12 Angry Men
LETTER RECOMMENDING THE MOTION PICTURE “12 ANGRY MEN”
In 1954, an understated motion picture was released in theaters. Despite its invigorating content, the movie made very little money and was virtually unknown to the vast public for decades. About 25 years ago, this movie was rediscovered, and has since become an American classic.
12 Angry Men, starring Henry Fonda, E.G. Marshall, and Lee Cobb, is the story of twelve jurors who determine the fate of a teenage Puerto Rican boy charged with murdering his own father. In the wake of a week-long trial, twelve men, who remain nameless throughout the movie, convene in a small, sweltering room in a New York City court building. They begin their deliberation with a preliminary vote. Eleven of the men vote guilty, and one, Juror #8 (Henry Fonda), votes not guilty. The eleven jurors quickly illustrate the boy’s suspected guilt, laying out the supposed facts of the trial with emotion. …show more content…
But when another vote is done, Juror #9 (Joseph Sweeney) also pleads not guilty, apparently swayed by Juror #8’s take on the switch blade. The tally is now 10-2, in favor of guilty.
Juror #8 then goes on to prove that the old man could not have heard the boy say, “I’ll kill you!” given the loud noise of an L-train that was passing by at the precise moment of the murder. Juror #5, played by the great Jack Klugman, changes his vote to not guilty. The tally is now 9-3.
Juror #11 (George Voskovec), a polite, Eastern European man, stands and explains that it was not likely that the boy would have gone back for the knife after the murder. He dismerits the prosecution’s claim that the boy came back to his apartment hours later to look for the murder weapon. It would have been too risky given the previous loud screams of another alleged eye-witness, a 45 year old lady. Juror #11 subsequently changes his vote to not
In 1954, an understated motion picture was released in theaters. Despite its invigorating content, the movie made very little money and was virtually unknown to the vast public for decades. About 25 years ago, this movie was rediscovered, and has since become an American classic.
12 Angry Men, starring Henry Fonda, E.G. Marshall, and Lee Cobb, is the story of twelve jurors who determine the fate of a teenage Puerto Rican boy charged with murdering his own father. In the wake of a week-long trial, twelve men, who remain nameless throughout the movie, convene in a small, sweltering room in a New York City court building. They begin their deliberation with a preliminary vote. Eleven of the men vote guilty, and one, Juror #8 (Henry Fonda), votes not guilty. The eleven jurors quickly illustrate the boy’s suspected guilt, laying out the supposed facts of the trial with emotion. …show more content…
But when another vote is done, Juror #9 (Joseph Sweeney) also pleads not guilty, apparently swayed by Juror #8’s take on the switch blade. The tally is now 10-2, in favor of guilty.
Juror #8 then goes on to prove that the old man could not have heard the boy say, “I’ll kill you!” given the loud noise of an L-train that was passing by at the precise moment of the murder. Juror #5, played by the great Jack Klugman, changes his vote to not guilty. The tally is now 9-3.
Juror #11 (George Voskovec), a polite, Eastern European man, stands and explains that it was not likely that the boy would have gone back for the knife after the murder. He dismerits the prosecution’s claim that the boy came back to his apartment hours later to look for the murder weapon. It would have been too risky given the previous loud screams of another alleged eye-witness, a 45 year old lady. Juror #11 subsequently changes his vote to not