STUDIO ONE: TWELVE ANGRY MEN
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
Few people who have seen the classic 12 ANGRY MEN from 1957 will ever be able to forget it. The film itself has a history of which only the most avid cinema buffs are aware. The secret is that the 1957 movie is a direct adaptation of a live television production from 1954. The production won three major Emmy awards -- best director for Franklin Schaffner, best actor for Robert Cummings, and most of all, best writer for Reginald Rose. Rose's script would be used with minor changes but no substantial improvements in the 1957 movie as well as the 1997 television remake.
I went to the Museum of Television and Radio in Manhattan to view the original 1954 production. (While waiting for my viewing booth to be prepared, I ran into a colleague from work, 3,000 miles away, proving yet again what a small world it is.) The museum should be on everyone's must see list for New York City. Besides the facilities for viewing just about any old television program imaginable, they have several different collections being shown simultaneously on movie sized screens. My favorites of the latter were an anthology of science fiction in television over the past forty years and one featuring three classic Alfred Hitchcock episodes. But I digress.
The STUDIO ONE production of TWELVE ANGRY MEN (they spell out the number) was directed by the Academy Award winning director of PATTON, Franklin Schaffner. TWELVE ANGRY MEN must have been considered shocking at the time for its frankness of expression. The plot, which looks simple, becomes anything but as the story unfolds. Whereas most scripts can concentrate on a few characters, this one develops all 12 men to the fullest.
Although the cast is perhaps not quite as strong as in the remakes, it has significant depth. Among others, the cast includes Robert Cummings, Franchot Tone, Edward Arnold, Paul Hartman, John Beal, and Walter Abel.
The show starts with a dramatic charge by an excessively somber judge. "I urge you to deliberate earnestly and thoughtfully," he intones with the low bass voice of a old preacher at a funeral. "You are faced with a grave responsibility."
The jury then shuffles out of the courtroom and into the jury room where it is stiflingly hot. The building is not air-conditioned, and it is the hottest day of the year. Most of the jurors keep their ties on and their coats buttoned, as was the custom of the time, making the heat even more insufferable. An uneasy feeling settles over all of them as they feel trapped in the locked jury room. This soon subsides as they realize they will certainly all vote guilty, and it will quickly be over with. One juror points out that he has tickets for the baseball game that night, and he plans on using them.
This idea of a fait accompli decision is shattered when one lone jury has the audacity to vote not guilty on the first ballot. "You think he's not guilty," another juror shouts out in anger to him about the defendant. "I've never seen a guiltier man in my life."
This group of 12 strangers slowly but sometimes explosively begin to express their opinions. Some are reasonable but others stick to diatribes. The men form ever changing cliques as the "facts" of the case begin to dissolve in front of their eyes. The intelligent script manages to include most types of people with the racist on the jury being the most outlandish. The great testament to the quality of the story is that none of the 12 feel like cliches although many certainly are. The story has a timelessness and an honesty to it that few others can match.
Robert Cummings plays the persistent juror who wants to slow down the process at least enough so that the young kid charged with murder gets a fair hearing in the jury room. As Cummings begins to raise questions about a few of the obvious facts of the case, his voice is hesitant. Since it was live TV one can never be sure why, but he gets his words a bit mixed up at first and almost starts to stutter. It was probably planned, and it is just the kind of realistic event that would happen in such circumstances.
Cummings gives the best of several outstanding performances. When the racist barks at him, "That's a stupid question," he does not cower but summons up strength from deep within himself. Like a freight train gathering speed, he gains more confidence by the moment, especially when others slowly decide to change their votes.
The production is full of theatrics such as the men's almost coming to blows, but it is presented with such honesty that it is easy to forgive its shortcomings. As the people sweat and the street sounds from outside flow into the room, every member of the viewing audience feels like they are on the jury as well.
Despite what you might believe, early television was generally fairly awful. There were, however, some real gems, and STUDIO ONE: TWELVE ANGRY MEN was one of the most radiant.
STUDIO ONE: TWELVE ANGRY MEN runs probably an hour or so without the commercials. It is not rated but would be PG only for the mature themes, and the show would be fine for kids old enough to be interested. I recommend it strongly if you should ever be presented an opportunity to see it, and I give it *** 1/2.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: August 18, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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