12 Angry Men

Movie0 list appearances

Foundational Identity: Directed by Sidney Lumet in his feature-film debut and adapted by Reginald Rose from his 1954 Studio One teleplay, 12 Angry Men follows twelve jurors deliberating a murder verdict in a single locked room Core Thesis: Lumet uses progressive focal-length compression and single-room claustrophobia to turn an abstract legal standard ("reasonable doubt") into an intense study of civic responsibility and personal prejudice Single-Room Ensemble Architecture: Anchored by Henry Fonda (Juror #8), Lee J. Cobb (Juror #3), Ed Begley (Juror #10), Jack Warden (Juror #7), Martin Balsam (Juror #1), John Fiedler (Juror #2), E.G. Marshall (Juror #4), Jack Klugman (Juror #5), Ed Binns (Juror #6), Joseph Sweeney (Juror #9), George Voskovec (Juror #11), and Robert Webber (Juror #12) Thematic Core: As Sidney Lumet summarized the film's central civic imperative, its theme is simply: "listen"