Part I: Origins 1. Dreams of a Writer | 11 2. Getting Started (1952 to Summer 1953) | 23 3. Two Programs, Two Movies (1952 to 1954) | 34 4. Original Dramas for Studio One (Summer 1953 to Spring 1954) | 46
Part II: The Television Program 5. A Visit to Foley Square (Spring 1954) | 57 6. “Twelve Angry Men” (Summer 1954) | 71 7. Gaining Momentum (Fall 1954 to Spring 1955) | 81
Part III: The Movie 8. Henry Fonda and the Deal for 12 Angry Men (Spring and Summer 1955) | 95 9. Developing the Screenplay (Fall 1955 to Spring 1956) | 103 10. Assembling the Team (Spring 1956) | 113 11. Six Weeks of Work (Summer 1956) | 122 12. Release and Reviews (Fall 1956 to Spring 1958) | 133
Part IV: The Defenders 13. New Directions (1957 to 1960) | 145 14. The Defenders (1960 to Spring 1962) | 155 15. The Defenders (Fall 1962 to 1965) | 166 16. After The Defenders | 179
Part V: The Journey of 12 Angry Men 17. A Life on Stage | 193 18. A Lesson in the Law | 208 19. A Masterclass in Human Behavior | 220 20. New Versions, New Meanings | 230
Acknowledgments | 251 Notes | 257 Selected Bibliography | 291 Index | 297 Photographs follow pages 102 and 198
Finalist, 2021 Wall Award (Formerly the Theatre Library Association Award)
The untold story behind one of America’s greatest dramas
In early 1957, a low-budget black-and-white movie opened across the United States. Consisting of little more than a dozen men arguing in a dingy room, it was a failure at the box office and soon faded from view.
Today, 12 Angry Men is acclaimed as a movie classic, revered by the critics, beloved by the public, and widely performed as a stage play, touching audiences around the world. It is also a favorite of the legal profession for its portrayal of ordinary citizens reaching a just verdict and widely taught for its depiction of group dynamics and human relations. Few twentieth-century American dramatic works have had the acclaim and impact of 12 Angry Men.
Reginald Rose and the Journey of “12 Angry Men” tells two stories: the life of a great writer and the journey of his most famous work, one that ultimately outshined its author. More than any writer in the Golden Age of Television, Reginald Rose took up vital social issues of the day—from racial prejudice to juvenile delinquency to civil liberties—and made them accessible to a wide audience. His 1960s series, The Defenders, was the finest drama of its age and set the standard for legal dramas. This book brings Reginald Rose’s long and successful career, its origins and accomplishments, into view at long last.
By placing 12 Angry Men in its historical and social context—the rise of television, the blacklist, and the struggle for civil rights—author Phil Rosenzweig traces the story of this brilliant courtroom drama, beginning with the chance experience that inspired Rose, to its performance on CBS’s Westinghouse Studio One in 1954, to the feature film with Henry Fonda. The book describes Sidney Lumet’s casting, the sudden death of one actor, and the contribution of cinematographer Boris Kaufman. It explores the various drafts of the drama, with characters modified and scenes added and deleted, with Rose settling on the shattering climax only days before filming began.
Drawing on extensive research and brimming with insight, this book casts new light on one of America’s great dramas—and about its author, a man of immense talent and courage.
Author royalties will be donated equally to the Feerick Center for Social Justice at Fordham Law School and the Justice John Paul Stevens Jury Center at Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Phil Rosenzweig is a Professor of Business Administration at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he has used 12 Angry Men for many years to teach executives about interpersonal behavior and group dynamics. He is author of The Halo Effect . . . and the Eight Other Delusions That Deceive Managers, an award-winning book that has been translated into fourteen languages. He received his Ph.D. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
