History Film / TwelveAngryMen

** It should be noted that even though acquittal was the right decision.

** It should be noted that even though acquittal was the right decision, the way they got to it was partly wrong; for a juror to conduct his own investigations the way #8 did should have resulted in an immediate mistrial. However, since the knife was only one aspect of the reasonable doubt, and the other points were arrived at properly, the verdict was still correct.

* {{Minimalism}}: Apart from a very short prologue and epilogue, the entire play/film takes place in the jury room.

[[caption-width-right:350:If the boy only knew what he was about to unleash...]]

** And the guard.

[[caption-width-right:350:...nine...ten...eleven... Yep, they're all there.]]

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Being convicted of first-degree murder does ''not'' result in an automatic death sentence. (This isn't SocietyMarchesOn, though the length and likely outcome of the appeals process ''after'' a death sentence might indeed be very different today). Also, see HollywoodLaw below. The entire case, in real life, would have ended in a mistrial the moment it came to light that #8 had bought the exact same type of knife as used int he murder.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Being convicted of first-degree murder does ''not'' result in an automatic death sentence. (This isn't SocietyMarchesOn, though the length and likely outcome of the appeals process ''after'' a death sentence might indeed be very different today)

* OmegaCast: At the beginning, other people (such as the defendant and the judge) are briefly shown, but for the rest of the film, we only see the twelve jurors.

* EmpathicEnvironment: The thunderstorm.

* TheJudge: Shown issuing instructions to the jury in the opening scene. Many stage productions (and the 1997 TV version) cast a woman in the role as a way of bringing at least some token gender diversity to the play without contradicting [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the limitations imposed by its title]].

* [[LockedInARoom Locked In A (Jury) Room]]

* AssholeVictim: The murder victim was an abusive father

** To a lesser extent, the fan. It finally starts up when the votes start to swing in favor of Acquittal.

''Twelve Angry Men'' is a 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose (and perhaps more famously, a 1957 film directed by SidneyLumet and starring HenryFonda and a veritable AllStarCast of character actors) that concerns a supposedly straightforward murder trial. An eyewitness, forensic evidence, and the accused himself all seem to clearly point to an adolescent boy murdering his father. While most of the jurors want to pack it in and call it a day, one stands up and refuses to admit to the boy's guilt- at least until they take a fine toothed comb through every shred of the evidence and make darn sure that they've got the right guy.

*** Juror #3 has a smaller one, but in his case he [[HeelRealization breaks down all by himself]] afterwards

** To a lesser extent, the fan. It starts up finally when the votes start to swing in favor of Acquittal.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Juror #3 may be vicious and want to see the defendant hang, but even he is unwilling to listen to #10's bigoted tirades

* VerbalTic: Juror #10 seems to have one of these, you know what I mean?
** *sniff*

* ImplacableMan: Juror #4 is a purely intellectual version, a highly intelligent man who looks at the case with pure logic to defend his guilty vote rather than the more passionate and personal views of the others. He's also the only one who doesn't take his jacket off or loosen his tie in the hot room, claiming to never sweat. Subverted when he starts sweating when questioned about a movie he saw a week earlier.

* ArtisticLicenseLaw: Being convicted of first-degree murder does ''not'' result in an automatic death sentence.

''Twelve Angry Men'' is a 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose (and perhaps more famously, a 1957 film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring HenryFonda and a veritable AllStarCast of character actors) that concerns a supposedly straightforward murder trial. An eyewitness, forensic evidence, and the accused himself all seem to clearly point to an adolescent boy murdering his father. While most of the jurors want to pack it in and call it a day, one stands up and refuses to admit to the boy's guilt- at least until they take a fine toothed comb through every shred of the evidence and make darn sure that they've got the right guy.

''Twelve Angry Men'' is a 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose (and perhaps more famously, a 1957 film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda and a veritable AllStarCast of character actors) that concerns a supposedly straightforward murder trial. An eyewitness, forensic evidence, and the accused himself all seem to clearly point to an adolescent boy murdering his father. While most of the jurors want to pack it in and call it a day, one stands up and refuses to admit to the boy's guilt- at least until they take a fine toothed comb through every shred of the evidence and make darn sure that they've got the right guy.

[[redirect:TwelveAngryMen]]