Download 12 Angry Men and more Lecture notes Business Accounting in PDF only on Docsity! 12 Angry Men A teenaged Hispanic boy has just been tried for the murder of his father, and the case is now in the hands of the jury. A guilty verdict will send the boy to the electric chair. The case looks, on the surface, cut and dried. But Juror number 8 (Henry Fonda), despite believing that the defendant is probably guilty, feels that the facts merit a cursory review before the jury hands in a guilty verdict. His insistence on a brief examination of the case seems to rub many on the jury the wrong way, as they continue to see the matter as open and shut. Fascinatingly, as they examine the testimony and facts of the case, the experiences, personalities, limitations, and biases of the jurors weave in and out of the deliberation process, at times to its benefit and at times to its detriment. To the benefit of the deliberation process, 1) the very elderly juror (Joseph Sweeney) is the only one who can see a possible motive explaining why an elderly witness may have misled the court in his testimony; 2) the one fellow (Jack Klugman) who grew up in a rough neighborhood, where he witnessed numerous knife fights, is the only one who sees a problem in assuming that the defendant made the stab wound found; and 3) the juror who had done contract work by the elevated subway (Edward Binns) was the only one in a position to question what one of the witnesses might or might not have heard. To the detriment of the deliberation process, 1) one juror (Ed Begley) is so consumed by his personal prejudices that he sees value in ridding the streets of the Hispanic defendant whether or not he is guilty, and 2) another, Juror number 3 (Lee J. Cobb), is impervious to reason because he has been physically harmed by his teenaged son, and, consequently, views every teenaged boy, including the defendant, as capable of patricide. The number of obstacles on the path to honest assessment of the facts is a constant threat to the deliberation process. If the jury fails to unanimously agree on a verdict of either "guilty" or "not guilty," it will become a hung jury (a jury that cannot reach a decision, and must retire from the case without declaring a verdict). Watching how this matter is resolved is a riveting study in the nature, and ultimate beauty, of the trial by jury process. One by one the jurors change their minds and decide the boy is not guilty. Juror number 3, the man at odds with his teenaged son, is the last one to change his mind. The jurors, at last, are able to vote unanimously for acquittal. As the jurors leave the court building, Juror number 8 and Juror number 9, the elderly man, introduce themselves to each other as Davis and McArdle, respectively. McArdle says "so long" as he takes leave of Davis, knowing that they will never meet again, that their lives had crossed only for a single purpose. Cast Complete credited cast: Martin Balsam ... Juror #1 John Fiedler ... Juror #2 Lee J. Cobb ... Juror #3 E.G. Marshall ... Juror #4 Jack Klugman ... Juror #5 Edward Binns ... Juror #6 Jack Warden ... Juror #7 Henry Fonda ... Juror #8 Joseph Sweeney ... Juror #9 Ed Begley ... Juror #10 George Voskovec ... Juror #11 Robert Webber ... Juror #12 Juror #3: That business before when that tall guy, what's-his-name, was trying to bait me? That doesn't prove anything. I'm a pretty excitable person. I mean, where does he come off calling me a public avenger, sadist and everything? Anyone in his right mind would blow his stack. He was just trying to bait me. Juror #4: He did an excellent job. Anyone in his right mind would blow his stack = chiunque fosse sano di mente avrebbe cercato di fargli saltare i nervi; He was just trying to bait me. = stava solo cercando di farmi arrabbiare. [after Juror #10 explains that he believes the boy is guilty because of the testimony of the woman across the street] Juror #8: I'd like to ask you something: you don't believe the boy's story; how come you believe the woman's? She's one of 'them', too, isn't she? Juror #10: You're a pretty smart fella, aren't you? how come you believe the woman's? = com’è che crede alla donna?; You're a pretty smart fella, aren't you? = Lei crede di essere proprio uno in gamba, vero? [after Juror #8 has established that the old man witness could not have heard the killing over the noise of the elevated train] Juror #3: Why should he lie? What's he got to gain? Juror #9: Attention, maybe. Juror #3: You keep coming in with these bright sayings. Why don't you send 'em into a paper - they pay three dollars apiece. Juror #6: What are you talkin' to him like that for? Guy talks like that to an old man really oughta get stepped on, you know. You oughta have more respect, mister. If you say stuff like that to him again... I'm gonna lay you out. I'm gonna lay you out = ti sistemo io/ti concio io per le feste [after another vote is taken, the count is six to six] Juror #10: Six to six... I'm telling you, some of you people in here must be out of your minds. A kid like that... Juror #9: I don't think the kind of boy he is has anything to do with it. The facts are supposed to determine the case. Juror #10: Don't give me that. I'm sick and tired of facts! You can twist 'em anyway you like, you know what I mean? Juror #9: That's exactly the point this gentleman has been making. [indicates Juror #8] I'm sick and tired of facts! = Non ne posso più dei fatti! [Juror #9 has pointed out that the woman witness across the street had marks on her nose indicating she normally wore glasses] Juror #8: [to Juror #4] Do you wear glasses when you go to bed? Juror #4: No. I don't. No one wears eyeglasses to bed. Juror #8: It's logical to assume that she wasn't wearing them when she was in bed. Tossing and turning, trying to fall asleep. Juror #3: How do you know? Juror #8: I don't know - I'm guessing! I'm also guessing that she probably didn't put her glasses on when she turned to look casually out of the window. And she, herself, testified the killing took place just as she looked out. The lights went off a split second later - she couldn't have had time to put them on then. Here's another guess: maybe she honestly thought she saw the boy kill his father - I say she only saw a blur. Juror #3: How do you know WHAT she saw? How does he know all that? How do you know what kind of glasses she wore? Maybe they were sunglasses. Maybe she was far-sighted. What do you know about it? Juror #8: I only know the woman's eyesight is in question now. Juror #11: She had to be able to identify a person sixty feet away - at night - without glasses. Juror #2: You can't send someone off to die on evidence like that! Juror #3: Oh, don't give me that. Juror #8: Don't you think the woman might have made a mistake? Juror #3: No. Juror #8: It's not POSSIBLE? Juror #3: No, it's not possible! Juror #3: [Juror #8 goes to Juror #12] Is it possible? Juror #12: [nods] Not guilty. Juror #8: [#8 goes to #10] Do you think he's guilty? [#10 shakes his head 'no'] Juror #3: I think he's guilty! Juror #8: [#8 goes to #4] Do you? Juror #4: No. I'm convinced. Not guilty. Juror #3: What's the matter with you? Juror #4: I have a reasonable doubt, now. Juror #9: Eleven to one! Tossing and turning, trying to fall asleep. = Girandosi e rigirandosi cercando di addomentarsi; The lights went off a split second later = le luci si sono spente una frazione di secondo dopo; Oh, don't give me that. = non raccontare balle! [first lines] Man in corridor: You did a wonderful job, wonderful job! Judge: 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, you've had the law read to you and interpreted as it applies in this case, it's now your duty to sit down and try to 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, uh a reasonable doubt, then you must bring me a verdict of "Not Guilty". If, however, 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're faced with a grave responsibility, thank you, gentlemen. another man's life is at stake = la vita di un altro uomo è in gioco; in good conscience = in tutta coscienza; mandatory = obbligatorio http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/