12 Angry Men

Directed by Sidney Lumet
Released on 13 April,1957

Story-Line

The story begins after closing arguments have been presented in a murder case, as the judge is giving his instructions to the jury. According to American law in most states (both then and now), the verdict (whether guilty or not guilty) must be unanimous. A non-unanimous verdict results in a hung jury, which in turn forces a retrial. The question they are deciding is whether the defendant, a young teenage boy from a city slum, murdered his father. The jury is further instructed that a guilty verdict will be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence—the electric chair. The jury of twelve move to the jury room, where they begin to become acquainted with each others' personalities and discuss the case. The plot of the film revolves around their difficulty in reaching a unanimous verdict, mainly due to the jurors' personal prejudices. An initial vote is taken and eleven of the jurors vote "guilty". Juror #8 is the lone dissenter, stating that the evidence presented is circumstantial and the boy deserves a fair deliberation, upon which he starts questioning the accuracy and reliability of the only two witnesses to the murder, the fact that the knife used in the murder is not as unusual as assumed (he produces an identical one from his pocket), and the overall shady circumstances. In a secret ballot, Juror 9 is the first to support Juror 8, not necessarily believing the accused is not guilty but feeling that Juror 8's points deserve further discussion. After listening to the complaints of Jurors 7 and 10, Jurors 5 and 11 change their votes. After Jurors 2 and 6 also decide on "not guilty", 7 becomes tired and also votes "not guilty" just so that the deliberation may end. When pressed by Juror 11, however, 7 says that he believes the defendant is not guilty. Juror 12 changes his mind after voting "not guilty", but switches back moments after; the foreman, #1, also votes "not guilty". Juror 10 loses all favor or respect after indulging in a bigoted rant, after which he is told to shut up by Juror 4, who soon becomes convinced by Juror 9 that the witness' testimony may be inaccurate because she may not have been wearing her glasses at the time of the alleged murder. Last of all to agree is the adamant Juror 3, who, after a long confrontation with Juror 8, breaks down after glancing at and furiously tearing up a picture of him and his son. It is revealed that Juror 3 has not seen his son in two years, and his rage may be the result of a falling out with the boy. When his son was young, the father tried to teach the son to "be a man" after seeing him lose a fight. The son ended up punching his father in the mouth. The final vote is unanimous for acquittal. All jurors leave and the defendant is found not-guilty off-screen, while juror number 8 helps the angry juror number 3 with his coat in a show of compassion. In an epilogue, the friendly Jurors 8 (Davis) and 9 (McArdle) exchange surnames (all jurors having remained nameless throughout the movie) and the movie ends.