Superb in every way, the TV version of the successful Broadway play (filmed just a few years later with more detail), this is less about the actual court case but the differences between each of the 12 men. There's one younger, one older, and men of all ages in between. The cast, led by Robert Cummings, Francot Tone, Edward Arnold and Paul Hartman, is universally superb, and a few of these cast members went on to appear in the movie.
While Robert Cummings, appearing here in the role that Henry Fonda would play on screen, is not the foreman, he basically makes a point at the beginning of jury deliberation that he finds the defendant innocent, simply because he has doubts. Each of the men on the jury expresses their feelings as why they find the defendant guilty, and after a time, a few of them switch over to a non guilty verdict. Cummings even steps out of the voting at one point to see if there are any other non guilty votes and that's where the debate starts.
While some of the men start off as arrogant and overly proud, they begin to see the light and their true hidden personalities come out, some for the better, some for the worse. By the time it gets to the final scene, there is one juror that everybody seems to hate and it is obvious that the theme has changed from guilty or not guilty about the defendant, but good or bad for the people who need to decide the defendant's fate. That's what makes this film for television so tense and memorable, because even in it's truncated version, it truly expresses realities about human beings that are often difficult to face or express.
While Robert Cummings, appearing here in the role that Henry Fonda would play on screen, is not the foreman, he basically makes a point at the beginning of jury deliberation that he finds the defendant innocent, simply because he has doubts. Each of the men on the jury expresses their feelings as why they find the defendant guilty, and after a time, a few of them switch over to a non guilty verdict. Cummings even steps out of the voting at one point to see if there are any other non guilty votes and that's where the debate starts.
While some of the men start off as arrogant and overly proud, they begin to see the light and their true hidden personalities come out, some for the better, some for the worse. By the time it gets to the final scene, there is one juror that everybody seems to hate and it is obvious that the theme has changed from guilty or not guilty about the defendant, but good or bad for the people who need to decide the defendant's fate. That's what makes this film for television so tense and memorable, because even in it's truncated version, it truly expresses realities about human beings that are often difficult to face or express.