Twelve Angry Men is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. The following year it was adapted for the stage. It was adapted for a film of the same name, directed by Sidney Lumet, and released in 1957. Since then it has been given numerous remakes, adaptations, and tributes.
The play explores the deliberations of a jury of a homicide trial, in which a dozen "men with ties and a coat" decide the fate of a teenager accused of murdering his abusive father. In the beginning, they are nearly unanimous in concluding the youth is guilty, influenced by their own background and upbringing. [1] One man dissents, declaring him "not guilty", and he sows a seed of reasonable doubt. Eventually, he convinces the other jurors to look beyond their own personal bias and support a unanimous "not guilty" verdict. [1]
American writer Reginald Rose first wrote this work as a teleplay for the Studio One anthology television series; it aired as a live CBS Television production on 20 September 1954. He adapted the drama for the stage in 1955 under the same title.
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Rose wrote several stage adaptations of the story. In other theatrical adaptations in which female actors are cast, the play is retitled 12 Angry Jurors, 12 Angry Men and Women or 12 Angry Women. [2] [3] [4]
One early adaptation was staged in San Francisco in 1955. [5]
In 2003 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the British producer/director Guy Masterson directed an all-comedian revival [6] at the Assembly Rooms, including Bill Bailey as Juror 4, Phil Nichol as Juror 10, Owen O'Neill as Juror 8, Stephen Frost as Juror 3, and Russell Hunter as Juror 9. The production broke the existing box office record for drama at the Fringe Festival and garnered much critical acclaim. [7]
In 2004, the Roundabout Theatre Company presented a Broadway production of the play at the American Airlines Theatre, starring Boyd Gaines as Juror No. 8, with James Rebhorn (No. 4), Philip Bosco (No. 3), and Robert Prosky as the voice of the judge. [8] In 2007, 12 Angry Men ran on a national theatre tour with Richard Thomas and George Wendt starring as Jurors No. 8 and No. 1, respectively. The 2008 tour did not include Wendt but featured Kevin Dobson, of Kojak and Knots Landing , as Juror No. 10. [9]
In 2004–05, the British producer/director Guy Masterson directed a hugely successful Australian version of his hit Edinburgh 2003 production, produced by Arts Projects Australia and Adrian Bohm [10] at QPAC Brisbane, Sydney Theatre and Melbourne Athenaeum. Shane Bourne played as Juror 3, Peter Phelps as Juror 4, Marcus Graham as Juror 8, George Kapiniaris as Juror 2, and Henri Szeps as Juror 9. [11] This production won three Melbourne Green Room Awards and a nomination for "Best Play" at the Sydney Helpmann Awards.
Several London West End productions of the play have been made. In 1964, Leo Genn headed a cast which included Mark Kingston, Paul Maxwell, Arnold Ridley and Robert Urquhart. In 1996 a production at the Comedy Theatre directed by Harold Pinter starred Kevin Whately, with Timothy West, Peter Vaughan and Whately's fellow actor in the British comedy-drama Auf Wiedersehen, Pet , Tim Healy, with a star of the first movie version E. G. Marshall as the voice of the judge. A further revival opened in November 2013 at the Garrick Theatre and was extended until June 2014, starring Tom Conti, Jeff Fahey, Nick Moran and Robert Vaughn. [12]
In June 2022, Theater Latté Da in Minneapolis will[ needs update ] open a world premiere musical adaptation based on Reginald Rose's teleplay called Twelve Angry Men: A New Musical, with a book by David Simpatico and music and lyrics by Michael Holland. [13]
It was written again in 1957 as a feature film, 12 Angry Men , which Sidney Lumet directed, and which starred Henry Fonda. It was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Writing of Adapted Screenplay.
Indian director Basu Chatterjee remade it as Ek Ruka Hua Faisla in 1986.
In 2007, Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov completed 12 , his remake of the film. The jury of the 64th Venice Film Festival assigned its special prize to this remake "to acknowledge the consistent brilliance of Nikita Mikhalkov's body of work". [14]
12 Angry Lebanese is a 2009 documentary film that chronicles efforts to stage an adaptation of Twelve Angry Men with inmates inside Beirut's Roumieh Prison. [15]
In 2014, Chinese film director Xu Ang remade it as 12 Citizens . It was shown at the 2014 Rome Film Festival on October 19, 2014 [16] and was released in China on May 15, 2015. [17]
Vaaimai (2016) is a Tamil language adaptation of Twelve Angry Men. [18]
12 Angry Men was remade for television in 1997. Directed by William Friedkin, the remake stars George C. Scott, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza, William Petersen, Ossie Davis, Hume Cronyn, Courtney B. Vance, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mykelti Williamson, Edward James Olmos, Dorian Harewood, and Jack Lemmon. In this production, the judge is a woman and four of the jurors are black, but most of the action and dialogue of the film are identical to the original. Modernizations include a prohibition on smoking in the jury room, the changing of references to income and pop culture figures, more dialogue relating to ethnicity, discussion about who else could have committed the murder if it wasn't the defendant, references to execution by lethal injection as opposed to the electric chair, and occasional profanity.
In a theatrical version of the play that was once shown in the 1970s on Spanish Television (TVE1), the title given was Doce hombres sin piedad ("Twelve Men Without Mercy").[ citation needed ]
In 1963, the West German television channel ZDF produced a film adaptation under the title Die zwölf Geschworenen . [19]
In 1962, The Dick Van Dyke Show had an episode called One Angry Man, a clear reference to Twelve Angry Men in which Rob Petrie, the main character, is summoned to do Jury duty. Like in the movie, Petrie is the only stand-out among the jurors who wish to rapidly send the defendant to jail so they can return to their respective occupations. Throughout that part of the show, numerous references to the names of the actors as well as those of the characters of the movie are mentioned, with comedic effect.
In 2005, L.A. Theatre Works recorded an audio version of 12 Angry Men, directed by John de Lancie, with a cast including Dan Castellaneta, Jeffrey Donovan, Héctor Elizondo, Robert Foxworth, Kevin Kilner, Richard Kind, Armin Shimerman, Joe Spano and Steve Vinovich. [20]
Juror # | 1954 Studio One actor | 1957 film actor | 1997 film actor | 2003 stage actor | 2004 stage actor | 2005 stage actor | 2007 stage actor | 2013 stage actor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Norman Fell | Martin Balsam | Courtney B. Vance | Steve Furst | Mark Blum | Rob Meldrum | George Wendt | Luke Shaw |
The jury foreman, somewhat preoccupied with his duties; proves to be accommodating to others. An assistant high school football coach. Tends to attempt to prevent heated arguments. The ninth to vote "not guilty". | ||||||||
2 | John Beal | John Fiedler | Ossie Davis | Ian Coppinger | Kevin Geer | George Kapiniaris | Todd Cerveris | David Calvitto |
A meek and unpretentious bank clerk who is at first domineered by others but finds his voice as the discussion goes on. The fifth to vote "not guilty". | ||||||||
3 | Franchot Tone | Lee J. Cobb | George C. Scott | Stephen Frost | Philip Bosco / Robert Foxworth | Shane Bourne | Randle Mell | Jeff Fahey |
A businessman and distraught father, opinionated and stubborn with a temper; the main antagonist. The twelfth to vote "not guilty". | ||||||||
4 | Walter Abel | E. G. Marshall | Armin Mueller-Stahl | Bill Bailey | James Rebhorn | Peter Phelps | Jeffrey Hayenga | Paul Antony-Barber |
A rational stockbroker, unflappable, calm, and analytical. He remains among the most neutral of the jurors, examining the case through facts and not bias. The eleventh to vote "not guilty". | ||||||||
5 | Lee Philips | Jack Klugman | Dorian Harewood | Jeff Green | Michael Mastro | Nicholas Papademetriou | Jim Saltouros | Ed Franklin |
A soft-spoken paramedic from a violent slum, traditionally the youngest juror. The third to vote "not guilty". | ||||||||
6 | Bart Burns | Edward Binns | James Gandolfini | Dave Johns | Robert Clohessy | Peter Flett | Charles Borland | Robert Blythe |
A house painter, tough but principled and respectful. The sixth to vote "not guilty". | ||||||||
7 | Paul Hartman | Jack Warden | Tony Danza | David Calvitto | John Pankow | Aaron Blabey | Mark Morettini | Nick Moran , Sean Power |
A wisecracking salesman, sports fan, seemingly indifferent to the deliberations. The seventh to vote "not guilty". | ||||||||
8 | Robert Cummings | Henry Fonda | Jack Lemmon | Owen O'Neill | Boyd Gaines | Marcus Graham | Richard Thomas | Martin Shaw , Tom Conti |
An architect, the first dissenter and protagonist. Identified as "Davis" at the end. | ||||||||
9 | Joseph Sweeney | Joseph Sweeney | Hume Cronyn | Russell Hunter | Tom Aldredge | Henri Szeps | Alan Mandell | Robert Vaughn |
A wise and observant elderly man. Identified as "McCardle" at the end. The second to vote "not guilty". | ||||||||
10 | Edward Arnold | Ed Begley | Mykelti Williamson | Phil Nichol | Peter Friedman | Richard Piper | Julian Gamble | Miles Richardson , William Gaminara |
A garage owner; a pushy and loudmouthed bigot. The tenth to vote "not guilty". | ||||||||
11 | George Voskovec | George Voskovec | Edward James Olmos | Andy Smart | Larry Bryggman / Byron Loquon | Alex Menglet | David Lively | Martin Turner |
A thoughtful immigrant watchmaker and naturalized American citizen who demonstrates strong patriotic pride. The fourth to vote "not guilty". | ||||||||
12 | Will West | Robert Webber | William Petersen | Gavin Robertson | Adam Trese | Russell Fletcher | Craig Wroe | Owen O'Neill , Robert Duncan |
An indecisive advertising executive who is easily swayed by the others. Originally the eighth to vote "not guilty" before changing back and forth three times. |
12 Angry Men is a 1957 American independent legal drama film directed by Sidney Lumet in his directorial debut, adapted from a 1954 teleplay of the same name by Reginald Rose. The film tells the story of a jury of 12 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 Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, and Jack Warden.
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as drama or gangster film, but also include comedy, and, in turn, is divided into many sub-genres, such as mystery, suspense or noir. It also includes mafia dramas.
Joseph Sweeney was an American actor who worked in stage productions, television and movies principally in the 1950s, often playing grandfatherly roles. His best-known role was as the elderly Juror #9 in the 1957 classic 12 Angry Men, the role he originated in a 1954 Westinghouse Studio One live teleplay of which the film was an adaptation.
Reginald Rose was an American screenwriter. He wrote about controversial social and political issues. His realistic approach was particularly influential in the anthology programs of the 1950s.
Verdict of Twelve is a novel by Raymond Postgate first published in 1940 about a trial by jury seen through the eyes of each of the twelve jurors as they listen to the evidence and try to reach a unanimous verdict of either "Guilty" or "Not guilty". Verdict of Twelve is set in England in the late 1930s. Up to the final pages of the novel, till after the trial is over, the reader does not know if the defendant—a middle-aged woman charged with murder—is innocent or not.
The Jury is a British television serial broadcast in 2002. The series was the first ever to be allowed to film inside the historic Old Bailey courthouse.
Jury Duty is a 1995 American legal comedy film directed by John Fortenberry, written by Neil Tolkin, Barbara Williams, and Adam Small, and starring Pauly Shore, Tia Carrere, Stanley Tucci, Brian Doyle-Murray, Shelley Winters, and Abe Vigoda.
"One Angry Veronica" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American mystery television series Veronica Mars, and the thirty-second episode overall. Written by Russell Smith and directed by John T. Kretchmer, the episode premiered on UPN on December 7, 2005.
Studio One is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948, and ended on September 29, 1958, with a total of 467 episodes over the course of 10 seasons.
12 Angry Men is a 1997 American made-for-television drama film directed by William Friedkin, adapted by Reginald Rose from his original 1954 teleplay of the same title. It is a remake of the 1957 film of the same name. The film aired on August 17, 1997 on Showtime.
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla is a 1986 Indian Hindi-language legal drama film directed by Basu Chatterjee. It is a remake of the Golden Bear winning American motion picture 12 Angry Men (1957) directed by Sidney Lumet, which was an adaptation from a 1954 teleplay of the same name by Reginald Rose.
Twelve Angry Men is a play by Reginald Rose adapted from his 1954 teleplay of the same title for the CBS Studio One anthology television series. Staged first in San Francisco in 1955, the Broadway debut came 50 years after CBS aired the play, on October 28, 2004, by the Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre, where it ran for 328 performances.
12 is a 2007 Russian legal drama film by director, screenwriter, producer and actor Nikita Mikhalkov. The film is a Russian-language remake of Sidney Lumet's 1957 film 12 Angry Men, which in turn was based on Reginald Rose's 1955 stage play, Twelve Angry Men, itself based on Rose's 1954 teleplay of the latter's same name.
"Twelve Angry Men" is an episode of the BBC television situation comedy programme Hancock's Half Hour, starring Tony Hancock and featuring Sid James, and first broadcast on 16 October 1959. Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the title is retrospectively applied; the episodes were not originally identified separately.
"Twelve Angry Men" is a 1954 teleplay directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and written by Reginald Rose for the American anthology television series Studio One. It follows the titular twelve members of a jury as they deliberate a supposedly clear-cut murder trial, and details the tension among them when one juror argues that the defendant might not be guilty. Initially staged as a CBS live production on September 20, 1954, the drama was later rewritten for the stage in 1955 under the same title, and as a feature film in 1957 titled 12 Angry Men. The episode garnered three Emmy Awards for writer Rose, director Schaffner, and Robert Cummings as Best Actor.
Witness for the Prosecution is a 1982 American made-for-television drama film version of Agatha Christie's 1925 short story and 1953 play, and also a remake of the Billy Wilder film Witness for the Prosecution (1957).
Vaaimai is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language courtroom drama film written and directed by A. Senthil Kumar. Inspired by the script of Reginald Rose's Twelve Angry Men (1954), the film stars Shanthnu Bhagyaraj and Muktha Bhanu amongst an ensemble cast. Goundamani, Thyagarajan, Ramki, Urvashi, Manoj K. Bharathi, Prithvi Pandiarajan and Poornima Bhagyaraj are also part of the cast. Though production had begun in 2013, the film released following a production delay on 8 September 2016, garnering negative reviews.
12 Citizens is a 2014 Chinese suspense crime drama film directed by Xu Ang. It was shown at the 2014 Rome Film Festival on October 19, 2014 and was released in China on May 15, 2015. The plot is based on and heavily references the plot of the 1954 teleplay Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose. Various localization changes were made, such as changing the original, everyman protagonist into a Prosecutor of the Chinese Communist Party.
The Woman Under Oath is a 1919 American silent mystery film directed by John M. Stahl and starring stage star Florence Reed. As with the previous Stahl and Reed film, Her Code of Honor, it was produced by Tribune Productions and released by United Picture Theatres of America Incorporated.
"The Defender" is an American television play broadcast live in two parts on February 25, 1957, and March 4, 1957, as part of the CBS television series, Studio One. A courtroom drama, it was written by Reginald Rose and directed by Robert Mulligan. The cast included Ralph Bellamy and William Shatner as a father-son defense team, Steve McQueen as the defendant, and Martin Balsam as the prosecutor. Rose later spun off the concept into a full series entitled The Defenders, starring E.G. Marshall and Robert Reed in Bellamy and Shatner's roles.