"Twelve Angry Men" Touts the Ideals of the Jury System

Very slightly edited 6-27-22

This is one of those films that I cannot say very much about, because it would betray the story of this wonderful movie that touts the jury system. The story is about a jury of twelve men who go into the jury room to decide the fate of an 18 year old Latino man for the murder of his father. With the exception of about five minutes, the entire film takes place in the jury room on a hot, humid day in New York City. The men all come from different backgrounds, from stockbroker to architect to elderly retiree and many things in between. Most of the jurors take their deliberations as a serious matter that involves a decision about whether a young man will live or die, as in those times, the death penalty was fairly common in many murder cases, and that fact is made clear in the movie. Some have very definite feelings about the young man's guilt upon entering the jury room. The jurors discuss what they REALLY know about what happened in the case they must decide, but they also get an insight into themselves and why they feel the way they do about the case and about the boy charged with the murder, a boy likely to be executed, if they say he is guilty. Notice I said "most" take their deliberations seriously, but the thing is, they all have sort of their own agendas, with one, played by one of my favorite actors, Jack Warden, only wanting to get to that night's Yankees' game, a game for which he already has tickets; so for him, it's a baseball game versus a boy's life.

What it all comes down to is "reasonable doubt," a concept that can go out of its way to seek to protect the innocent, although it allows some guilty people to go free. It isn't perfect, but it sure is better than trial by combat, a sign from some deity or the decision of a person of the nobility. If only the world were perfect, but it isn't. In an ideal situation, the jury hears the prosecution present its case for why the person should be found guilty, and then it hears the defense try to refute that evidence. It IS sort of a "trial by combat," but this is a trial by combat with evidence and questioning as weapons. Remember, the judicial system is contentious, and it was meant to be. The jury retires to the jury room and decides if they believe the prosecution case, beyond a reasonable doubt. Again, in an ideal world no juror would be influenced by baseball games, the weather conditions, the defendant's race, ethnic background, religion, or political affiliation, but as I mentioned, the world is not a perfect place. When there is a murder, we want revenge, a perfectly imperfect emotion. We can want revenge so badly, we can forget the very essence of "reasonable doubt" and fairness. That all changes, of course, if WE are the defendant! It is always worth considering, "How would I feel in this situation?"

The film was done on a limited budget, with Henry Fonda putting up much of the money to produce the film. The movie has an absolutely great cast, headed by Henry Fonda, and with Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler (later known for being one of the patients on "The Bob Newhart Show in the 1970s), E.G. Marshall, Edward Binns (while you likely don't know him by name, you will recognize him from movies and television shows from the 1950s into the 1980s), Jack Klugman (known for "The Odd Couple" on Broadway and television, and then on televison's "Quincy"), Robert Webber, George Voskovec (a Czech immigrant), and Joseph Sweeney (another guy you will probably recognize from parts in other films or from television). The movie was directed by Sidney Lumet, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture.

Photo is from 2008 MGM DVD

WORD HISTORY:
Jury-The ultimate origins of this word are uncertain. Latin had "iurare," which meant "to swear, to pledge." This produced the Latin noun "iurata," which meant "an oath, a pledge." This was borrowed by Anglo-Norman in the 1200s as "juree," seemingly "those sworn to decide a legal case." Borrowed into English in the 1300s.