Movie Notes: Twelve Angry Men (1957)
Credit: United Artists / DR
Why Did I Watch It?:
This movie is one that many people regard as "one of the best movies ever made". For many viewers at the time in 1957, gave them a view into how the judicial system works from the standpoint of a jury. The movie touches on racism and prejudice, the reliability of evidence, trust in police officers, and has been remade in 1997 and referenced by shows as diverse as Veronica Mars and Happy Days.
Who Is In It?:
It starred several well known famous actors, such as Henry Fonda and Jack Klugman (famous as Quincy, M.E.), and other actors that as I watch films from the time, keep popping up (such as Lee J. Cobb who plays the villain in On the Waterfront).
What is It About?:
The movie takes place in one room, a jury room where the jury has been sequestered to make a decision. Shortly after beginning their decision making process, they hit a problem that only one juror disagrees with the entire group that the defendant (a young "slum kid" in the murder case) is obviously guilty. The angles and perspectives that each juror brings to the discussion, and which influence either their flexibility to change their mind, their disinterest and lack of concern of the entire process, or their adamant hatred of "those people" such as the defendant is fascinating and ultimately drives the plot as jurors change their minds back and forth.
Did I Like It?:
I enjoyed this film, though I don't know if I would have said it was one of the greatest movies ever made. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 100% fresh score (which is very rare), but I gave this movie a A- on my own personal rating system. It's worth a watch as the acting is polished yet reflects the stage-inspired way of speaking at the time, and it's interesting to think about how the legal system has changed, for better or for worse, since that time.