12 Angry Men

You did a wonderful job. Wonderful.

- Shh. Shh. - You did it. You did it!

To continue,

you've listened to a long and complex case, murder in the first degree.

Premeditated murder is the most serious charge tried in our criminal courts.

You've listened to the testimony,

had the law interpreted as it applies in this case.

It's now your duty to sit down and try and separate the facts from the fancy.

One man is dead. Another man's life is at stake.

If there's a reasonable doubt in your minds as to the guilt of the accused,

a reasonable doubt, then you must bring me a verdict of not guilty.

If there's no reasonable doubt, then you must, in good conscience,

find the accused guilty.

However you decide, your verdict must be unanimous.

In the event that you find the accused guilty,

the bench will not entertain a recommendation for mercy.

The death sentence is mandatory in this case.

You are faced with a grave responsibility. Thank you, gentlemen.

The alternate jurors are excused.

The jury will now retire.

Hey, oh-oh.

- Wanna piece of gum? - No, thanks.

- (banging window) - This thing isn't movin'.

- I'll give you a hand. - That's it.

You know somethin'? I called the Weather Bureau this morning.

This is gonna be the hottest day of the year.

You'd think they'd air-condition this place.

- What is your name, sir? - Oh, it's... that one. Yeah.

Thank you very much. OK, gentlemen. Everybody's here.

Now, if there's anything you want, I'll be right outside the door. Just knock.

Good morning. I never knew they locked the door.

Sure they lock the door. What'd you think?

I don't know. It just never occurred to me.

What's that for?

I thought we might wanna vote by ballot.

Great idea. Maybe we can get him elected senator.

How'd you like it?

I don't know. It was pretty interesting.

Yeah? I almost fell asleep.

I mean, I've never been on a jury before.

No? I've sat on many juries.

Those lawyers talk and talk,

even when it's an open-and-shut case like this one.

- Ever hear so much talk about nothin'? - I guess they're entitled.

They're entitled. It's the system, but

if you ask me, I'd slap those tough kids down before they start any trouble.

It saves a lot of time and money. Let's get started.

Yeah. We've probably all got things to do here.

We can start with a five-minute break. One gentleman is in the bathroom.

- Are... we gonna sit in order? - Gee, I don't know. I guess so.

- Buddy, you're in my seat. - Oh, excuse me.

That's all right.

Hey, that's not a bad view, huh?

What did you think of the case? I mean, it had a lot of interest for me.

No real... dead spots. You know what I mean?

We were lucky to get a murder case. I figured us for an assault or burglary.

Boy, they can be the dullest!

- Hey, is that the Woolworth Building? - That's right.

Isn't that funny? I've lived here all my life. I've never been inside it.

If you had to sort out all that junk, like that thing with the movies.

Yeah. What about that business with the knife?

Asking grown-up people to believe that kind of jazz.

You expect that. You know what we're dealing with.

- Yeah, I guess so. - (nose honks)

Well, your horn works. Now try your lights.

You got a cold?

And how. Hot-weather colds can kill you.

I can hardly touch my nose. Know what I mean?

Sure do. I just got over one.

- Oh, come on! Mr. Foreman, let's go. - The guy's still in the bathroom.

What's new? I didn't get a chance to see a paper this morning.

I was only wondering how the market closed.

- You got a seat on the exchange? - I'm a broker.

I run a messenger service.

The Beck and Call Company. The name is my wife's idea.

Got 37 men workin'. Started with nothin'.

OK, men. Let's take our seats, huh?

We can all get out of here pretty quick.

I have tickets to that ball game tonight.

Yanks and Cleveland. We've got this kid Modjelewski in there.

He's a real bull, this kid. You know... shoom!

Real jug-handled. You know? Shoom!

You're a real baseball fan, aren't ya? Where do we sit here?

I thought we'd sit in order, by jury numbers.

One, two, three and so on around the table, if that's OK with you gentlemen.

- What's the difference? - It's reasonable to sit in order.

- Let it be. - That's 12. We go around one, two...

What was your impression of the prosecuting attorney?

- I beg pardon? - I thought he was really sharp,

the way he handled all those points one by one, in logical sequence.

- I was very impressed. - I think he... he did an expert job.

A lot of drive, too. You know? Real drive.

OK, fellas. Can we hold it down a minute? Fellas?

Say, we'd like to get started.

Gentleman at the window.

- We'd like to get started. - Oh, I'm sorry.

- Kid kills his father, just like that. - Listen, it happens all the time.

They let those kids run wild up there.

Well, maybe it serves him right. You know what I mean?

- Is everyone here? - The old man is inside.

- Would you knock on the door for him? - Yeah.

- Are you a Yankee fan? - No, Baltimore.

Baltimore?

It's like being hit in the head with a crowbar once a day.

Who have they got? Who have they got besides good ground keepers?

- Say, we'd like to get started. - Forgive me, gentlemen.

- I didn't mean to keep you waiting. - Baltimore?

OK, if I can have your attention. You fellas can handle this thing

any way you want. I'm... you know, I'm not gonna make any rules.

We can, well, discuss it first, then vote on it.

That's, of course... that's one way. And, well, we can vote on it right now.

I think it's customary to take a preliminary vote.

Yeah, let's vote. Who knows? Maybe we can all get outta here.

Uh-huh. OK. Then I think that,

you know, that we have a first-degree murder charge here,

and if we vote the accused guilty, we've got to send him to the chair.

Um... That's mandatory.

- I think we know that. - Yeah, let's see who's where.

- OK. Anyone doesn't wanna vote? - It's fine with me.

OK, then, just remember that this has to be 12 to nothing, either way.

That's the law. OK, are we ready?

All those voting guilty, please raise your hands.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...

...eight, nine, ten, 11. OK, that's 11 guilty.

Those voting not guilty?

One. Right.

Eleven guilty, one not guilty. Well, now we know where we are.

Boy, oh boy! There's always one. (chuckling)

So, what do we do now?

- I guess we talk. - Boy, oh boy!

You really think he's innocent?

- I don't know. - You sat in court with the rest of us.

You heard what we did. The kid's a dangerous killer.

- He's 18 years old. - Well, that's old enough.

He stabbed his own father four inches into the chest.

They proved it a dozen different ways in court.

- Would you like me to list 'em for you? - No.

- Then what do you want? - I just want to talk.

What's there to talk about? Eleven of us think he's guilty.

No one had to think about it twice except you.

I want to ask you something. Do you believe his story?

- I don't know. Maybe I don't. - So how come you voted not guilty?

There were 11 votes for guilty.

It's not easy to raise my hand and send a boy off to die

without talking about it first.

- Well, now, who says it's easy? - No one.

What? Just because I voted fast? I honestly think the guy is guilty.

Couldn't change my mind if you talked for 100 years.

I'm not trying to change your mind. It's just that...

This is somebody's life.

We can't decide in five minutes. Supposing we're wrong?

Supposing this building fell on my head?

- You can suppose anything. - That's right.

What's the difference how long it takes? Supposin' we take five minutes? So what?

Let's take an hour. The ball game doesn't start till eight o'clock.

- Who's got something to say? - I'm willing to sit for an hour.

Great. I heard a good story last night...

That's not why we're sitting here.

All right, then you tell me. What are we sitting here for?

I don't know. Maybe no reason.

Look, this kid's been kicked around all of his life.

You know, born in a slum, mother dead since he was nine.

He lived for a year and a half in an orphanage

when his father was serving a jail term for forgery.

That's not a very happy beginning.

He's a wild, angry kid. That's all he's ever been. And you know why?

'Cause he's been hit on the head by somebody once a day, every day.

He's had a pretty miserable 18 years.

I think we owe him a few words, that's all.

I don't mind telling you this, mister.

We don't owe him a thing. He got a fair trial.

What do you think that trial cost? He's lucky he got it. Know what I mean?

Look, we're all grown-ups in here. We heard the facts, didn't we?

You're not gonna tell me we're supposed to believe this kid, knowing what he is.

I've lived among them all my life.

You can't believe a word they say. You know that. I mean, they're born liars.

- Only an ignorant man can believe that. - Now, listen...

Do you think you were born with a monopoly on the truth?

Certain things should be pointed out to this man.

It's not Sunday. We don't need a sermon.

We have a job to do. Now let's do it.

Rice Pops. It's a product I work on at the agency.

"The breakfast with the built-in bounce."

- I wrote that line. - Very catchy.

Say, do you mind?

I'm sorry. I have this habit of doodling.

- It keeps me thinking clearly. - We have work to do.

There's no point staying here forever. OK.

Perhaps if the gentleman down there who is disagreeing with us...

...well, perhaps you could tell us why. Let us know what you're thinking...

We might be able to show you where you're mixed up.

Maybe this is an idea. I haven't given it much thought.

It seems to me that it's up to us to convince this gentleman that

he's wrong and we're right.

Maybe if we each took a couple of minutes just to...

- Well, it was just a quick idea. - No, no, no. That's a good one.

Supposing we go once around the table? I guess you're first.

Oh, well, uh...

It's hard to put into words.

I just think he's guilty.