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Twelve Angry Men (1957, USA)

Director

Sydney Lumet

Cast

Henry Fonda (Juror 8), Lee J Cobb (Juror 3), E G Marshall (Juror 4), Jack Klugman (Juror 5), Martin Balsam (Juror 1), John Fiedler (Juror 2), Jack Warden (Juror 7), Edward Binns (Juror 6), Joseph Sweeney (Juror 9), Ed Begley (Juror 10), George Voskovec (Juror 11), Robert Webber (Juror 12)

Screenplay

Reginald Rose, based on his stage play

Format

Live action, black and white

Language

English

Running time

90 minutes

Classification

U

Distributor

MGM

Genre

Drama

Setting

The jury room after a court case

Main characters

Juror 8, Juror 3

Narrative focus

The jurors as they deliberate

Synopsis

The film begins with a jury gathering to pass judgement on a case: is a teenage Puerto Rican boy guilty or innocent of murdering his father. All but one of the twelve jurors is unsure and his dilemma is the focus of the story: how to convince the other jurors to rethink their 'guilty' verdict? As the story unfolds, Juror 8's courage and intense commitment to thinking through the case and the implications of a guilty verdict impacts on the other jurors, who gradually rethink the details of the case and revise their judgment. The jurors are all white, male and mostly middle aged. A range of basic personality types are represented in the room.

Background

Twelve Angry Men had been a very successful stage play. It is exemplary as an adaptation of a stage play to the screen and it remains an undoubted classic of Hollywood filmmaking, integrating compelling drama with social commentary. This was director Sydney Lumet's first feature film. He had begun his career in television drama and went on to build a career noted for films which engaged with social issues. Henry Fonda produced the film and was a major star. He had previously portrayed the American President Abraham Lincoln in Young Mr Lincoln (1939). Fonda had also starred in a film called The Ox Bow Incident (1943) about the dangers of mob rule. Fonda's other famous role was as Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1939), an adaptation of John Steinbeck's novel about the American Depression. Fonda was synonymous with liberalism.

Commentary

The director's main objective is to make a film that is taken seriously as a debate about prejudice and the legal system. As a result the film avoids many of the techniques we would associate and expect in a drama. The film style is naturalistic, creating an accurate representation of reality in terms of the attitudes that the characters express and in documenting the process of jury service. The opening images establish the power of tradition and authority as the camera tilts down from the top of the building. The pillars are immense and when the film cuts inside the emphasis on the powerful architecture continues. The film uses long takes and many close ups. Music is used minimally, for example, at certain points when Juror 8 speaks, but there is a near-persistent sound of heavy rainfall outside the jury room. This seems to be more than just an effort to represent miserable weather. It has a psychological and atmospheric impact and notably the rainfall has stopped by the end of the film.

Also recommended

Dead Man Walking (US, 1995, Tim Robbins) is a more recent film, which focuses on the issue of the death penalty, based on an actual incident where a nun befriended a young man on Death Row in the United States, as he awaited execution.

To Kill a Mockingbird (US, 1962, Robert Mulligan) is a classic film, based on the novel of the same name by Harper Lee, which presents the contradiction between deep racial prejudice and the role of the legal system in treating all people as equal.

Teaching suggestions (Key Stage 3, age 11-14)

Citizenship focus

• Legal rights and responsibilities underpinning society, basic aspects of the criminal justice system and how both relate to young people
• The electoral system and the importance of voting.

Subject links

History: the legal system in the United States

Freeze frame

Pause the opening shot of the Supreme Court.

• What words can you read at the top of the building?
• What impression of the American criminal justice system does the camera angle and movement suggest to you?

Pause the film after Juror 3 loses his temper and stands alone by the window.

• What do you notice about his position within the frame and the other characters?
• How does this reinforce his isolation from the group?
• What is the effect of this camera framing on your understanding of the juror's point of view?

Spot the shots

Watch the opening sequence before the jurors take their first vote.

• Guess how each one will vote?
• What stereotypes are employed to suggest certain personality types?
• Which jurors are more likely to take a 'hard' line on capital punishment?
• Which jurors are more likely to be open to 'reasonable doubt'?
• How do the appearance, costumes and body language suggest the personality and political attitude of each character?
• What is particularly noticeable about Juror 8's clothes and body language?

Watch the scene leading up to the second vote.

• What do you notice about the difference in camera shots and editing style?
• What do you notice about the use of music?
• What effect does this have on you?
• How do the lighting, camera framing and editing reinforce your assumptions each character?
• How does the use of written votes on paper create suspense?

Generic translation

Twelve Angry Men was originally a stage play. Ask students to rewrite the play for today's audience. They could identify each juror's political stance and consider these questions:

• How do you think these 'types' might translate into a cross-section of British citizens today?
• Write a set of stage directions describing your set of 12 jurors. What would be their sex, class and race?
• How would each one vote under the British electoral system?

Discussion

The following questions can be used as a starting point to focus discussion.

• Does your opinion of the way the US justice system works change during the course of the film and if so, why?
• What is your impression by the end of the film?
• What is the role of the jury in the criminal justice system?
• Why is the jury system an important principle of democracy?
• What are the legal rights of someone accused of committing a crime?
• Why do you think that it is every citizen's legal responsibility to do jury service?
• What is a fair trial?
• What is reasonable doubt?
• What is a hung jury?
• What are the different ways that the Foreman of the jury conducts the vote?
• What is a secret ballot and why does it prove to be important?
• What problems does the Foreman face in managing a debate where everyone's opinions are represented?
• Why do you think that the jury's decision has to be unanimous?
• What was the punishment for first degree murder in America at the time the film was made?
• How are jury members tested for personal issues and/or prejudices before the trial?
• What are the hidden prejudices revealed during the course of the film?

Simulation

How are jury members tested for 'personal issues' and/or prejudice before the trial? Students could be asked to decide on the kinds of questions they think the jurors should have been asked before being accepted onto the jury. Then set up a role play with half the class playing the parts of the potential jurors while the rest of the class judges their neutrality. You might follow this with discussion about the concept of jury service and the responsibilities, as well as rights, of citizenship.

Download the role-play cards for this exercise (PDF)

Practical production work

Get the students to storyboard the opening sequence of the film using the same setting and characters but with the objective of making the audience identify with a different juror's point of view. They will need to think about how their choice of actor, costume, lighting, camera work and any sound effect or music will effect the meaning they want to convey.

Students could research the role of the jury in a recent national or local criminal case make a five-minute documentary or docudrama about it.

You may like to use one of our sample storyboards (PDF) for this exercise.

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