Twelve Angry Men (Westinghouse Studio One)
"Twelve Angry Men" | |
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Franklin Schaffner | |
Written by | Reginald Rose |
Produced by | Felix Jackson |
Original air date | September 20, 1954 |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"Twelve Angry Men" is a 1954
Plot
Act I
The program opens as a judge instructs the jury in a murder case that their verdict must be unanimous. In the jury room, an initial vote is 11 to 1 in favor of guilty. Juror #8 (
Juror #8 asks for the alleged murder weapon, a switchblade, to be brought into the jury room. Juror #4 points out that the shopkeeper where the defendant purchased the knife testified that it was the only one he had in stock and that it is a very strange knife. When the knife is brought into the jury room, Juror #8 pulls an identical knife from his pocket, and reveals he bought one from a junk shop around the corner from the defendant's house, suggesting it is less "strange" than what the shopkeeper thought.
Juror #8 asks for a secret ballot. If there are still 11 guilty votes, Juror #8 will go along. But if anyone votes not guilty, they will stay and talk it out. The votes are handed in.
Act II
The Foreman then reads the votes to everyone and, to their surprise, finds that another juror voted “not guilty”. There are now only 10 guilty votes. Juror #10 demands to know who it was, & Juror #3 believes it was #5 and berates him for it. Juror #9 (Joseph Sweeney) defends him and admits that he was the one who changed his vote.
Juror #8 focuses on the noise from the elevated train that passed by as the murder took place. One of the witnesses, an old man, claimed that he heard the defendant say, "I'm going to kill you," and then heard the body drop one second later. He questions how the witness could have heard these things, at a distance, with the train roaring by. Juror #5 changes his vote to not guilty. The vote is now 9–3.
Juror #8 next questions how the old man who's had a stroke and walks with two canes could have gotten up out of bed and run through his apartment to see the defendant running down the stairs. The old man testified this happened only 15 seconds after the murder. Juror #3 notes the old man was confused during the trial and suggests he may not have been precise when he stated it was 15 seconds. Juror #3 and the others pause, reacting to the import of Juror #3's question. Juror #8 performs a reenactment to show that the old man could not have gotten up and walked that distance in 15 seconds. Juror #2 times him with a watch and reveals the reenactment took 41 seconds. #8 then tells everyone that the old man must have assumed it was the defendant as soon as he heard footsteps before opening the door. Juror #3 complains about Juror #8's dishonesty and insists the defendant must face punishment. When Juror #8 calls Juror #3 a sadist, Juror #3 lunges and threatens to kill him.
Act III
A new vote is taken. It is now 6–6. Juror #2 (John Beal) is troubled by the angle of the stab wound. Juror #5 has knowledge about switch blades, having seen a knife fight, and says they are typically used with an underhand motion, but the wound here was from an overhand motion. Juror #7 changes his vote out of boredom of all the discussion. Juror #11 is disappointed and calls him out for playing with the boy’s life and his lazy reasoning. He demands the #7 take it seriously and provide a legitimate vote and reasoning for it. Another vote is taken, and it's 9–3 in favor of acquittal. Jurors 3, 4 and 10 are now the holdouts.
Juror #10 focuses on race, insisting the defendant must be guilty because, among other assumptions, "There isn't one of them that's got any good in them." The other jurors react in shock at Juror #10's tirade, and Juror #4 threatens Juror #10 to not speak again for the rest of the deliberation.
Juror #4 is still persuaded by the old lady who said she saw the defendant stab his father. One of the jurors recalls that the old lady wore glasses. She wouldn't have been wearing her glasses in bed, which is where she said she was, tossing and turning. Juror #8 says that all the old lady could have seen, without her glasses and through the train windows, was a blur. Juror #3 is left as the only guilty vote, but he finally gives in. The defendant is found not guilty.
Cast
The cast included performances by:[4]
- 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 Phillipsas Juror #5
- Will West as Juror # 12
Uncredited cast
- Vincent Gardenia as Bailiff[citation needed]
Betty Furness presents Westinghouse appliances in breaks after each of the acts.[4]
Production
The production was staged in New York City and aired live on September 20, 1954, as the first episode in the seventh season of the program, Studio One. A kinescope recording was made for rebroadcast later on the west coast.[4]
It was written by
The production won three Emmy Awards: for Rose's writing, Schaffner's direction, and for Robert Cummings as Best Actor.
Reception
The performance received generally positive reviews. In 1997, Steve Rhodes wrote: "Cummings gives the best of several outstanding performances."[5]
References
- ^ Holm, D. K. "TV on DVD Review: Small Screen Gems, 21 Angry Men" (Cinemonkey, December 08, 2008)
- ^ Cornelius, David. "Studio One – Twelve Angry Men" (DVD Talk, February 9, 2010)
- ^ Douglas, Judge Clark. "Twelve Angry Men" (DVD Verdict, February 9, 2010)
- ^ a b c d Credits are as listed on screen from the broadcast, as captured by the 16 mm film that has been preserved.
- ^ Rhodes, Steve (August 18, 1997). "Steve Rhodes Reviews: Twelve Angry Men (Studio One, 1957)". Silicon Valley Today. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
Sources
- Cynthia Littleton (April 17, 2003). "Mt&r Finds '54 'Angry Men'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 4, 2008. Revised link to article retrieved April 23, 2017.
- Rose, Reginald, Twelve Angry Men, teleplay
External links
- "Twelve Angry Men" at IMDb
- Twelve Angry Men at AllMovie