12 Angry Men

1957

Sidney Lumet made his feature debut with a film that spends nearly its entire running time inside one hot jury room. Henry Fonda, who also produced it, plays the lone juror who will not vote guilty on a murder charge until the other eleven actually examine the evidence in front of them. Lee J. Cobb is the angriest man on the other side, with E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden, Ed Begley, and Jack Klugman filling out the table. Lumet shot it with progressively longer lenses so the walls appear to close in as the afternoon wears on.