| This film adapted from a radio play and was directed by Sidney Lumet and released in 1958. Henry Fonda heads the cast which includes some of the formost character actors of the time, Lee J Cobb, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, Jack Warden and a young Martin Balsam. On a hot hot hot day in a random court house somewhere in the USA a Jury are discharged to diliberate on the verdict of a court case that we the viewers havent seen. The case of a 19 year old hispanic man accused of murdering his father. They take an initial vote which comes back 11 to 1 in favour of guilty which carries the death penalty. What follows is a very taut and well drawn drama, Sidney Lumet manages to hold the tension dispite only having one set for the majority of the 94 minute running time. The director employs various techniques to draw us into the claustrophobia of the situation he reduces the size of the room over the running time of the film. This film is my favourite film of all time, the performances are exlemporary with each character bring their own private bias to the arguement. The addition of a baseball match that some of the Jurors have tickets for, adds to the tension, they want the trial to be over with as soon as possible in order for the to go to the match. The film is shot in black and white and the revelations that the jurors throw at us are nicely drawn and quite often surprising, ie the Jewish racist. The film succeeds in doing something very rare today - developing an intelligent plot while also developing 12 believable, memorable and distinct characters. No film collection is complete with out a copy of this film. A gem of a classic. The Man In The White Suit |
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