Tuesday, July 14, 2009

12 Angry Men (1957)


12 angry men. 6 ash trays. 1 room. No ventilation. Sounds smelly and boring, doesn't it? Except the 12 angry men are jurors, and the fate of a 18 year old Latino who has been accused of murdering his father, rests in the hands of 12 individuals he has never met. The movie starts of with 1 voting not guilty and the rest 11 voting guilty. It is upto Henry Fonda to change the mind of 11 stubborn men.

I found it incredibly hard to fall asleep or not enjoy this movie. The plan was to watch some 50 year old boring black and white movie that starts getting interesting 3 weeks later. At 4AM I found my self still wide awake shocked at how a movie that takes place in a single room with 12 sweaty men be this great! I was particularly impressed with the fantastic acting by Lee J Cobb. He was terribly loud at times, but the louder he got the more you lost hope in seeing the 18 year old getting a second chance.

This film, along with Paths of Glory (Which I will talk about in the coming days) take the medals for my favorite movies in the 50's. I am yet to watch the half a dozen movies released in the 50's I have put aside. Don't hold your breath though for anymore recommendations on the 50's unless you specifically advise me to watch ASAP the ones I've put aside.

6 comments:

  1. Henry Fonda is very good. Do you like him in On Golden Pond?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haven't seen enough movies for him. 12 angry men did not make me a fan of Fonda. instead made me a fan of Lee J Cobb

    ReplyDelete
  3. If you like Lee J. Cobb, you should see On the Waterfront, or see it again. He's good in that. Great in that actually.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I added a new musle SEDAN section to my blog! Since you are a fan of musle cars, you should check it out. See ya!

    ReplyDelete
  5. seen the waterfront. loved the part were him and brando quarrel and everyone just stands like an idiot watching them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. "12 angry men. 6 ash trays. 1 room. No ventilation."....(much chuckling here).

    I agree, a great movie, especially being an ensemble piece where everybody gets a chance at taking the spotlight, if only for a few minutes. So much done with closeups on the expressions. There is not much physical movement, but the movie doesn't feel static at all. Nice post.

    ReplyDelete