12 Angry Men (1957) | |
| Director(s) | Sidney Lumet |
| Producer(s) | Henry Fonda, George Justin (associate), Reginald Rose |
| Top Genres | Drama |
| Top Topics | Based on Play, Courtroom, Justice, Prejudice |
Featured Cast:
12 Angry Men Overview:
12 Angry Men (1957) was a Drama - Black-and-white Film directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Henry Fonda, Reginald Rose and George Justin.
SYNOPSIS
This is perhaps the most famous classic-movie courtroom drama. The jurors get their instructions in a murder case and enter a hot, close jury room to begin deliberating. The first count shows only Fonda holding out for acquittal. Then the fireworks begin, fueled by fatigue, heat, and the different personalities and experiences of the jurors. In Lumet's debut, he breaks every rule of cinema action, setting his story in one claustrophobic room and using multiple takes from different angles to provide movement. Originally a teleplay, this was Fonda's only experiment with producing. Remade for cable TV with Jack Lemmon.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.12 Angry Men was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2007.
Academy Awards 1957 --- Ceremony Number 30 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Director | Sidney Lumet | Nominated |
| Best Picture | Henry Fonda and Reginald Rose, Producers | Nominated |
| Best Writing | Reginald Rose | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
All 12 Angry Men, Ranked
By Carol Martinheira on Jul 30, 2026 From The Old Hollywood GardenAll 12 Angry Men, Ranked On July 30, 2026 By CarolIn Uncategorized Image from alexonfilm.com Six years ago, I did a thing here. For 2020, the series of posts was very simple: I ranked the 12 Angry Men in order of my personal preference, from January to December, one... Read full article
12 Angry Men – Take 2 – Henry Fonda
By Virginie Pronovost on Feb 2, 2019 From The Wonderful World of CinemaI had already written about 12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957) on this blog when I wrote about Lee J. Cobb’s paternal roles in this film and in Golden Boy (Rouben Mamoulian, 1939). But there’s another 12 Angry Men’s actor that obviously deserves to be discussed: Henry Fonda, juror #... Read full article
DOUBLE BILL #13: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and 12 Angry Men (1957)
By Carol Martinheira on Apr 12, 2018 From The Old Hollywood GardenDOUBLE BILL #13: Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and 12 Angry Men (1957) On April 12, 2018 By CarolIn Uncategorized Courtroom dramas never disappoint. They?re tense, gripping, dramatic and emotional and, more often than not, they grab you by the throat and they don?... Read full article
What I Learned from 12 Angry Men (1)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Oct 16, 2016 From 4 Star FilmsRecently I got the chance to sit down with a group of friends and watch 12 Angry Men together. Many of them had never seen it and hearing their reactions was immense fun for me. But as we talked for a few minutes afterward, I began to realize that really each of these characters represents something... Read full article
What I Learned from 12 Angry Men (2)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Oct 16, 2016 From 4 Star FilmsRecently I got the chance to sit down with a group of friends and watch 12 Angry Men together. Many of them had never seen it and hearing their reactions was immense fun for me. But as we talked for a few minutes afterward, I began to realize that really each of these characters represents something... Read full article
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Quotes from
Juror #5: No, Baltimore.
Juror #7: Baltimore? That's like being hit in the head with a crow bar once a day.
Juror #8: I'd like to find out if an old man who drags one foot when he walks, cause he had a stroke last year, could get from his bedroom to his front door in fifteen seconds.
Juror #3: He said twenty seconds.
Juror #8: He said fifteen!
Juror #3: He said twenty seconds! What are you tryin' to distort...
Juror #9: He said fifteen.
Juror #3: How does he know how long fifteen seconds is? You can't judge a thing like that.
Juror #9: He said fifteen seconds. He was very positive about it.
Juror #3: He was an old man. Half the time he was confused. How could he be positive about anything!
[realizes what he's just admitted]
Juror #8: There's something else I'd like to talk about for a minute. I think we've proved that the old man couldn't have heard the boy say "I'm gonna kill you," but supposing...
Juror #10: You didn't prove it at all. What're you talking about?
Juror #8: But supposing he really did hear it. This phrase, how many times have all of us used it? Probably thousands. "I could kill you for that, darling." "Junior, you do that once more and I'm gonna kill you." "Get in there, Rocky, and kill him!" We say it every day. That doesn't mean we're going to kill anyone.
Juror #3: Wait a minute. What are you trying to give us here? The phrase was "I'm gonna kill you." The kid yelled it at the top of his lungs! Don't tell me he didn't mean it. Anybody says a thing like that the way he said it, they mean it.
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Facts about
In 12 Angry Men Lee J. Cobb's character was played by George C. Scott. Making it the second time Scott followed Cobb in portraying the same character. He did it previously, playing the character of "Lt. Kinderman" in The Exorcist III, the same character Cobb played in the original film The Exorcist.
Nominated for 3 Oscars, the film lost out in all its categories to The Bridge on the River Kwai.
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