-Latn Ek Ruka Hua Faisla ("a pending decision") and 2012 Kannada film kn Dashamukha ("ten faces") are Indian remakes of the film, with almost identical storylines. The former has been adapted as another Indian Bengali film Shotyi Bole Shotyi Kichhu Nei which was released in January 2025.December 21, 2024 The poster of Shotyi Bole Shotyi Kichhu Nei is out https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/the-poster-of-shotyi-bole-shotyi-kichhu-nei-is-out/articleshow/116528403.cms December 21, 2024 The Times of India 0971-8257 Season 1, episode 17a of the Nickelodeon cartoon Hey Arnold! (1996) is a parody of 12 Angry Men. In the episode, titled "False Alarm", Eugene is suspected and accused of pulling the fire alarm, and a student jury is assembled to vote on the verdict, but Arnold is the only one who believes Eugene is innocent. He has to convince the rest of his classmates that Eugene is not guilty of the crime. In this adaptation, it is proven that Eugene was not the criminal but Curly a member of the student "jury" is the actual perpetrator due to the latter's reaction to the former's use of the Winkyland pencil (chewing on the eraser and intense sharpening). In 1997, a television remake of the film under the same title was directed by William Friedkin and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In the newer version, the judge is a woman, four of the jurors are black, and the ninth juror is not the only senior citizen, but the overall plot remains intact. Modernizations include not smoking in the jury room, changes in references to pop culture and sports figures and income, references to execution by lethal injection as opposed to the electric chair, more race-related dialogue, and casual profanity. A first season episode of The Dead Zone titled "Unreasonable Doubt" was an homage to 12 Angry Men with the main character, Johnny Smith, as the sole juror insisting on a not guilty verdict during a murder trial. He uses his psychic visions to point to actual evidence that eventually convinces the rest of the jurors to change their votes. The episode features a number of references to the movie, including one juror who would rather be seeing a baseball game, a juror who has a cold and the juror with the most vehement guilty verdict who is motivated by his own family tragedy. The detective drama television show Veronica Mars, which like the film includes the theme of class issues, featured a 2005 episode, "One Angry Veronica", in which the title character is selected for jury duty. The episode flips the film's format and depicts one holdout convincing the jury to convict the privileged defendants of assault against a less well-off victim, despite their lawyers initially convincing 11 jury members of a not guilty verdict. In a 2022 episode of The Equalizer called "Vox Populi", Aunt Vi is the only juror who doesn't automatically assume that the black male defendant is obviously guilty of the rape and murder of a white woman. As McCall works the case outside of the courtroom, Vi challenges the evidence and assumptions of the prosecution's narrative with the other jurors. Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov also made a 2007 Academy Award-nominated adaptation, 12, featuring a Chechen teen on trial in Moscow. A 2015 Chinese adaptation, 12 Citizens, follows the plot of the original 1957 American film, while including characters reflecting contemporary Beijing society, including a cab driver, guard, businessman, policeman, a retiree persecuted in a 1950s political movement, and others.http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/12-citizens-shanghai-review-804416 '12 Citizens' Shanghai Review Deborah Young Hollywood Reporter June 23, 2015 August 23, 2015 September 24, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150924211032/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/12-citizens-shanghai-review-804416 live Juror 8 is a 2019 South Korean adaptation, directed by Hong Seung-wan. The film has also been subject to parody. In 2015, the Comedy Central TV series Inside Amy Schumer aired a half-hour parody of the film titled "12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer".Lyons Margaret Behold Inside Amy Schumer's Dead-On 12 Angry Men http://www.vulture.com/2015/05/amy-schumer-12-angry-men-pictures.html live Vulture May 6, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150507142116/http://www.vulture.com/2015/05/amy-schumer-12-angry-men-pictures.html May 7, 2015Watch Krapopolis: Season 1, Episode 5, "12 Angry Goat Herders" Online – Fox Nation https://nation.foxnews.com/watch/d30067a947b759ada8964cbd18fd9194 June 23, 2024 Watch Krapopolis: 12 Angry Goat Herders Online – Fox Nation The film was also parodied in the BBC Television comedy Hancock's Half Hour, starring Tony Hancock and Sid James, and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, in the episode broadcast on October 16, 1959. Family Guy paid tribute to the film with its Season 11 episode titled "12 and a Half Angry Men", and King of the Hill acknowledged the film with their parody "Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men" in season 3. The American adult animated sitcom Krapopolis also parodied the film in the fifth episode of its first season, titled "12 Angry Goat Herders". In it, Tyrannis invents the court system after Shlub is accused of eating the goats of the goat farmers. Tyrannis represented Shlub while the goat farmers were represented by Brenda the Sphinx. The American thriller drama series Yellowjackets paid tribute to the film in the fourth episode of its third season, titled 12 Angry Girls and 1 Drunk Travis. In the episode, a kangaroo court is established in the attempt to convict the team's coach of attempted murder, on the basis of reasonable doubt. See also Adaptations of Twelve Angry Men Perfect Strangers (1950 film), an earlier film about a sequestered jury in a murder trial with a jury member who advocates for a presumption of innocence Twelve Angry Men (Studio One), teleplay source material List of American films of 1957 List of films voted the best Notes References Librarian of Congress Announces National Film Registry Selections for 2007 https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-07-254/librarian-of-congress-announces-2007-film-registry/2007-12-27/ Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. May 15, 2020 November 21, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171121073442/https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-07-254/librarian-of-congress-announces-2007-film-registry/2007-12-27/ live Sources https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/185/monograph/book/37948 Cunningham Frank R. Sidney Lumet: Film and Literary Vision The University Press of Kentucky 2014 978-0-81315-826-6 https://archive.org/details/fondamylife0000fond_e7k1/ Fonda Henry Henry Fonda Fonda: My Life as Told to Howard Teichmann New American Library November 1981 978-0-45300-402-2 https://archive.org/details/manwhosawghostli0000mcki/ McKinney Devin The Man Who Saw a Ghost: The Life and Work of Henry Fonda Thorndike Press 2012 978-1-41045-622-9 https://archive.org/details/readingsontwelve0000unse/ Munyan Russ Readings on Twelve Angry Men Greenhaven Press 2000 978-0-73770-313-9 https://archive.org/details/sixtelevisionpla0000unse Rose Reginald Reginald Rose Author's Commentary on Twelve Angry Men Six Television Plays Simon and Schuster 1956 https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/93/monograph/book/85314 Rosenzweig Phil Reginald Rose and the Journey of 12 Angry Men Fordham University Press 2021 978-0-82329-776-4 https://archive.org/details/sidneylumetlife0000spie/ Spiegel Maura Sidney Lumet: A Life St. Martin's Press December 2019 978-1-25003-014-6 Further reading Lumet, Sidney (1995). Making Movies. 978-0-679-75660-6 Ellsworth Phoebe C. One Inspiring Jury [Review of 'Twelve Angry Men'] Michigan Law Review 2003 101 6 1387–1407 3595316 10.2307/3595316 In depth analysis compared with research on actual jury behaviour. The New York Times, April 15, 1957, Screen: '12 Angry Men'; Jury Room Drama Has Debut at Capitol review by A. H. Weiler Chandler, David (2005). "The Transmission model of communication" Communication as Perspective Theory. Sage publications. Ohio University Lanham, Richard (2003). Introduction: The Domain of Style analyzing prose. New York: Continuum 12 Angry Men an essay by Joanna E. Rapf at National Film Registry index Rizzoni, Giovanni (2024). Twelve Angry Men in La democrazia al cinema. Milano: Meltemi. ISBN 979-12-5615-197-4 External links 12 Angry Men 0050083 12 Angry Men 94081 12 Angry Men 53690 "12 Angry Men" Box Office Mojo 1000013_12_angry_men 12 Angry Men Awards for 12 Angry Men Twelve Angry Men (1957 film) Category:1957 American films Category:1957 English-language films Category:1950s legal drama films Category:1957 directorial debut films Category:1957 drama films Category:1957 films Category:1957 independent films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American courtroom films Category:American legal drama films Category:Articles containing video clips Category:Edgar Award–winning works Category:Films about capital punishment Category:Films about discrimination Category:Films about juries Category:Films about lawyers Category:Films about murder Category:Films based on television plays Category:Films directed by Sidney Lumet Category:Films scored by Kenyon Hopkins Category:Films set in Manhattan Category:Films with screenplays by Reginald Rose Category:Golden Bear winners Category:United Artists films Category:United States National Film Registry films inducted in 2007