12 Angry Men (1957)

This faithful adaptation of Reginald Rose's critically acclaimed stage play chronicles the acrimonious deliberations of a jury in a death penalty case, and Henry Fonda produced and performed in it. A lone juror (Fonda) voices his skepticism about what appears to be a clear-cut case at first.

What follows is a harrowing analysis of the prejudices, prejudgments, and personal psychological baggage that these gathered citizens have brought to a life-or-death argument over the destiny of the young Puerto Rican defendant.

The play was based on Rose's actual experience as a jury in a manslaughter trial, and Sidney Lumet adapted it for television before directing the film adaptation, which was his debut feature picture.

Trivia: Lost all three Oscar nominations to The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler