The scene where Fonda helps Cobb on with his coat is, in my opinion, one of the most moving scenes in the movie. Gets me every time. Has to be one of the finest movies ever made.
This is one of my favorite movies. I've done the stage performance twice, in which I was juror 7 and the last time I was eight. Never ever had a better time in the theater than with this play. No set pieces or huge numbers. Just twelve actors, living in the moment. Working off of each other.
The beauty of this movies is that it was purely based on a strong script. No special effects, no real action scenes, just amazing performances, strong photography & a really well written script. It goes to show that great movies don't need big flashy special effects or massive budgets to be really impressive & very immersive. I also loved the fact that it shows that one person, with honest questions can open the minds & have them question their decisions of those that made up their minds more on their opinions & accepting 'Facts' without questioning them. I would love to see your reaction & opinions to 'Inherit the Wind' (1960) which is based on a true court case & relevant to America today. A simple film based on a opposing opinions.
Yes, it's based on an incredibly strong script and has amazing performances, but there's a lot more to it. While there aren't any obvious special effects, there's a ton of technical wizardry going on that people aren't conscious of, which is one reason why this version is more effective than the original TV version (which is on RUclips). For example, they used several different sets to "play" the room. The room keeps getting smaller. The walls appear to close in. The use of editing, camerawork, lighting and sound is also sophisticated. Not only are many of the shots NOT the way they would normally be done, an incredible amount of thought must have gone into choosing just the right one.
I love that this was black and white, as a result everything is heightened and the images virtually leap off the screen at you, especially during the close-ups. And the one room set compounds the claustrophobic intensity. Great cinematography and a masterclass in acting.
The guy demonstrating the switch blade is Jack Klugman!! He was in the Tv show The Odd Couple and Quincy M.E. , plus in some episodes of the Twilight Zone along with other movies! ( I met him once at a charity event at work, got to tell him how talented I thought he was!)
I have seen so many reactions to this movie, it is a real pleasure to folks reacting who can name most of the character actors. 😉 Great reaction! Thanks!!
Lee j cobb was a phenomenal actor! He stole this movie with his hot temper and ending, not guilty! One my favorites of his is coogans bluff with clint Eastwood.
Love this film. It's more like theatre. Just twelve great actors in a room acting out the story. No explosions, no graphic scenes, no car chases, no "shock value", no CGI. Just great acting. Thanks for watching and sharing with us. ❤
That's because the original teleplay was written & performed as on a theatrical stage for television cameras broadcasting live on _CBS Playhouse_ three years prior.
The foreigner was played by Jiří (George) Voskovec, a well-known Czech actor and comedian, who emigrated to the USA when communists snatched the power in Czechoslovakia. He knew first-hand the value of freedom and justice.
Almost nobody notices that the house painter who defends the old man had showing the old man courtesy from the beginning. He had helped the old man with his chair and kept note of when the old man was in the restroom. I was a juror on a federal felony case in DC which started out the same way, 11-1 for guilty. The trial had lasted only 4 hours, but we deliberated for 4 days before finally delivering a non-guilty verdict. I held out for guilty until the last day...I had a similar moment to juror #4. Good reaction!
It amazes me that NOBODY ever remarks on seeing Jack Klugman so young. He was HUGE, back in the day - on The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E.. I'm guessing he's totally forgotten now!
I rarely comment but I have to say that truly appreciate both of your perception of deeper concepts in so many movies. I also love that you can just laugh at absurd comedies without needing something more from them. Thank you for your combined intellect and sense of fun.
A true classic of American cinema. The story originated as a live teleplay a couple of years prior. Fonda wanted to produce it as a theatrical motion picture but ran into the argument of "Why? It was already done for free on TV." Thank God, Fonda won that argument. The movie remains an iconic drama. Today, it can often be seen as a stage play in local community theaters. I once had the good fortune of playing Juror No. 11 (the foreigner) in a local production years ago. A genuine slice of Americana and a wonderful template of how to make a thrilling drama with a good script and highly talented actors, no explosions, fancy special effects or curse words. Just superb storytelling. Loved y'all's reaction.
The guy in the hat is Jack Warden , he also was in many things to!! The last one I saw him in is the Sandra Bullock movie: “While You Were Sleeping “ ( adorable movie!!)
This was originally a stage play, and Sidney Lumet (film's director) rented a space and taped off the exact dimensions of the room so they could get their movements to the point that they seemed totally natural and fluid. They didn't have to think about anything but their delivery.
It was originally a teleplay, not a stage play. It was specifically written for television by Reginald Rose. A recording of the original 1954 teleplay is on RUclips.
This was director Sidney Lumet's first feature film. He had done work for television prior to this. Some of his other movies include The Pawnbroker, Fail Safe, Serpico, Murder on the Orient Express, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, The Verdict, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Dog Day Afternoon is a favorite of mine. Lumet began the movie using camera angles above the jurors' heads, and slowly moved it downwards. He also used more close-ups as the movie went on. The result was an increasing feeling of being in a small space. One thing I like about this movie is how the different characters bring their own experiences and perspectives into the jury room with them. The old man understood why another old man would testify the way he did. The guy who lived in a slum knew about how switchblades were used in actual fights. The smallest juror who brought up the question of the kid stabbing downward while being so much shorter than his father. When the bigot finished ranting, the cool-headed juror told him not to open his mouth again. From that point forward, the bigot didn't utter another word. Even when he voted not guilty, he did it by shaking his head. And the look on his face suggested that he knew how wrong he had been, and that he'd been voting to send someone to die who might very well not have done it.
I grew up with Jack Klugman first on The Odd Couple, as Oscar Madison then as Quincy, ME. It was one of the first forensic detective shows. Both series are so good that you can only see them on premium streaming channels. Whenever you watch 12 Angry Men you'll always notice something new.
I like to point out that Joseph Sweeney was born in 1884. His father grew up during the Civil War. Our parents (and grandparents) grew up during Sweeney's final years. So we are just 3 or 4 generations away from the Civil War. 4 or 5 away from the Revolutionary War. The actor playing juror #2 was the voice of Piglet. The director locked the actors in a small room to rehearse for hours to amp up the tension. So many of the actors went on to become accomplished character actors. You know you've seen them, even if you can't nail, down the name of the film.
1) THE KNIFE The knife could have fallen out of the boy's pocket - onto the floor right outside the front door of his apartment - as he was leaving his apartment to go to the movies. That fits the timeline: The boy left his apartment at 11:30pm to go to the movies, and he said the knife fell through a hole in his pocket sometime between then - 11:30, when he left to go to the movies - and when he got back home at 3:10 in the morning. "JUROR 4: Now what happened to the knife? He claims that it fell through a hole in his pocket on the way to the movies, sometime between 11:30 and 3:10, and that he never saw it again. ... No one in the house saw him go out at 11:30." If the knife fell out of the boy's pocket as he was closing the door, the noise of the door closing could have been loud enough that he could not hear the knife hit the floor. This scenario puts the knife at the scene of the crime to begin with. There is no need to try to explain how the knife got from someplace else to the particular apartment. For example, there is no need to try to explain how some stranger - who doesn't know the boy or the father, or where they live - found the knife blocks away on the street and just so happened to walk to the father's apartment. Where the father lived was a slum so just about anyone - homeless people, drug dealers, pimps, robbers, home invaders, anyone - could have walked inside the building and found the knife on the floor right outside the father's door. It could even have been someone who lived in the same building and who hated the father (for example, because this other person knew the father used his fists to beat the son, beating the son all the time). This bum/thug/robber/neighbor finds the knife outside the door on the floor and says something ("sweet knife!") or makes some noise when picking it up and flipping it open. The father hears some noise outside his front door and opens it, only to be confronted with a bum/thug/robber/neighbor with an open switchblade knife: that person forces his way into the apartment and a fight ensues. The stabbing occurs ... with the bum/thug/robber/neighbor doing it the wrong way (from above, down and in, instead of upward and with an underhand motion, as the son probably would have done since he was very handy with knives).
Never thought of that. It makes sense. Or it fell out of his pocket as he was running (presumably) down the stairs. One would not hear it falling down there either.
There's also the possibility that the pawn shop owner lied about having never seen a knife like it in order to guarantee a sale. But if the boy had been showing the knife off to his friends, it's plausible that one of those friends bought a similar knife with the explicit purpose of murdering the boy's father. This could even explain why the victim allowed the killer entrance to the apartment. All sorts of possibilities, and not enough evidence to do more than speculate
I am surprised you hadn't seen this before! But so glad you finally have. It's truly one of the finest films ever, such a great script, amazing shots, fantastic acting... a cast of some of the best actors of the 20th century. One of my favorites.
Great reaction to great film. About 20 years ago was on a murder trial and you when we retire to deliberate you realise that in real life you only need one forceful character in the room and half of um haven't listened closely enough and capitulate simply to get the thing over with such is the human condition. That is the madness of it all.
Every single detail of this masterpiece is completely deliberated. Every frame, every shot, every line. Superb performances. Perfect script. On my personal top 3 best films ever...
Proof that you don't need a huge budget to make a great film. Henry Fonda at the time was the only big name leading man. The rest of the actors are great character actors, but they wouldn't have broken any kind of budget. The cinematography is first class, zooming in closer to the actor's faces and while there are cuts to faces and back out to wide shots, they do a great job of implying this was all shot continuously.
This was Sydney Lumet's first theatrical film. He made the great 1982 film "The Verdict," which is Paul Newman at his very best. The "baseball fan" in this film is also in that film.
Oh boy...so many great channels have been reacting to this one recently...and I am always happy to see folks being exposed to this film for the first time...especially the really positive reactors like Nick and Mom Jen. 😁 Sidney Lumet is one of the great directors of all time, and this is one of his best. Another movie by Lumet that I always recommend is Fail Safe from 1964...it also stars Henry Fonda. Other older movies that I suggest that were not made by Lumet are...To Kill a Mockingbird(1962), Inherit the Wind(1960), and Judgement at Nuremberg(1961)...all three are highly renowned courtroom dramas filmed in black and white.
Hi iKvetch, I thought I'd also mention a more recent Lumet one that's exceptionally taut and brilliantly acted. "When the devil know's your dead". From 2007. With Albert Finney and the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman. A true hidden gem.
That was indeed Lee J. Cobb, who would later play the detective in The Exorcist - well spotted. Incidentally the film that won all the Oscars that this was nominated for was The Bridge on the River Kwai. Frankly I've always been in two minds about whether they made the right decision there (despite considering David Lean a Film God). Sidney Lumet was nominated for 5 Oscars in his career. The only Oscar he won though was an honorary Oscar in 2005. Also this was Lumet's first feature film.
The defendant is presumed to be innocent -- on which due process is premised. The jury does not find the defendant innocent or guilty; it determines whether the prosecution proved guilt.
The short guy with the glasses and in an early scene he was the voice of “Piglet” from the original “Winnie The Pooh” cartoons!! And used his watch to time how long it took the man to get to the door. John Fiedler ( never knew his name before but saw and heard him so many times)
This was based on a Teleplay, and the actors had 3 weeks to rehearse and They were able to really "got into their characters and their reactions to one another... And it shows...
I love this film and wish to catch it on the stage someday. Reactions shouldn't be character critiques but actor critiques including camera, lighting, sound etc.
And in the end when he cries for the loss of his son you can feel the pain that he's been covering to himself. One of the greatest films ever. Casablanca, this one and Blade Runner. The closing monologue Blade Runner is perhaps the best of any film. Really glad you watched this one. As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.
This film immediately came to mind when I watched DUNE. When the Fremen are said to be “dangerous and unreliable,” I sarcastically said, “Oh, there’re some GOOD things about ’em, too. I’ve known a COUPLE who were okay.”
Twelve Angry Men is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. The production was staged in New York City and aired live on TV, September 20, 1954, as the first episode in the seventh season of the program, Studio One. 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. The production won three Emmy Awards: for Rose's writing, Schaffner's direction, and for Robert Cummings as Best Actor. The cast included performances by: Robert Cummings as Juror #8 Franchot Tone as Juror #3 Edward Arnold as Juror #10 Paul Hartman as Juror #7 John Beal as Juror #2 Walter Abel as Juror #4 George Voskovec as Juror #11 Joseph Sweeney as Juror #9 Bart Burns as Juror #6 Norman Fell as Foreman Lee Phillips as Juror #5 Will West as Juror # 12 Uncredited cast Vincent Gardenia as Bailiff[
One of the best dramas ive ever seen and im soon to be 65, today so many people dismiss all black and white movies as not worth watching but some of the best movies ever made in the way of great acting were black and white
First time watching your channel - LOVE IT!!! The banter is AWESOME!!! Will be watching MORE of your reactions!! Mom is about my age, it appears....and, you both have such great input!! THANKS for watching this one - SUCH a GREAT MOVIE. The scene of Fonda putting on the man's coat, towards the end: GETS ME: EVERY TIME!!! THANKS - and, HUGS!!
I imagine its been mentioned but this film is the adaptation of the original play.....it goes to show the prejudice of humans and how it can get in the way of doing the right thing unless one man makes a stand...
Love your reactions. Women could serve on juries in the U.S. beginning in 1898 with the right to vote. However, they didn't start regularly serving until the 1930s.
Great reaction! Sidney Lumet has a distinguished career and one of his underrated films is Dog Day Afternoon with Pacino and John Cazele. Please consider it, you’ll enjoy it.
I suggest the 1956 movie The Bad Seed. a psychological thriller involving an 8 yr old girl who has inherited the family trait of a serial killer… if you haven’t watched it before it’ll blow your mind.
Women COULD serve on juries then -- in certain jurisdictions, they started serving as soon as they got the vote (there's a 1930s movie called Ladies of the Jury, in which 3 women are jurors)... but no obligation was then felt to make jury demographics reflect the community. And it wasn't hard for moms to get excused, so there often were all-male juries.
Very true. Also you may be interested to know that Hitchcock made a film in 1930 called 'Murder' which included a jury scene, and there WERE women on that jury.
It’s the perfect ending to a great story that the audience is not shown for certain whether the boy committed the crime. Because juries never know that for certain. It’s all about whether, or not, a jury concludes that there is reasonable doubt of guilt, not certainty.
12 Angry Lessons from Sidney Lumet on his first film: 01 - get a screenplay by Reginald Rose 02 - present the rules at the beginning 03 - stage direction for actors to take over 04 - frame composition to develop the plot 05 - angled shots to express the emotional states of the characters 06 - lensings for dramatic tension 07 - long take shots to pace the action 08 - subtle camera movements to present facts 09 - hook the audience with questions to be answered 10 - engage the audience with facts 11 - break (some of) the 10 rules of screenwriting 12 - MORE IS LESS! 👏👏👏
I love this film for many reasons. However, I think my favorite reason is that aside from the brief glimpse at the defendant at the beginning, we know absolutely nothing about the case other than from the mouths of the jurors themselves. We, the audience, become the jury of the jurors.
Love this movie. I'm a sucker for dialogue driven dramas. While this era was not our best as a country, there is a certain appeal with the way these scenes are portrayed in this time. The shirt and tie era. I also enjoyed the "lawful neutral" man who never sweats. His vote was not from maleficence, but from taking the courtroom evidence purely as fact. Once he had no evidence to stand on, he calmly and firmly changed his vote with no ego. I like that compared to the others who are mostly loud and full of ego or hate.
Actually the imigrant jury George Vsockovic, or Jiří Voskovič is actually from Czech Republic. He was big movie star back here, but had to flee before the nazis overtook our country because of his ethnicity. It gives more depth to how he defenses the democracy. Greetings from Czechia
the best part of this movie...for me... is when.. after everything... Henry Fonda touches Lee J Cobb on his shoulder... and then helps him put on his jacket...😘
I think it's nice that we don't know if the boy murdered his father or not. We are left to decide for ourselves and consider if we are okay with the possibility that a guilty man might go free so that an innocent man wouldn't unjustly be put to death. It captures the inherent conflict and strength/weakness of the trial by jury system/beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt/etc, at least in in the United States (which I know derives much of its practices from English Common Law, so I imagine there are many similarities between our system and the Canadian/British systems). At least maybe that applies when it comes to capital crimes and jury trials like this (though I think the US is one of the few Western democracies that even still has a death penalty). This is an all-time great classic. One of the best examples of 50's cinema ever. One of the reasons the staging/blocking is so good and stands out so much i(like the pivotal scene with the racist monologue and people turning their backs on him) is because this was based on an actual teleplay (which is also why the dialogue is so wonderful at communicating the visuals of the murder/witness testimony without us actually seeing anything). It's been studied in film school, theater classes for decades and still even today. I remember watching it in school, maybe around the time I was 12 or 13, as we were learning basics about the criminal justice system/trial by jury/right to due process/fair trial/etc. Another movie that deals with similar topics in a much different way/circumstances features Henry Fonda as well, much later in his life and career.... It was a made for TV movie called "Gideon's Trumpet"... it's about an inmate who challenged the particulars of his case (and imprisonment) on the grounds that he did not receive due process/a fair trial because he was forced to represent himself in court because of financial hardships (he was a poor man, uneducated and I believe borderline illiterate, at least at the time of his arrest). Eventually, his complaint/appeal made it to the Supreme Court(?) and influenced major reforms and changes that were instrumental with how defendents are treated and how their right to a defense and fair trial are determined. I don't want to say too much because it spoils it a bit, and it's a slower movie that is more about procedural stuff and human rights (I watched it in school too and don't remember all the particulars), so maybe it's not a good one to react to... but I think it was a good movie about an interesting topic, at least for American civics. Anyway, 12 Angry Men is probably the BEST movie of it's type. It is one of the best introductory lessons on the American jury system and is very accessible to anybody with a halfway decent attention span. I enjoyed how you both noted that women and most minority groups were not permitted on juries (which was an enormous injustice that was inherent in the system back then). I'm glad it is very popular on youtube and that both of you and other reactors enjoy it. It's great that such an old movie, black and white, can still keep people so interested and riveted. It's a testament to how awesome the script, acting, and direction/blocking/editing are. Even though some of the characters are always yelling and very aggressive, they have a much more naturalistic way of speaking than was common in many films of this period (you probably know what I mean... some older movies, the actors have that old timey way of speaking). In contrast, the speech in this film is very natural for the time period, and there are even "ethnic" characters with noticeable accents (I think the polite man is slavic and has that kind of accent possibly -- the darker skinned man who gets offended about the trash comments, I believe he's meant to be Italian, who were sort of the "white" but lower class group of this time period). They wouldn't have been able to get away with making this about a black defendant (with a black juror). Even including various "ethnic" groups and different professions/social classes was meant to be a demonstration of America as a "melting pot" of sort (with elements that sometimes never gel together). For its time, this was a very progressive film, both because of the topic and how it's presented, but even the casting itself and the way the script presents us with very believable, realistic characters from all walks of life was very rare for the time period (even if they are meant to be stand-ins for particular ideas like "the racist" or "the old man" at various points). Glad you enjoyed it. It was fun to watch your reaction. Your mom seems like such a kind lady. I'm glad you both get to spend time enjoying movies together. That's cool.
It’s never ‘just’ actors, even in a closed setting like this - composition and editing play a big part in shaping our experience. Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979), winner of 4 Oscars, in part, takes on that idea - a poor actor’s performance can be ‘enhanced’ in the editing room.
It actually wouldn't be as uncommon then for someone to not know anything about the movies they went to see. Few people had AC, especially in the slums, so when it got how people would go to the air-conditioned movie theater. It was a cheap way to cool off, more than about watching the movies. Some would even go in and go with the plan of sleeping through the movie
Theres a very good remake of this show years later, newer cars, clothes, and instead of a fan that doesnt work this time its an air conditioner - but again its also very well done.
The scene where Fonda helps Cobb on with his coat is, in my opinion, one of the most moving scenes in the movie. Gets me every time. Has to be one of the finest movies ever made.
Agreed. I love that little part of the film. Shows that we can disagree but still show basic human kindness towards one another.
At the movies end, I believe the angry juror (Lee J. Cobb) is walking slowly down the steps... defeated?
This is one of my favorite movies. I've done the stage performance twice, in which I was juror 7 and the last time I was eight. Never ever had a better time in the theater than with this play. No set pieces or huge numbers. Just twelve actors, living in the moment. Working off of each other.
The beauty of this movies is that it was purely based on a strong script. No special effects, no real action scenes, just amazing performances, strong photography & a really well written script. It goes to show that great movies don't need big flashy special effects or massive budgets to be really impressive & very immersive. I also loved the fact that it shows that one person, with honest questions can open the minds & have them question their decisions of those that made up their minds more on their opinions & accepting 'Facts' without questioning them. I would love to see your reaction & opinions to 'Inherit the Wind' (1960) which is based on a true court case & relevant to America today. A simple film based on a opposing opinions.
Yes, it's based on an incredibly strong script and has amazing performances, but there's a lot more to it. While there aren't any obvious special effects, there's a ton of technical wizardry going on that people aren't conscious of, which is one reason why this version is more effective than the original TV version (which is on RUclips). For example, they used several different sets to "play" the room. The room keeps getting smaller. The walls appear to close in. The use of editing, camerawork, lighting and sound is also sophisticated. Not only are many of the shots NOT the way they would normally be done, an incredible amount of thought must have gone into choosing just the right one.
Definitely Inherit the Wind! Oscars and Golden Globes galore!
@@dionysiacosmos Thank you for supporting the suggestion.
Lee J. Cobb's breakdown at the end is one of the finest pieces of acting ever imo. That monologue is just an incredible performance.
"Be a lot of those old character actors, probably."
Ma'am, you nailed it.
It's a Murderer's Row of "that guy."
The meek guy with the glasses was at one point the voice of Piglet...from winnie the pooh...John Fiedler.
I love that this was black and white, as a result everything is heightened and the images virtually leap off the screen at you, especially during the close-ups. And the one room set compounds the claustrophobic intensity. Great cinematography and a masterclass in acting.
The guy demonstrating the switch blade is Jack Klugman!! He was in the Tv show The Odd Couple and Quincy M.E. , plus in some episodes of the Twilight Zone along with other movies!
( I met him once at a charity event at work, got to tell him how talented I thought he was!)
Quincy was a favorite of mine. Just watched an episode recently!!
That’s so cool (and kind of you) 🥰🥹✨🎬
and Ali MacGraw's father in Goodbye, Columbus.
I have seen so many reactions to this movie, it is a real pleasure to folks reacting who can name most of the character actors. 😉
Great reaction! Thanks!!
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That was good spotting, Nick...picking out Lee J Cobb...who played the movie loving detective, Lt William Kinderman in the Exorcist.
Lee j cobb was a phenomenal actor! He stole this movie with his hot temper and ending, not guilty! One my favorites of his is coogans bluff with clint Eastwood.
Love this film. It's more like theatre. Just twelve great actors in a room acting out the story. No explosions, no graphic scenes, no car chases, no "shock value", no CGI. Just great acting. Thanks for watching and sharing with us. ❤
That's because the original teleplay was written & performed as on a theatrical stage for television cameras broadcasting live on _CBS Playhouse_ three years prior.
@@shallowgal462 Thank you. I didn't know.
@@jwes869 You are most welcome.
I think the presentation of an identical knife was a "shock value" moment.
The foreigner was played by Jiří (George) Voskovec, a well-known Czech actor and comedian, who emigrated to the USA when communists snatched the power in Czechoslovakia. He knew first-hand the value of freedom and justice.
Almost nobody notices that the house painter who defends the old man had showing the old man courtesy from the beginning. He had helped the old man with his chair and kept note of when the old man was in the restroom.
I was a juror on a federal felony case in DC which started out the same way, 11-1 for guilty. The trial had lasted only 4 hours, but we deliberated for 4 days before finally delivering a non-guilty verdict. I held out for guilty until the last day...I had a similar moment to juror #4.
Good reaction!
It amazes me that NOBODY ever remarks on seeing Jack Klugman so young. He was HUGE, back in the day - on The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E.. I'm guessing he's totally forgotten now!
Very sad, he's a legend to me for the Odd Couple.
He's also great in a few episodes of the Twilight Zone. He'll never be totally forgotten.
My favorite youtubers finally decided to watch this timeless classic. As always great reaction!!!!
Yes! One of my favorite movies! So glad you watched this.
I rarely comment but I have to say that truly appreciate both of your perception of deeper concepts in so many movies. I also love that you can just laugh at absurd comedies without needing something more from them. Thank you for your combined intellect and sense of fun.
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A true classic of American cinema. The story originated as a live teleplay a couple of years prior. Fonda wanted to produce it as a theatrical motion picture but ran into the argument of "Why? It was already done for free on TV."
Thank God, Fonda won that argument. The movie remains an iconic drama. Today, it can often be seen as a stage play in local community theaters. I once had the good fortune of playing Juror No. 11 (the foreigner) in a local production years ago. A genuine slice of Americana and a wonderful template of how to make a thrilling drama with a good script and highly talented actors, no explosions, fancy special effects or curse words. Just superb storytelling. Loved y'all's reaction.
A recording of that teleplay is available on RUclips.
The guy in the hat is Jack Warden , he also was in many things to!!
The last one I saw him in is the Sandra Bullock movie: “While You Were Sleeping “ ( adorable movie!!)
This was originally a stage play, and Sidney Lumet (film's director) rented a space and taped off the exact dimensions of the room so they could get their movements to the point that they seemed totally natural and fluid. They didn't have to think about anything but their delivery.
It was originally a teleplay, not a stage play. It was specifically written for television by Reginald Rose. A recording of the original 1954 teleplay is on RUclips.
This was director Sidney Lumet's first feature film. He had done work for television prior to this. Some of his other movies include The Pawnbroker, Fail Safe, Serpico, Murder on the Orient Express, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, The Verdict, and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Dog Day Afternoon is a favorite of mine.
Lumet began the movie using camera angles above the jurors' heads, and slowly moved it downwards. He also used more close-ups as the movie went on. The result was an increasing feeling of being in a small space.
One thing I like about this movie is how the different characters bring their own experiences and perspectives into the jury room with them. The old man understood why another old man would testify the way he did. The guy who lived in a slum knew about how switchblades were used in actual fights. The smallest juror who brought up the question of the kid stabbing downward while being so much shorter than his father.
When the bigot finished ranting, the cool-headed juror told him not to open his mouth again. From that point forward, the bigot didn't utter another word. Even when he voted not guilty, he did it by shaking his head. And the look on his face suggested that he knew how wrong he had been, and that he'd been voting to send someone to die who might very well not have done it.
I grew up with Jack Klugman first on The Odd Couple, as Oscar Madison then as Quincy, ME. It was one of the first forensic detective shows. Both series are so good that you can only see them on premium streaming channels.
Whenever you watch 12 Angry Men you'll always notice something new.
I loved Quincy! 😊
E.G. Marshal is the one who said he doesn’t sweat , then took his glasses off to rub his nose. He was in a lot of things .
Narrator for endless shows and documentaries on PBS.
Never understood why people are so quick to judge Cobb’s character when it’s fairly easy to explain - hurt people hurt people.
Thats not an excuse to send a kid to death. He should 100% be judged
@@harish123az this! I agree with you!
Joseph Sweeney and George Voskoveck were the only two actors who appeared in the original 1954 teleplay.
I love that you guys are hitting this! It's just amazing. Thank you! I couldn't wait to get home from work to watch. 😃
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I like to point out that Joseph Sweeney was born in 1884. His father grew up during the Civil War. Our parents (and grandparents) grew up during Sweeney's final years. So we are just 3 or 4 generations away from the Civil War. 4 or 5 away from the Revolutionary War. The actor playing juror #2 was the voice of Piglet. The director locked the actors in a small room to rehearse for hours to amp up the tension. So many of the actors went on to become accomplished character actors. You know you've seen them, even if you can't nail, down the name of the film.
1) THE KNIFE
The knife could have fallen out of the boy's pocket - onto the floor right outside the front door of his apartment - as he was leaving his apartment to go to the movies.
That fits the timeline: The boy left his apartment at 11:30pm to go to the movies, and he said the knife fell through a hole in his pocket sometime between then - 11:30, when he left to go to the movies - and when he got back home at 3:10 in the morning.
"JUROR 4: Now what happened to the knife? He claims that it fell through a hole in his pocket on the way to the movies, sometime between 11:30 and 3:10, and that he never saw it again. ... No one in the house saw him go out at 11:30."
If the knife fell out of the boy's pocket as he was closing the door, the noise of the door closing could have been loud enough that he could not hear the knife hit the floor.
This scenario puts the knife at the scene of the crime to begin with. There is no need to try to explain how the knife got from someplace else to the particular apartment. For example, there is no need to try to explain how some stranger - who doesn't know the boy or the father, or where they live - found the knife blocks away on the street and just so happened to walk to the father's apartment.
Where the father lived was a slum so just about anyone - homeless people, drug dealers, pimps, robbers, home invaders, anyone - could have walked inside the building and found the knife on the floor right outside the father's door. It could even have been someone who lived in the same building and who hated the father (for example, because this other person knew the father used his fists to beat the son, beating the son all the time). This bum/thug/robber/neighbor finds the knife outside the door on the floor and says something ("sweet knife!") or makes some noise when picking it up and flipping it open. The father hears some noise outside his front door and opens it, only to be confronted with a bum/thug/robber/neighbor with an open switchblade knife: that person forces his way into the apartment and a fight ensues. The stabbing occurs ... with the bum/thug/robber/neighbor doing it the wrong way (from above, down and in, instead of upward and with an underhand motion, as the son probably would have done since he was very handy with knives).
Never thought of that. It makes sense.
Or it fell out of his pocket as he was running (presumably) down the stairs. One would not hear it falling down there either.
There's also the possibility that the pawn shop owner lied about having never seen a knife like it in order to guarantee a sale.
But if the boy had been showing the knife off to his friends, it's plausible that one of those friends bought a similar knife with the explicit purpose of murdering the boy's father.
This could even explain why the victim allowed the killer entrance to the apartment.
All sorts of possibilities, and not enough evidence to do more than speculate
@@MrGBH Those knives are also illegal, so the pawn shop owner is not going to admit to having a slew of them.
I am surprised you hadn't seen this before! But so glad you finally have. It's truly one of the finest films ever, such a great script, amazing shots, fantastic acting... a cast of some of the best actors of the 20th century. One of my favorites.
Wonderful movie!! 😊❤
Great reaction to great film. About 20 years ago was on a murder trial and you when we retire to deliberate you realise that in real life you only need one forceful character in the room and half of um haven't listened closely enough and capitulate simply to get the thing over with such is the human condition. That is the madness of it all.
So the walls of the jury room were movable and they actually would make the room smaller in some scenes to heighten the tension
The little guy with the squeaky voice is John Fiedler, the voice of Piglet.
He also had a continuing role in the Bob Newhart show were Newhart played a psychologist.
Fantastic movie - filmmaking at its finest. Script, cinematography, direction, acting - all top notch.
So good!! 😊
Great reaction. I love how many times Jen says something about 30 seconds ahead of one of the characters.
Every single detail of this masterpiece is completely deliberated. Every frame, every shot, every line. Superb performances. Perfect script. On my personal top 3 best films ever...
Incredible. 😊
The jury foreman (Martin Balsam) was private investigator Arbogast in Psycho.
Top 10 movie of all time with an immense amount of talented actors.
Thanks!
You're most welcome! Glad you enjoyed.
Proof that you don't need a huge budget to make a great film. Henry Fonda at the time was the only big name leading man. The rest of the actors are great character actors, but they wouldn't have broken any kind of budget. The cinematography is first class, zooming in closer to the actor's faces and while there are cuts to faces and back out to wide shots, they do a great job of implying this was all shot continuously.
Enjoyed your reaction. Thank you.
Excellent acting by everyone. Great writing.
Sidney Lumet 👏🏼
Wow one of my Dad’s favorites. Growing up us kids enjoyed watching those old great movies with him…. Great memories.
This was Sydney Lumet's first theatrical film. He made the great 1982 film "The Verdict," which is Paul Newman at his very best. The "baseball fan" in this film is also in that film.
John Fiedler was also the voice of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh ❤
Who is Piglet?
John Fiedler also played one of Dr. Hartley's wacky patients on the Bob Newhart show and was also on Star Trek.
Oh boy...so many great channels have been reacting to this one recently...and I am always happy to see folks being exposed to this film for the first time...especially the really positive reactors like Nick and Mom Jen. 😁
Sidney Lumet is one of the great directors of all time, and this is one of his best. Another movie by Lumet that I always recommend is Fail Safe from 1964...it also stars Henry Fonda.
Other older movies that I suggest that were not made by Lumet are...To Kill a Mockingbird(1962), Inherit the Wind(1960), and Judgement at Nuremberg(1961)...all three are highly renowned courtroom dramas filmed in black and white.
Hi iKvetch, I thought I'd also mention a more recent Lumet one that's exceptionally taut and brilliantly acted. "When the devil know's your dead". From 2007. With Albert Finney and the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman. A true hidden gem.
That was indeed Lee J. Cobb, who would later play the detective in The Exorcist - well spotted. Incidentally the film that won all the Oscars that this was nominated for was The Bridge on the River Kwai. Frankly I've always been in two minds about whether they made the right decision there (despite considering David Lean a Film God). Sidney Lumet was nominated for 5 Oscars in his career. The only Oscar he won though was an honorary Oscar in 2005. Also this was Lumet's first feature film.
The defendant is presumed to be innocent -- on which due process is premised. The jury does not find the defendant innocent or guilty; it determines whether the prosecution proved guilt.
The short guy with the glasses and in an early scene he was the voice of “Piglet” from the original “Winnie The Pooh” cartoons!!
And used his watch to time how long it took the man to get to the door.
John Fiedler ( never knew his name before but saw and heard him so many times)
This was based on a Teleplay, and the actors had 3 weeks to rehearse and They were able to really "got into their characters and their reactions to one another... And it shows...
My favorite Sidney Lumet movie is The Pawnbroker (1964). He is an incredible story teller.
John Fielder was the voice of piglet in Winnie the Pooh
Martin balsam, who played the jury Forman, also played Arborgast in psycho
I love this film and wish to catch it on the stage someday. Reactions shouldn't be character critiques but actor critiques including camera, lighting, sound etc.
17:20
“Maybe he’ll die before it’s over”
I busted laughing
And in the end when he cries for the loss of his son you can feel the pain that he's been covering to himself.
One of the greatest films ever. Casablanca, this one and Blade Runner. The closing monologue Blade Runner is perhaps the best of any film.
Really glad you watched this one.
As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.
Yeah, the Blade Runner monologue can't be beat!
This film immediately came to mind when I watched DUNE. When the Fremen are said to be “dangerous and unreliable,” I sarcastically said, “Oh, there’re some GOOD things about ’em, too. I’ve known a COUPLE who were okay.”
The 1997 remake of this film is in colour and stars Jack Lemmon as Juror #8 and George C. Scott is Juror #3.
Twelve Angry Men is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. The production was staged in New York City and aired live on TV, September 20, 1954, as the first episode in the seventh season of the program, Studio One. 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. The production won three Emmy Awards: for Rose's writing, Schaffner's direction, and for Robert Cummings as Best Actor. The cast included performances by:
Robert Cummings as Juror #8
Franchot Tone as Juror #3
Edward Arnold as Juror #10
Paul Hartman as Juror #7
John Beal as Juror #2
Walter Abel as Juror #4
George Voskovec as Juror #11
Joseph Sweeney as Juror #9
Bart Burns as Juror #6
Norman Fell as Foreman
Lee Phillips as Juror #5
Will West as Juror # 12
Uncredited cast
Vincent Gardenia as Bailiff[
Love this film and an honest heroic reaction! Awesome!
A great movie!!
Glad you loved it!!
It still holds up after all these years!!
One of the best dramas ive ever seen and im soon to be 65, today so many people dismiss all black and white movies as not worth watching but some of the best movies ever made in the way of great acting were black and white
One of the greatest films of all time. A masterpiece. In my top five films ever.
First time watching your channel - LOVE IT!!! The banter is AWESOME!!! Will be watching MORE of your reactions!! Mom is about my age, it appears....and, you both have such great input!! THANKS for watching this one - SUCH a GREAT MOVIE. The scene of Fonda putting on the man's coat, towards the end: GETS ME: EVERY TIME!!! THANKS - and, HUGS!!
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Ed Binns(6) and Henry Fonda(8) were together in another Sidney Lumet film, 1964’s Fail-Safe. 13:15
I imagine its been mentioned but this film is the adaptation of the original play.....it goes to show the prejudice of humans and how it can get in the way of doing the right thing unless one man makes a stand...
Great reaction to this brilliant film. AND we learned that Nick and Jen are quite adept with switchblades!
It was, in fact, the detective from the Exorcist lol.
Love your reactions. Women could serve on juries in the U.S. beginning in 1898 with the right to vote. However, they didn't start regularly serving until the 1930s.
And when it was all set and done, they went their separate ways without knowing the truth behind the case... just like us viewers.
Double dose of Nick and Jen today. Just finished Remember the Titans and now this. This is a great film.
Director Sidney Lumet's first film! A tour de force of framing the characters. Had a fantastic script to work with through 12 great actors.
Great reaction! Sidney Lumet has a distinguished career and one of his underrated films is Dog Day Afternoon with Pacino and John Cazele. Please consider it, you’ll enjoy it.
Great Movie that should be shown in schools
I saw it in school in 1988. We were all kind of groaning about having to watch an old B&W movie but very quickly the whole class was glued to it.
GREAT movie and a terrific review by you two!
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I suggest the 1956 movie The Bad Seed. a psychological thriller involving an 8 yr old girl who has inherited the family trait of a serial killer… if you haven’t watched it before it’ll blow your mind.
What would you give me for a basket full of hugs?
Yes!!!! They have to see that one. Amazing. 🤩
@@MikiJohnson13 indeed.
Yesssss❤❤❤ Absolutely another great 👍🏾 👌🏾 👏🏾
Great recommendation
One of my favorite movies! 12 men talking in a room! should be boring, but the cast are so talented and have a great story!
Women COULD serve on juries then -- in certain jurisdictions, they started serving as soon as they got the vote (there's a 1930s movie called Ladies of the Jury, in which 3 women are jurors)... but no obligation was then felt to make jury demographics reflect the community. And it wasn't hard for moms to get excused, so there often were all-male juries.
Very true. Also you may be interested to know that Hitchcock made a film in 1930 called 'Murder' which included a jury scene, and there WERE women on that jury.
It’s the perfect ending to a great story that the audience is not shown for certain whether the boy committed the crime. Because juries never know that for certain. It’s all about whether, or not, a jury concludes that there is reasonable doubt of guilt, not certainty.
12 Angry Lessons from Sidney Lumet on his first film:
01 - get a screenplay by Reginald Rose
02 - present the rules at the beginning
03 - stage direction for actors to take over
04 - frame composition to develop the plot
05 - angled shots to express the emotional states of the characters
06 - lensings for dramatic tension
07 - long take shots to pace the action
08 - subtle camera movements to present facts
09 - hook the audience with questions to be answered
10 - engage the audience with facts
11 - break (some of) the 10 rules of screenwriting
12 - MORE IS LESS!
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I love this film for many reasons. However, I think my favorite reason is that aside from the brief glimpse at the defendant at the beginning, we know absolutely nothing about the case other than from the mouths of the jurors themselves.
We, the audience, become the jury of the jurors.
But you're letting him slip through our fingers!!
An all-time great film. Incredible.
Love this movie. I'm a sucker for dialogue driven dramas. While this era was not our best as a country, there is a certain appeal with the way these scenes are portrayed in this time. The shirt and tie era. I also enjoyed the "lawful neutral" man who never sweats. His vote was not from maleficence, but from taking the courtroom evidence purely as fact. Once he had no evidence to stand on, he calmly and firmly changed his vote with no ego. I like that compared to the others who are mostly loud and full of ego or hate.
I agree, and I agree with the characterization of "lawful neutral."
Happened to show up on my feed when I was called for jury duty this Thursday. I kinda hoping to going through voir dire now!
The boy is likely guilty. The beauty is that doesn’t matter and isn’t the point of the film. One of the best movies of all time
I'm so glad you're watching this phenomenal movie! This is definitely one of the world's best movies of all time. ❤👍🏻🎥
this movie went up against "The bridge on the river Kwai." no movie was beating that masterpiece that year!
Extremely tough competition! 😊
Actually the imigrant jury George Vsockovic, or Jiří Voskovič is actually from Czech Republic. He was big movie star back here, but had to flee before the nazis overtook our country because of his ethnicity. It gives more depth to how he defenses the democracy. Greetings from Czechia
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the best part of this movie...for me... is when.. after everything... Henry Fonda touches Lee J Cobb on his shoulder... and then helps him put on his jacket...😘
This movie changed my life! Jurer 8th is a true hero! And the worst type of person for me is the Jurer 7th who seeks ball game.
This is brilliant
I think it's nice that we don't know if the boy murdered his father or not. We are left to decide for ourselves and consider if we are okay with the possibility that a guilty man might go free so that an innocent man wouldn't unjustly be put to death. It captures the inherent conflict and strength/weakness of the trial by jury system/beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt/etc, at least in in the United States (which I know derives much of its practices from English Common Law, so I imagine there are many similarities between our system and the Canadian/British systems). At least maybe that applies when it comes to capital crimes and jury trials like this (though I think the US is one of the few Western democracies that even still has a death penalty).
This is an all-time great classic. One of the best examples of 50's cinema ever. One of the reasons the staging/blocking is so good and stands out so much i(like the pivotal scene with the racist monologue and people turning their backs on him) is because this was based on an actual teleplay (which is also why the dialogue is so wonderful at communicating the visuals of the murder/witness testimony without us actually seeing anything).
It's been studied in film school, theater classes for decades and still even today. I remember watching it in school, maybe around the time I was 12 or 13, as we were learning basics about the criminal justice system/trial by jury/right to due process/fair trial/etc.
Another movie that deals with similar topics in a much different way/circumstances features Henry Fonda as well, much later in his life and career.... It was a made for TV movie called "Gideon's Trumpet"... it's about an inmate who challenged the particulars of his case (and imprisonment) on the grounds that he did not receive due process/a fair trial because he was forced to represent himself in court because of financial hardships (he was a poor man, uneducated and I believe borderline illiterate, at least at the time of his arrest). Eventually, his complaint/appeal made it to the Supreme Court(?) and influenced major reforms and changes that were instrumental with how defendents are treated and how their right to a defense and fair trial are determined. I don't want to say too much because it spoils it a bit, and it's a slower movie that is more about procedural stuff and human rights (I watched it in school too and don't remember all the particulars), so maybe it's not a good one to react to... but I think it was a good movie about an interesting topic, at least for American civics.
Anyway, 12 Angry Men is probably the BEST movie of it's type. It is one of the best introductory lessons on the American jury system and is very accessible to anybody with a halfway decent attention span. I enjoyed how you both noted that women and most minority groups were not permitted on juries (which was an enormous injustice that was inherent in the system back then). I'm glad it is very popular on youtube and that both of you and other reactors enjoy it. It's great that such an old movie, black and white, can still keep people so interested and riveted. It's a testament to how awesome the script, acting, and direction/blocking/editing are.
Even though some of the characters are always yelling and very aggressive, they have a much more naturalistic way of speaking than was common in many films of this period (you probably know what I mean... some older movies, the actors have that old timey way of speaking). In contrast, the speech in this film is very natural for the time period, and there are even "ethnic" characters with noticeable accents (I think the polite man is slavic and has that kind of accent possibly -- the darker skinned man who gets offended about the trash comments, I believe he's meant to be Italian, who were sort of the "white" but lower class group of this time period). They wouldn't have been able to get away with making this about a black defendant (with a black juror). Even including various "ethnic" groups and different professions/social classes was meant to be a demonstration of America as a "melting pot" of sort (with elements that sometimes never gel together). For its time, this was a very progressive film, both because of the topic and how it's presented, but even the casting itself and the way the script presents us with very believable, realistic characters from all walks of life was very rare for the time period (even if they are meant to be stand-ins for particular ideas like "the racist" or "the old man" at various points).
Glad you enjoyed it. It was fun to watch your reaction. Your mom seems like such a kind lady. I'm glad you both get to spend time enjoying movies together. That's cool.
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It’s never ‘just’ actors, even in a closed setting like this - composition and editing play a big part in shaping our experience. Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz (1979), winner of 4 Oscars, in part, takes on that idea - a poor actor’s performance can be ‘enhanced’ in the editing room.
Great reactions!
John Fiedler... the original voice of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh.
Brilliant movie, and Lee J. Cobb was phenomenal as usual.
It actually wouldn't be as uncommon then for someone to not know anything about the movies they went to see. Few people had AC, especially in the slums, so when it got how people would go to the air-conditioned movie theater. It was a cheap way to cool off, more than about watching the movies. Some would even go in and go with the plan of sleeping through the movie
"Character" actors back then were Superb.
Theres a very good remake of this show years later, newer cars, clothes, and instead of a fan that doesnt work this time its an air conditioner - but again its also very well done.
One of the many messages of this film... "I'll make a man out of you" has no place in our society - except for that super catchy song from Mulan.
I'm just so relieved Mum Jen has never been involved in any knife fights...
😅
The movie is excellent. And both did a very entertaining reaction. 👏