12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men is a 1957 film which tells the story of one lone juror who holds out against the other eleven because he believes that the defendant is innocent. It stars Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb[?], Ed Begley[?], E.G. Marshall[?], Jack Warden[?], Martin Balsam[?] and Jack Klugman[?].

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.

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 apperance 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 BBC television in an episode of Hancock's Half Hour, starring Tony Hancock and Sid James.

The screenplay had first been produced on television, on the program Studio One[?], in 1954. No complete kinescope of that performance has been found.

12 Angry Men was remade for television in 1997, starring Courtney B. Vance[?], Ossie Davis[?], George C. Scott, Armin Mueller-Stahl[?], Dorian Harewood[?], James Gandolfini[?], Tony Danza[?], Jack Lemmon, Hume Cronyn, Mykelti Williamson[?], Edward James Olmos and William L. Petersen[?].

References

• Making Movies, by Sidney Lumet. (c) 1995, ISBN 0-679-75660-4