Wednesday Minute
No. 159 | September 15, 2010

It Was a Very Good Year … 1957

 
Our theme this week
Notable films of 1957

Featured this week (theme introduction)
Monday         —   Sweet Smell of Success
Tuesday         —   The Bridge on the River Kwai

12 Angry Men

The opening minutes take place in the courtroom, as the judge gives instructions to the jury.  The final scene is outside, as the jury members leave the building.  The rest of the film, about an hour and a half, is set in a jury room (and adjacent washroom) where the twelve angry men of the title deliberate a murder case.

Unlike many courtoom dramas, there are no speeches from lawyers.  All we know is what we hear from the jurors (unnamed but easily identified on film).  The initial vote is 11 to 1, and lacking unanimity they discuss the case.  Juror 8 (Henry Fonda), the lone dissenter, expresses his doubts.  Another vote, and another juror (Jack Klugman) sides with #8.  The pattern continues.  The men talk, and increasingly, argue.  There are questions about the evidence, and questions about the prejudices held by men in the room.  Tensions build.  More votes, and more jurors switch sides, until finally they reach a verdict.

It’s a simple story, yet absorbing and powerful.  The film is less interested in the guilt or innocence of the defendent, a teenager seen briefly at the beginning, than in the process of the men who must decide his fate.  12 Angry Men offers a stirring affirmation of the American justice system, but also a realistic look at the dangers of xenophobia, prevalent then in the ’50s, and no less a problem today.

Written by Reginald Rose, “Twelve Angry Men” was first produced in 1954, for “Studio One” on CBS (among the reasons the time is known as television’s “golden age”), and later adapted for the stage (a revival ran on Broadway in 2004).  The movie version, a quickly produced, low-budget affair, came out in 1957.  The director was Sidney Lumet, a master of filmmaking who has continued making movies in his eighties.  After his career in TV, 12 Angry Men was his first work for the big screen.  It was one helluva debut.

In his 1995 book, Making Movies, Lumet explains that he thought shooting the movie within a single room would not be a problem, but rather an advantage, helping to capture the dramatic tension experienced by the men of the jury.  He offers some insight into his approach, and for film fans interested in how these things called movies get made, it’s fascinating stuff:

As the picture unfolded, I wanted the room to seem smaller and smaller.  That meant that I would slowly shift to longer lenses as the picture continued.  Starting with the normal range (28 mm to 40 mm), we progressed to 50 mm, 75 mm, and 100 mm lenses.  In addition, I shot the first third of the movie above eye level, and then, by lowering the camera, shot the second third at eye level, and the last third from below eye level.  In that way, toward the end, the ceiling began to appear.  Not only were the walls closing in, the ceiling was as well.  The sense of increasing claustrophobia did a lot to raise the tension of the last part of the movie.  On the final shot, an exterior that showed the jurors leaving the courtroom, I used a wide-angle lens, wider than any lens that had been used in the entire picture.  I also raised the camera to the highest above-eye-level position.  The intention was to literally give us all air, to let us finally breathe, after two increasingly confined hours.

The play by Rose has become part of the curriculum in many schools.  It’s been translated into several languages.  It’s been adapted a number of times (often with a more up-to-date mix of race and gender), for the stage, television, and film.  The story provides a first-rate civics lesson and insight into the human character.  Though the Lumet film is very much anchored in the 1950s, it’s a timeless tale.

12 Angry Men is especially well-directed and well-acted.  The cast includes Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Ed Begley, along with others from New York theater.  It may never have been made had Henry Fonda not deferred his pay.  Fonda co-produced, and with Lumet and Rose, was one of three earning Oscar nominations for the film. 

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12 Angry Men (1957)
Sidney Lumet, director
Reginald Rose (teleplay, screenplay), writer
Boris Kaufman, director of photography
Trailer

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12 Angry Men (1957)
Inside the Jury Room (one shot)
No one wants to look at Ed Begley

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Quote of note
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.
—Juror 8 (Henry Fonda), Juror 10 (Ed Begley), Juror 3 (Lee J. Cobb), 12 Angry Men (1957)

…58…59…60.

1. Directors Sidney Lumet says:

   September 15, 2010 at 6:58 pm

   [...] Minute A Day About Movies » Blog Archive » 12 Angry Men The director was Sidney Lumet a master of filmmaking who has continued making movies in his 80s. After a career in TV, 12 Angry Men was his first work for the big screen. It was one helluva debut. In his 1995 book, Making Movies, [...]