100 Movies Every Catholic Should See #36: 12 Angry Men (1957)

Directed by Sidney Lumet. Adapted from the 1954 teleplay by Reginald Rose.

12 actors. One room. Endless drama.

That was essentially the premise of Reginald Rose’s brilliant television movie (still a novel concept at the time of its release) following a jury panel hung up in their room by a singular man who challenges the notions of the legal process and pushes his fellow citizens to think for themselves in the case of a young boy who allegedly killed his father. Three years after its release comes the feature film adaptation by one of the greatest directors of all time, Sidney Lumet. For his directing of the film he received a nomination at the Oscars for “Best Director”: all the more notable considering this was his debut feature.