12 Angry Men (1997 film)

For other productions, see Twelve Angry Men.

12 Angry Men
DVD cover
Genre	Drama
Based on	Twelve Angry Men 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose
Written by	Reginald Rose
Directed by	William Friedkin
Starring	Courtney B. Vance Ossie Davis George C. Scott Armin Mueller-Stahl Dorian Harewood James Gandolfini Tony Danza Jack Lemmon Hume Cronyn Mykelti Williamson Edward James Olmos William Petersen
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Terence A. Donnelly
Production locations	Raleigh Studios - 5300 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles D.C. Stages, 1360 East 6th Street, Downtown, Los Angeles
Cinematography	Fred Schuler
Editor	Augie Hess
Running time	117 minutes
Production company	MGM Television
Budget	$1.75 million
Original release
Network	Showtime
Release	August 17, 1997 (1997-08-17)

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.

Plot

In the murder trial of a teenage boy from a city slum, accused of murdering his father, the judge instructs the jury to determine his guilt or innocence. The verdict must be unanimous and a guilty verdict will possibly (not mandatorily, unlike in the 1957 film) result in the death penalty. The jury of twelve retires to the jury room.

An initial vote is taken and eleven jurors vote for conviction. Juror 8, the lone dissenter, states that the evidence is circumstantial and the boy deserves a fair deliberation. He questions the testimony of the two witnesses, and the fact that the switchblade used in the murder is not as unusual as the testimony indicates, producing an identical knife from his pocket.

Juror 8 proposes another vote by secret ballot – if the other jurors vote guilty unanimously, he will acquiesce, but if at least one votes "not guilty" they will continue deliberating. Only Juror 9 changes his vote, respecting Juror 8's motives and feeling his points deserve further discussion.

After deliberating whether one witness actually heard the murder take place, Juror 5, who grew up in a slum, changes his vote. Juror 11, questioning whether the defendant would have fled the scene and returned three hours later to retrieve his knife, also changes his vote. Jurors 2 and 6 also vote "not guilty", tying the verdict at 6-6, after Juror 8 demonstrates the unlikelihood that one witness actually saw the boy flee the scene. The remaining jurors are intrigued when Juror 11 proves that although a psychiatric test stated that the boy had subconscious desires to kill, such tests only offer possible actions. Juror 7, impatient to attend a baseball game that night, changes his vote, but Juror 11 chastises him for changing his vote so casually and selfishly when the boy's life is on the line. When pressed by Juror 11, Juror 7 eventually states that he doubts the boy is guilty.

Jurors 12 and 1 change their votes, leaving the only dissenters: Jurors 3, 4, and 10. Outraged at the proceedings, Juror 10 goes on a bigoted diatribe against Hispanic immigrants "outbreeding" African-Americans. He attempts to leverage this with the other African-American jurors, offending the rest of the jury, until Juror 4 orders him to be quiet for the rest of the proceedings.

Juror 4 states that despite all the other evidence called into question, the testimony of the woman who saw the murder from across the street stands as solid evidence. Juror 12 changes his vote back to "guilty", making the vote 8–4 again. Juror 9, seeing Juror 4 rub his nose, irritated by his glasses, realizes that the witness had impressions on her nose, indicating that she wore glasses and likely was not wearing them when she saw the murder. Jurors 12 and 4 change their vote to "not guilty". Juror 10, who says he still thinks the defendant is guilty, bluntly admits to no longer caring about the verdict and votes for acquittal.

Undeterred, Juror 3 is forced to present his arguments again, and goes on a tirade, presenting the evidence in haphazard fashion and concluding with his disbelief that a son would kill his own father, mirroring his previous comments about his bad relationship with his own son. He begins to weep, and says he can feel the knife being plunged into his chest. Juror 8 gently points out that the boy is not his son, and Juror 4 quietly persuades him to let the boy live. Juror 3 gives in, and the final vote is unanimous for acquittal.

The jurors leave and the defendant is found not guilty off-screen, while Juror 8 helps the distraught Juror 3 with his coat. Before departing the court, Jurors 8 (Davis) and 9 (McCardle) exchange names before parting ways.

Cast

The Jury

Juror No.	Character	Actor	'Not guilty' order
1	Jury foreman; a high school football coach who tries to keep order amid the hostilities between the jurors.	Courtney B. Vance	9
2	A meek bank teller who initially does not know what to make of the case.	Ossie Davis	5
3	A businessman with a hot temper. He is estranged from his son, and is convinced that the defendant is guilty.	George C. Scott	12
4	A stockbroker; he is very eloquent and considers the case through facts and not bias.	Armin Mueller-Stahl	11
5	A health care worker (possibly an EMT) who grew up in the Harlem slums. A Milwaukee Brewers fan.	Dorian Harewood	3
6	A house painter, patient and respectful of others' opinions. Feels very strongly about respect for his elders.	James Gandolfini	6
7	A salesman and baseball fanatic; unconcerned with the trial, he is impatient, rude, and wise-cracking. He is anxious to have jury duty end since he has tickets to the New York Yankees game.	Tony Danza	7
8	Davis; an architect who has two children. He is the only juror to originally vote not guilty, and repeatedly questions the evidence of the case.	Jack Lemmon	1
9	McCardle; a wise older man who sides with Juror 8.	Hume Cronyn	2
10	A carwash owner and former Nation of Islam member, he is loudmouthed, narrow-minded, and a black supremacist.	Mykelti Williamson	10
11	An immigrant watchmaker, he is observant and believes in the American justice system.	Edward James Olmos	4
12	An ad executive; he is easily swayed by others' opinions, and does not have a full understanding of the life at stake.	William Petersen	8

Others

• Mary McDonnell as Judge Cynthia Nance
• Tyrees Allen as The Guard
• Douglas Spain as The Defendant

Reception

The film holds a 93% 'Fresh' score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 critic reviews with an average rating of 7.2/10.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
1997	CableACE Awards	Movie		Nominated
		Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries	George C. Scott	Won
		Writing a Movie or Miniseries	Reginald Rose	Nominated
		Editing a Dramatic Special or Series/Movie or Miniseries	Augie Hess	Nominated
1998	ALMA Awards	Outstanding Individual Performance in a Made-for-Television Movie or Mini-Series in a Crossover Role	Edward James Olmos	Won
	Artios Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Movie of the Week Casting	Mary Jo Slater	Nominated
	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials	William Friedkin	Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television		Nominated
		Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television	Jack Lemmon	Given
		Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television	George C. Scott	Won
	Online Film & Television Association Awards	Best Motion Picture Made for Television		Won
		Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Jack Lemmon	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Hume Cronyn	Nominated
			Armin Mueller-Stahl	Nominated
			George C. Scott	Nominated
			Courtney B. Vance	Nominated
		Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries	William Friedkin	Nominated
		Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Won
		Best Editing in a Motion Picture or Miniseries		Nominated
		Best Music in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Charlie Haden and Kenyon Hopkins	Nominated
		Best New Theme Song in a Motion Picture or Miniseries	Kenyon Hopkins	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Television Movie	Terence A. Donnelly	Nominated
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Jack Lemmon	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Hume Cronyn	Nominated
			George C. Scott	Won
		Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or a Movie	William Friedkin	Nominated
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Miniseries or a Movie	Russell Williams II, David E. Fluhr, and Adam Jenkins	Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	Jack Lemmon	Nominated
			George C. Scott	Nominated

At the Golden Globe Awards, actor Ving Rhames won the award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for his performance in Don King: Only in America. When presented with the award, he summoned Jack Lemmon on to the stage and gifted the award to him, feeling that Lemmon was more deserving of it. Rhames refused to re-accept the award when Lemmon tried to return it to him, meaning that, although Lemmon didn't officially win the Golden Globe Award, he did receive the trophy.

See also

• 12 Angry Men (1957 film)

Notes

• Friedkin, William, The Friedkin Connection, HarperCollins 2013

External links

• 12 Angry Men at IMDb
• 12 Angry Men at AllMovie
• 12 Angry Men at the TCM Movie Database