50 years ago: 12 Angry Men released

12 Angry Men Released: April 13, 1957 Studio: United Artists Genre: courtroom drama Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 4.36 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: ? Worldwide: 16.33

Directing: Sidney Lumet Screenwriting: Reginald Rose Starring: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, Ed Begley, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden Review: In his directorial debut, Sidney Lumet adapts Reginald Rose’s television play to a masterful courtroom drama. “In a hot summer courtroom in NYC, a teenaged Latino (Savoca) is on trial for murdering his father with a switchblade knife and faces the electric chair if convicted.” FS The “film finds all its drama outside the courtroom itself and inside a jury deliberation room packed with fantastic character actors.” E18 Of the twelve jurors, only one (Henry Fonda) thinks there is reasonable doubt regarding a guilty conviction. “In the sweaty, claustrophobic room, the tempers, prejudices and personalities of the cranky, smoking men are displayed as they examine the evidence and deliberate their verdict.” FS In a model of how to change opinions in the face of adversity, Fonda methodically convinces everyone to change their verdicts to not guilty. “The growing sense of claustrophobia in 12 Angry Men was masterfully designed and contributed to the film's critical success…Lumet’s use of camera angles is a benchmark for how those lens choices actually affect mood. As the movie starts, the camera begins above eye level, it later slides down to eye level as the story develops, and toward the end of the movie it is below eye level, heightening the tension.” MSN Sources: E18 Empire (3/20/2018). “The 100 Greatest Movies” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Oscars: Wins: 0 Nominations: 3 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay Awards: Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Christopher Nolan First posted 11/22/2021; last updated 5/29/2023.

On the Waterfront released 50 years ago today

On the Waterfront Released: July 28, 1954 Studio: Columbia Genre: crime drama/thriller Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 9.60 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 219.90 Worldwide: ?

Directing: Elia Kazan Screenwriting: Budd Schulberg Starring: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger Review: “Budd Schulberg’s unflinching account of N.Y.C. harbor unions (suggested by articles by Malcolm Johnson)” LM is a “powerful, gripping drama” VD “that mirrors the political climate of the early 1950s.” A07 “The theatrical trailer promised ‘a story that’s as warm and moving as Going My Way (but with brass knuckles!)’ – as good a description as any for this Oscar-winning morality tale. The characters struggling with pier pressure include an ex-boxer with a soft spot for pigeons, a luscious nun-in-training and a priest with a mean punch.” TV “Winner of eight Oscars…Leonard Bernstein’s music is another major asset. Film debuts of Saint, Martin Balsam, Fred Gwynne, and Pat Hingle.” LM In one of “his most famous performances” VD as a “longshoreman who ‘coulda been a contender,” A07 Marlon Brando is “inarticulate ex-boxer champ Terry Malloy.” FS He “witnesses the murder of a fellow dock worker, a victim of gangster union boss Cobb’s oppressive hold over the longshoremen – punished for ‘singing’ to an investigation commission. When Terry begins to fall in love with shy and frail Edie (Saint), the dead man’s sister, his allegiances are challenged.” FS He rebels against his brother Charlie (Steiger), a corrupt mob lawyer, and his world of “union violence, greed, and deceit.” VD “After his brother’s murder, he defiantly stands up against the hoodlums on the waterfront.” FS “Movie mogul Darryl F. Zanuck passed on the script for Twentieth Century-Fox, believing no one would ‘care about a bunch of sweaty longshoremen.’ Elia Kazan and screenwriter Budd Schulberg went to Columbia Pictures. Even then the script went through many drafts, including character Terry Malloy as an investigative reporter before becoming the iconic sweaty longshoreman.” MSN Sources: A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 8 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Brando), Supporting Actress (Saint), Best Story and Screenplay Nominations: 12, including Best Supporting Actor (Cobb), Best Supporting Actor (Steiger), Best Supporting Actor (Malden) Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Roger Ebert Leslie Halliwell/John Walker Leonard Maltin First posted 8/24/2019; last updated 6/2/2023.