12 Angry Men (1957)

	Director: Sidney Lumet	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE 12 edsvorne menn RUNNING TIME 98 minutes
	Producer: Henry Fonda Reginald Rose
	Screenwriter: Reginald Rose

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Juror #1	Martin Balsam	½
Juror #2	John Fielder	½
Juror #3	Lee J. Cobb	½
Juror #4	E. G. Marshall	½
Juror #5	Jack Klugman
Juror #6	Ed Binns	½
Juror #7	Jack Warden
Juror #8	Henry Fonda	½
Juror #9	Joseph Sweeney
Juror #10	Ed Begley
Juror #11	George Voskovec
Juror #12	Robert Webber	½

Review

One of the definite all-time classics, 12 Angry Men is an immaculate achievement in every department. Essentially a filmed stage play, it's remarkable how director Lumet manages to keep tension, commitment and dramatic vitality on such a steaming level from start to finish without changing location once. His camera trickery gives the film a progressively claustrophobic atmosphere; the film not only matches most Hitchcock thrillers on suspense, but Lumet makes it all look simple. Reginald Rose's script is a significant social and political comment, but that is not really the essence of the film. Its true power is in the drama that unfolds between the characters, and taking into consideration the amount of time these actors spend with the camera close up on them, the acting is consistently top notch. Both E. G. Marshall, Ed Begley, Henry Fonda, Joseph Sweeney and, especially, Lee J. Cobb have segments of monologue that are absolutely crucial to the film's effect, and they deliver them with incredible force and awareness. By the time the delicate finale sets in, you'll have been completely drawn in by the singular energy and insight of this landmark motion picture. Remade in 1997 by William Friedkin, starring Jack Lemmon in the Henry Fonda role.