Looking Back at '12 Angry Men' + Top 10 Courtroom Films

Today's good ol' Henry Fonda's birthday. He was an excellent actor who for whatever reason was only nominated for 2 Oscars for his whole career, a strong lead turn in The Grapes of Wrath and an end-of-career, sort of honorary award for his career for his performance in On Golden Pond where he is actually very good in, and deserved to win for. However the Academy definitely could have afforded to nominate him several times before. I would have nominated in supporting definitely for Once Upon a Time in America where he plays the villainous Frank (though I know most put him in lead), at the very least, as well as his stellar leading performances in The Wrong Man, and especially Fort Apache where he gives a very underrated against type performance as a rather unlikable American Civil War 'hero'. His most egregious snub and best performance was for, however, the critically acclaimed 12 Angry Men. The film was well received critically and at the Oscars, so it was strange that its star Fonda was snubbed for the Best Actor nomination. He wouldn't have won (it was Alec Guinness' year for a reason) but he strongly deserved to be there.

Anyway, onto 12 Angry Men. The film is courtroom drama at its most minimalist. In fact one might not even call it a courtroom drama in the most traditional sense since we never actually see in much detail, the actual court proceedings, but rather are watching the aftermath of them, in the scenario of the 12 jury members presiding over the case, discussing it in a cramped, hot room on a rainy day in New York. The gist of the play and the film is that 11 of the 12 jurors have essentially decided that based on the facts presented to them in the case, the boy is definitely guilty. Only one man stands in the way of them and a unanimous resolution of 'guilty': Henry Fonda's Juror 8.

Now it must be said that the ensemble as a whole is uniformly quite good to great. I won't get into too much detail as I'm kind of looking to do a Head-to-Head between this adaptation of the play, and the 1990s television adaptation. Anyway, the best thing about the film though is the script. No matter whether you find the premises thrown around ridiculous or not, or the arguments all too nitpicky, one cannot deny that each and every one of them is delviered by the cast and written in a style that is extremely compelling. It gives everyone an opportunity to shine (well, except Juror 12 but he's sort of the thankless role unfortunately), as is exemplified very well by the scene above. It's a showcase for Fonda's brand of quietly, morally upright brand of defiance but each cast member gets to show off a little bit of where his character is coming from. I particularly like Juror 5's underlying discomfort with having voted guilty and Juror 10's obvious bigotry coming out in regular intervals.

All in all this is a great courtroom drama because regardless of whether or not you agree with the final conclusion or not, the fact is that all arguments are very compellingly depicted and acted out, and manages to make the one-room setting not feel static but endlessly dynamic, and dramatic without being unrealistically melodramatic, perhaps best encompassed by Lee J Cobb's, one of the greatest actors of all time, performance as Juror 3. This is one of those classic films which is truly a must-see; it invests you in the film on a very interactive level, exciting in the sense you can't wait for each and every twist and turn of the tongue the jurors lead you on.

Top 10 Courtroom Dramas (I still haven't seen Breaker Morant)

10. My Cousin Vinny

A very funny depiction of a loudmouth inexperience lawyer played none other by Joe Pesci, defending two young students from counts of murder. It's just a breezy, fun time to be had as you watch Pesci be the lawyer you'd expect him to be, crass and lightheartedly bombastic, but also very charming. The show is stolen however, by the wonderful Marisa Tomei as his sweet, air headed but surprisingly knowledgable, automobiles-wise, girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito.

9. Witness for the Prosecution

While I don't love this film as many seem to, I certainly like it a great deal. It's one of the best adaptations of Agatha Christie for the silver screen mainly because it adds a lot of character to her usual archetypal characters in the form of ingenius casting choices, in particular a cast against type Tyrone Power, and Marlene Dietrich who I won't go on too much about. Charles Laughton is spectacular as barrister Sir Wilfrid Robarts, who in between some enjoyable banter with his offscreen wife Elsa Lancaster (who plays his sweet and snarky nurse) takes on the criminal case of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power). To say more would be spoiling the fun. It's a twist-filled ride and if the ending is a bit ridiculous, it's well-earnt by the enjoyable, darkly comical tone of the picture.

8. JFK

In terms of the courtroom aspects of this film, I do have to mention that Kevin Costner is absolutely fantastic in this. I'm generally not a big fan but Jim Garrison is a role he plays to perfection, the man who is willing to do anything to get to the bottom of the supposed JFK assasination conspiracy which quite frankly, is all ridiculous bollocks, but hey it's fun to watch as a film, and the courtroom scenes which largely involve Garrison digging into the past of Tommy Lee Jones' Clay Shaw and investigating the past of Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman), are all great.

7. The Verdict

Featuring quite possibly Paul Newman's best performance in a very stellar courtroom drama. The 'dried up, worn out alcoholic' lawyer trope has never been done better than it's been done here. It's so sad to see Newman's Frank Galvin in the downtrodden state he is in at the start of the film, making the case he's working on, a medical malpractice case, more than just a fight for justice but also a fight for himself. It's a thrilling film in a most incisive, cutting way, with Newman and James Mason's high-priced attorney an evenly matched, very entertaining pair of foes to watch. It's a  great film.

6. Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street is one of my favourite Christmas films but it's also a highly entertaining courtroom drama. The final act of the film is centered around John Payne's Fred Gailey defending Edmund Gwenn's Kris Kringle on charges that he is impersonating Santa, by proving that Santa Clause does exist. It all sounds a bit silly but is in actuality a great deal of fun to watch, with Gene Lockhart's bumbling judge and his far more competent sidekick and political adviser William Frawley's discussions on what exactly the case means to the former's political status being particularly entertaining to watch.

5. Paths of Glory

A fantastic depiction of the horrors of war in a very unique fashion, not through the monstrosities commited by the enemy but rather the conflict within the ranks. Anti-war film at its finest, it features a terrific Kirk Douglas as the commanding officer of French officers who refuse to carry out a suicidal attack and are subsequently court martialled through three representatives from their ranks. It's unsparing depiction of the ugly extremes men will go to in war to sift blame onto others is depicted strikingly, and the way the political machinations of the upper ranks affect the lower ranked officers is particularly heartbreaking. It's one of Kubrick's best films, and truly a great motion picture to watch and admire not only for its message but its expertise.

4. A Man For All Seasons

The performance that beat Richard Burton for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf: Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas Moore. And in my opinion very deservedly so. It's a fascinating film in so many regards, with some great costumes and sets to reflect the courtly settings, but also realizing the performances beautifully through a tremendous script written by the great Robert Bolt. It features a great ensemble, from Leo McKern's incisive 'prosecutor' Thomas Cromwell (comparing his performance with that of Mark Rylance's in Wolf Hall is fascinating), Wendy Hiller's strong work as Moore's wife, ORSON WELLES as Cardinal Wolsey, Robert Shaw as a fascinating Henry VIII, and John Hurt's great portrayal of Richard Rich. It makes the tale of the uncompromising quality of a man steadfast in his beliefs so compelling to watch and as I mentioned Scofield is great in the lead role. As I mentioned it's a fascinating bit of history to watch unfold onscreen, and comparing it to Wolf Hall is a great deal of fun.

Also, if you want to watch more of Leo McKern prosecuting the hell out of mere mortals, look no further than the fantastic television series of Rumpole of the Old Bailey. It's a great series held together by McKern in the role he was born to play.

3. 12 Angry Men (see above)

2. Anatomy of a Murder

I like to love all the films on this list, but this top 2 is really truly something special. A truly influential film in many regards as it was one of the first Hollywood productions to starkly depict and discuss a sexual assault/murder case with little censure in terms of the courtroom discussions. While it may be a little strange at first to see wholesome All-American Jimmy Stewart saying the word 'panties' I can assure you this is no exploitative, explicitly crass film but instead an effortlessly engaging courtroom drama. Stewart is in top form as Paul Biegler, a small-town lawyer picking up the case of Frederick Mannion (a deliciously duplicitous Ben Gazzara), who has been charged of first-degree murder. What starts as a straightforward enough case of 'did he, did he not do it' soon escalates, as Biegler decides to use a variation of the temporary insanity defence to defend his client.

What I love so much about this film is how it brings out so much to think about from the courtroom settings. There's the main case at hand of course, which is fascinatingly depicted, and also Mannion's wife, played with sultry flair by Lee Remick, who's equally intriguing in leading the audience on a sepearate case of the nature of her 'sexual assault'. There's also the brilliant contrast between Biegler's courtroom theatrics, in the style of an easygoing smalltown fellow, and the barbed, rutheless Claude Dancer played marvellously by George C. Scott. In addition to all this serious stuff there's also some nice comic relief in the margins mostly by Biegler's adorable friend and associate Parnell McCarthy (Arthur O'Connell) and his sassy secretary Maida Rutledge (Eve Arden). The film's screenplay expertly never defends Biegler entirely from his somewhat questionable methods of defending his client by never postulating him as a hero, but rather just a lawyer doing his job, and the film's ending is particularly brilliant in realising this. I love this film and certainly would not have minded if Stewart and director Ottot Perminger would have gone on to make a couple more of these films, as this is truly a great motion picture that never fails to entertain and engage me with each re-watch,

1. To Kill a Mockingbird

Although I love Anatomy of a Murder there was never any question as to what my #1 choice would be. To Kill a Mockingbird is a film that I've frequently praised on this blog for its many great qualities. The subplot involving Boo Radley, the fantastic soundtrack, the sense of place and time generated of a Southern small town in the late 1950s, the child performances, but I've realised one aspect of the film I rarely talk about, despite it being the most iconic thing about the film, are the courtroom scenes and Gregory Peck's performance.

Perhaps I've taken them for granted to an extent. After all it's easy to forget how amazing Peck is in the role of Atticus Finch because he seems so perfectly cast in it, you forget he's giving a performance. It just feels like he lives and breathes that very air of supreme virtue and not at all sanctimonious, utterly perfect goodness Atticus lives on. He is never one-dimensional despite having absolutely no flaws whatsoever. Now Peck is consistently excellent throughout the film in playing Atticus as the perfect father to his children, espousing wisdom and gentle love to his two young ones, but where he really shines brightest is in the courtroom scenes.

Peck's whole manner in these scenes is tremendous. You believe without any doubt that he could win this case and that he doesn't is rendered all the more heartbreaking, because in all our hearts he has. Now Peck is amazing in this scenes but just as good are the likes of Brock Peters, Collin Willcox, James Anderson, as the accused and accusers, respectively. They all combine to make these scenes scintillating in Finch's defence of Tom Robinson (Peters), and tough to watch in the sheer unrighteousness of the prosecution's methods.

Finch's final closing statement to the case is spellbinding acting by Peck, and pitch perfect adaptation of the great source material by Harper Lee. I won't enclose a clip here because I can't find the whole scene of it uncut in its entirety online but I will add in the most iconic scene of the courtroom ones. Where Atticus leaves the court, defeated in the eyes of the law but a true victor in the eyes of the people. This is truly a great film, one of my all-time favourites, that particularly in the modern day and age deserves to be seen by all.