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3* AdaptationDisplacement: Originally a 1954 teleplay for CBS' ''Studio One'' anthology series, it is now best known for its later adaptations as a [[ScreenToStageAdaptation stage play]] and film.
4* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
5** The defendant - innocent man or murderer? For all of the doubt the jury casts on the prosecution's case, there's still plenty of reason for the audience to conclude that he's guilty. This was done deliberately, of course; even Juror #8 admits that he isn't sure that they aren't about to set a murderer free, but the legal standard is "reasonable doubt", not "absolute confidence of innocence". Then there's the question of, if the defendant did in fact commit the murder, [[AssholeVictim was he really in the wrong]]?
6** There have been productions that portray Juror #8 not as a noble crusader but rather as a ManipulativeBastard who's trying to get a murderer set free basically just to see if he can.
7*** Some interpretations TakeAThirdOption and portray him as not necessarily setting out to change anyone's mind (at least initially) and more just being interested in making sure everyone fully understands the weight of their decision to vote guilty, and effectively only coming to truly believe in his own "not guilty" vote after starting to receive support from other jurors.
8** When Juror #4 refuses to change his vote near the end, does he honestly still think the defendant is guilty? Or is he merely doing it so that the process of proper deliberation, which Juror #8 started, is properly finished? (It's during this late stage where the final evidence analysis occurs.)
9** Did Juror #7 actually believe in the verdicts that he gave? Did he truly think that the boy was guilty/innocent? This one can depend on the actor. Creator/TonyDanza in [[Film/TwelveAngryMen1997 the 1997 TV movie]] comes across as sincere when he's pressed to state that he doesn't think he's guilty.
10** After Juror #10 gives his rant and the other jurors turn their backs to him, he sits away from the others in silence. Did he have a HeelRealization and realized that his behavior was out of line, or did he simply feel defeated and alienated?
11* {{Applicability}}: The script deliberately avoids naming any specifics about the defendant, and thus the reason for #10's prejudice against him, allowing the audience to fill in whatever they want.
12* AwardSnub: The 1957 version, largely overshadowed by ''Film/TheBridgeOnTheRiverKwai'', failed to win anything at the Oscars. Additionally, none of the actors received UsefulNotes/AcademyAward nominations for their work. Though Creator/HenryFonda did end up winning a UsefulNotes/{{BAFTA}} for his performance, and both he and Creator/LeeJCobb earned UsefulNotes/GoldenGlobe nods.
13* EnsembleDarkhorse: Juror #4 is somewhat surprisingly popular, mainly for being the only juror to remain entirely rational during the proceedings and freely and graciously admitting that there's reasonable doubt despite previously being one of the strongest voices for a guilty verdict. They also earn a lot of respect from viewers for being the one who tells [[{{Jerkass}} Juror #10]] to sit down and shut up after the latter's racist rant.
14* JerkassWoobie: Juror #3, at least by the end.
15* {{Narm}}: The stage adaptation greatly overhauls the second act, including some hugely inappropriate slapstick as they try to recreate the entire murder scene. #7's sports metaphors are also taken way over the top, like his immediately shouting to #8 "You're in left field!" after the initial vote.
16** In the 1997 film, Juror #10 punctuates one of his tirades with a very strange sound — sort of a cross between a dog barking, and [[Film/ThePhantomMenace Boss Nass]] making his head-shaking noise. It's so forced and bizarre, that there's literally no telling whether it was intended as sarcastic mockery, an attempt at intimidation, or a genuine expression of rage on Juror #10's part. Between laughs, viewers are likely to be asking themselves, "What on God's green earth was ''that?''"
17* RetroactiveRecognition: Juror #5 will be instantly familiar to anyone who's seen an episode of ''Series/QuincyME''. Jack Klugman even gets to do a Quincy-style deduction years before the series was conceived, by pointing out the inconsistent nature of the knife wound. ''Series/{{The Odd Couple|1970}}'' also did a flashback episode to Oscar and Felix meeting on a jury where Felix was a RogueJuror in reference to this role.
18** You'll recognize Juror #2 by voice. John Fiedler is the original voice of [[WesternAnimation/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh Piglet]].
19%%* SignatureScene: Juror #3's VillainousBreakdown at the end.
20* TearJerker:
21** When Juror #3 finally realizes what he's doing; he tears up the picture of him and his son and just breaks down crying. The DVD release of the film manages to make it even worse with the chapter titles. The title of the chapter containing Juror #3's VillainousBreakdown? "One Angry Man".
22---> '''Juror #3:''' No...not guilty...''not guilty''...!
23*** Seeing the picture of Juror #3 and his son alone is heartrending. After he's spent the whole discussion in an unbreakably foul mood, we see the angriest man of them all years before. And he and his son look as happy as happy can be. The sheer contrast between him then and now is a truly shocking pitiful sight.
24** Small one that can easily be missed, but Juror #9 , after speaking about one of the witnesses (the Old Man) lying and fabricating evidence about seeing the boy leaving the crime scene and hearing the death threat to his father to get attention. Juror #10 asks him what he knows about it and Juror #9 lowers his head and shakes it sadly.
25** The film-only ending in which Jurors 8 and 9 exchange names, share a brief silence, and bid each other farewell. Though it's cheerful in tone, that awkward {{beat}} is likely their realization that after fighting so hard together they're likely never to meet again.
26** Minor one, but in the 1997 version, Juror 7 finally breaking his snarky demeanor when Juror 11 delivers his speech to him. In the end, we still don't know what his actual opinion in the trial was.
27* UnintentionalPeriodPiece:
28** The film is from the era when a trip to the movies typically involved an A-picture and a B-picture, leading to the defendant's alibi being flimsy as he couldn't remember either movie he saw, followed by #4 easily remembering the A-picture he saw several days ago but not the B-picture. Forgetting the titles of the films you saw was far more common at the time, as you just bought a ticket for entry rather than the one you came to see.
29** The film is set in New York City and the defendant faces the death penalty. The last execution in New York state took place in 1963 and capital punishment was formally abolished in the state in 2004.
30* ValuesDissonance:
31** At the time this was written in TheFifties, women and non-whites were excluded from jury service in some parts of the country. These days, the script is often produced as ''12 Angry Jurors'' with a more diverse cast. #2 and #11 seem especially popular to cast with women, allowing for some levity as #7’s conversations with them can easily come off as pathetic flirting, plus adding a degree of sexism to #10's condescension to them.
32** Physical abuse is treated more lightly in this movie than it would be today. While most of the jurors seem to disapprove that the boy's father beat him regularly, they don't seem too fazed when Juror #3 defends it against "a kid like that".
33** #3's rift with his son starting because he was ashamed of his son running away from a fight and vowed to "make a man out of him" has lost every ounce of sympathy it may ever have had. Some modern productions change this to his son joining a gang. Thankfully however the real drama is due to their later fight and not this first cause, keeping the character sympathetic.
34* ValuesResonance: The other jurors turning their backs on Juror #10's racist rant was ahead of its time. To explain, the ''only'' reason Juror #10 thought the defendant was guilty was because of the latter's being a person of color. And when he tries to get the other jurors to agree, ''none'' of them do and he's shamed for his verbal tirade. Even the jurors who are most convinced of the boy's guilt (#3 and #4) are horrified by #10’s rant, #4 being the one to tell him to sit down and shut up.
35* VindicatedByHistory: The critics in 1957 were [[CriticalDissonance rooting for]] Lumet's movie version, but the public wasn't interested and the movie failed at the box office. ''12 Angry Men'' has since earned a place in pop culture rivaled (aside from ''Film/ToKillAMockingbird'') by no other courtroom drama--plus the 88th spot on AFI's ''100 Years. . .100 Thrills'' list. No mean feat for a film that isn't an action-adventure film.[[note]]For perspective, below this movie, among others, were ''Film/TheAdventuresOfRobinHood'' at #100, ''{{Film/Speed}}'' at #99, and ''{{Film/Braveheart}}'' at #91[[/note]].
36** Similarly, Juror #8 appears on the AFI 100 Heroes and Villains list at #28, between [[Film/AllThePresidentsMen Woodward & Bernstein]] and [[Film/{{Patton}} General George Patton]].

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