# 12 Angry Men (1997 film)

12 Angry Men is a 1997 American made-for-television drama film directed by William Friedkin, adapted by Reginald Rose from his original 1954 teleplay of the same title. It is a remake of the 1957 film of the same name. The film aired on August 17, 1997 on Showtime.

## Plot

In the murder trial of a teenage boy from a city slum, accused of murdering his father, the judge instructs the jury to determine his guilt or innocence. The verdict must be unanimous and a guilty verdict will possibly (not mandatorily, unlike in the 1957 film) result in the death penalty. The jury of twelve retires to the jury room.
An initial vote is taken and eleven jurors vote for conviction. Juror 8, the lone dissenter, states that the evidence is circumstantial and the boy deserves a fair deliberation. He questions the testimony of the two witnesses, and the fact that the switchblade used in the murder is not as unusual as the testimony indicates, producing an identical knife from his pocket.
Juror 8 proposes another vote by secret ballot – if the other jurors vote guilty unanimously, he will acquiesce, but if at least one votes "not guilty" they will continue deliberating. Only Juror 9 changes his vote, respecting Juror 8's motives and feeling his points deserve further discussion.
After deliberating whether one witness actually heard the murder take place, Juror 5, who grew up in a slum, changes his vote. Juror 11, questioning whether the defendant would have fled the scene and returned three hours later to retrieve his knife, also changes his vote. Jurors 2 and 6 also vote "not guilty", tying the verdict at 6-6, after Juror 8 demonstrates the unlikelihood that one witness actually saw the boy flee the scene. The remaining jurors are intrigued when Juror 11 proves that although a psychiatric test stated that the boy had subconscious desires to kill, such tests only offer possible actions. Juror 7, impatient to attend a baseball game that night, changes his vote, but Juror 11 chastises him for changing his vote so casually and selfishly when the boy's life is on the line. When pressed by Juror 11, Juror 7 eventually states that he doubts the boy is guilty.
Jurors 12 and 1 change their votes, leaving the only dissenters: Jurors 3, 4, and 10. Outraged at the proceedings, Juror 10 goes on a bigoted diatribe against Hispanic immigrants "outbreeding" African-Americans. He attempts to leverage this with the other African-American jurors, offending the rest of the jury, until Juror 4 orders him to be quiet for the rest of the proceedings.
Juror 4 states that despite all the other evidence called into question, the testimony of the woman who saw the murder from across the street stands as solid evidence. Juror 12 changes his vote back to "guilty", making the vote 8–4 again. Juror 9, seeing Juror 4 rub his nose, irritated by his glasses, realizes that the witness had impressions on her nose, indicating that she wore glasses and likely was not wearing them when she saw the murder. Jurors 12 and 4 change their vote to "not guilty". Juror 10, who says he still thinks the defendant is guilty, bluntly admits to no longer caring about the verdict and votes for acquittal.
Undeterred, Juror 3 is forced to present his arguments again, and goes on a tirade, presenting the evidence in haphazard fashion and concluding with his disbelief that a son would kill his own father, mirroring his previous comments about his bad relationship with his own son. He begins to weep, and says he can feel the knife being plunged into his chest. Juror 8 gently points out that the boy is not his son, and Juror 4 quietly persuades him to let the boy live. Juror 3 gives in, and the final vote is unanimous for acquittal.
The jurors leave and the defendant is found not guilty off-screen, while Juror 8 helps the distraught Juror 3 with his coat. Before departing the court, Jurors 8 (Davis) and 9 (McCardle) exchange names before parting ways.

## Cast
### The Jury

| Juror No. | Character | Actor | 'Not guilty' order |
| 1 | Jury foreman; a high school football coach who tries to keep order amid the hostilities between the jurors. | Courtney B. Vance | 9 |
| 2 | A meek bank teller who initially does not know what to make of the case. | Ossie Davis | 5 |
| 3 | A businessman with a hot temper. He is estranged from his son, and is convinced that the defendant is guilty. | George C. Scott | 12 |
| 4 | A stockbroker; he is very eloquent and considers the case through facts and not bias. | Armin Mueller-Stahl | 11 |
| 5 | A health care worker (possibly an EMT) who grew up in the Harlem slums. A Milwaukee Brewers fan. | Dorian Harewood | 3 |
| 6 | A house painter, patient and respectful of others' opinions. Feels very strongly about respect for his elders. | James Gandolfini | 6 |
| 7 | A salesman and baseball fanatic; unconcerned with the trial, he is impatient, rude, and wise-cracking. He is anxious to have jury duty end since he has tickets to the New York Yankees game. | Tony Danza | 7 |
| 8 | Davis; an architect who has two children. He is the only juror to originally vote not guilty, and repeatedly questions the evidence of the case. | Jack Lemmon | 1 |
| 9 | McCardle; a wise older man who sides with Juror 8. | Hume Cronyn | 2 |
| 10 | A carwash owner and former Nation of Islam member, he is loudmouthed, narrow-minded, and a black supremacist. | Mykelti Williamson | 10 |
| 11 | An immigrant watchmaker, he is observant and believes in the American justice system. | Edward James Olmos | 4 |
| 12 | An ad executive; he is easily swayed by others' opinions, and does not have a full understanding of the life at stake. | William Petersen | 8 |

### Others

* Mary McDonnell as Judge Cynthia Nance
* Tyrees Allen as The Guard
* Douglas Spain as The Defendant

## Reception

The film holds a 93% 'Fresh' score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 critic reviews with an average rating of 7.2/10.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
| 1997 | CableACE Awards | Movie | Movie | Nominated | [3] [4] |
| 1997 | CableACE Awards | Supporting Actor in a Movie or Miniseries | George C. Scott | Won | [3] [4] |
| 1997 | CableACE Awards | Writing a Movie or Miniseries | Reginald Rose | Nominated | [3] [4] |
| 1997 | CableACE Awards | Editing a Dramatic Special or Series/Movie or Miniseries | Augie Hess | Nominated | [3] [4] |
| 1998 | ALMA Awards | Outstanding Individual Performance in a Made-for-Television Movie or Mini-Series in a Crossover Role | Edward James Olmos | Won | |
| 1998 | Artios Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Movie of the Week Casting | Mary Jo Slater | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Specials | William Friedkin | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Jack Lemmon | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | George C. Scott | Won | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Motion Picture Made for Television | Best Motion Picture Made for Television | Won | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Jack Lemmon | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Hume Cronyn | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Armin Mueller-Stahl | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | George C. Scott | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Courtney B. Vance | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries | William Friedkin | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Won | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Editing in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Best Editing in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Music in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Charlie Haden and Kenyon Hopkins | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best New Theme Song in a Motion Picture or Miniseries | Kenyon Hopkins | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Television Movie | Terence A. Donnelly | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Jack Lemmon | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Hume Cronyn | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | George C. Scott | Won | |
| 1998 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or a Movie | William Friedkin | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Miniseries or a Movie | Russell Williams II, David E. Fluhr, and Adam Jenkins | Won | |
| 1998 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Jack Lemmon | Nominated | |
| 1998 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | George C. Scott | Nominated | |
At the Golden Globe Awards, actor Ving Rhames won the award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for his performance in Don King: Only in America. When presented with the award, he summoned Jack Lemmon on to the stage and gifted the award to him, feeling that Lemmon was more deserving of it. Rhames refused to re-accept the award when Lemmon tried to return it to him, meaning that, although Lemmon didn't officially win the Golden Globe Award, he did receive the trophy.