12 Angry Men
1957
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Starring Henry Fonda / Lee J. Cobb / Ed Begley / E.G. Marshall / Jack Warden / Martin Balsam / John Fiedler / Jack Klugman / Edward Binns / Joseph Sweeney / George Voskovec / Robert Webber
Running 97 minutes
In 101 Words or Less:
Eleven jurors vote GUILTY in a death-penalty trial, and The Eleven must endure oppressive summer heat (making them like old dynamite sticks – sweating and unstable) and the will of The One (Fonda) who votes INNOCENT.
This is the perfect legal drama because there are no lawyers (meaning there is no wondering whose windbag will blow sweetest); there are only The Twelve.
The film crackles because there is no weak link in the 12-man ensemble. The set is sparse and the conflict is quickly established, so the film must ride those 12 talents … and what a ride. Cobb steals the picture.
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