On this day in movie and book history - 12 Angry Men (1957)

12 Angry Men

directed by Sidney Lumet,

written by Reginald Rose,

based on the 1954 teleplay Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose,

was released in the United States on April 10, 1957.

Music by Kenyon Hopkins.

Cast:

Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, George Voskovec, Robert Webber, Rudy Bond, Tom Gorman, James Kelly, Billy Nelson, John Savoca, Walter Stocker.

Recommended reading:

 

Twelve Angry Men

Teleplay by Reginald Rose.
Introduction by David Mamet.
 
Filmed as:
12 Angry Men (1957), directed by Sidney Lumet.
12 Angry Men (1997), directed by William Friedkin.

Paperback.
Published by Penguin Classics.
First published 1954.

ISBN 13: 9780143104407
ISBN 10: 0143104403
ASIN: 0143104403
 
Description:

A blistering character study and an examination of the American melting pot and the judicial system that keeps it in check, Twelve Angry Men holds at its core a deeply patriotic faith in the U.S. legal system. The play centers on Juror Eight, who is at first the sole holdout in an 11-1 guilty vote. Eight sets his sights not on proving the other jurors wrong but rather on getting them to look at the situation in a clear-eyed way not affected by their personal prejudices or biases. Reginald Rose deliberately and carefully peels away the layers of artifice from the men and allows a fuller picture to form of them—and of America, at its best and worst.

After the critically acclaimed teleplay aired in 1954, this landmark American drama went on to become a cinematic masterpiece in 1957 starring Henry Fonda, for which Rose wrote the adaptation. More recently, Twelve Angry Men had a successful, and award-winning, run on Broadway.

Recommended reading - Making Movies

Making Movies

by Sidney Lumet.
 
Published by Vintage.
Published 1996.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0679756604
ISBN-13: 978-0679756606
 
Description:

Why does a director choose a particular script? What must they do in order to keep actors fresh and truthful through take after take of a single scene? How do you stage a shootout – involving more than one hundred extras and three colliding taxis – in the heart of New York’s diamond district? What does it take to keep the studio honchos happy? From the first rehearsal to the final screening, Making Movies is a master’s take, delivered with clarity, candor, and a wealth of anecdote.

 

For in this book, Sidney Lumet, one of our most consistently acclaimed directors, gives us both a professional memoir and a definitive guide to the art, craft, and business of the motion picture. Drawing on forty years of experience on movies that range from Long Day’s Journey into Night to Network and The Verdict – and with such stars as Katharine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, and Al Pacino – Lumet explains how painstaking labor and inspired split-second decisions can result in two hours of screen magic.

 

“Film would be a better place if every director were required to share with other romancers of film his process. It is a gift to us all that it is Sidney Lumet, one of American’s greatest filmmakers, who is sharing his point-of-view.” – Stephen Spielberg.

“Invaluable. . . . I am sometimes asked if there is one book a filmgoer could read to learn more about how movies are made and what to look for while watching them. This is the book.” – Roger Ebert, The New York Times Book Review.

“Remarkable . . . . as dignified as the movies [Lumet] has made and yet deeply felt and very moving. . . . Anyone who truly loves movies ought to read what he has to say about them. . . . Delightfully engrossing.” – Los Angeles Times.

“The film bible from a master. It tells in meticulous detail the step-by-step process of making a movie. You feel you’re on the set. A must.” – Quincy Jones.

 

“Full of energy, enthusiasm and wisdom. . . . It’s all engrossing because [Lumet] speaks so fervently and opinionatedly about matters on which he has earned the right to opinions.”  - The New Republic.

On this day in movie history - The Morning After (1986)

The Morning After

directed by Sidney Lumet,

written by James Hicks and David Rayfiel,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1986.

Music by Joel Goodman.

Cast:

Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, Raul Julia, Diane Salinger, Richard Foronjy, Geoffrey Scott, James 'Gypsy' Haake, Kathleen Wilhoite, Don Hood, Fran Bennett, Michael Flanagan, Bruce Vilanch, Michael Prince, Frances Bergen, José Angel Santana, Bob Minor, George Fisher, Rick Rossovich, Laurel Lyle, Kathy Bates, Anne Betancourt, Patti Song, Betty Lougaris, Drew Berman, Sam Scarber, Michael Zand, Gladys Portugues, Corinna Everson, Selga Sanders.

On this day in movie history - Serpico (1973)

Serpico

directed by Sidney Lumet,

written by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler,

based on the book by Peter Maas,

was released in the United States on December 5, 1973.

Music by Mikis Theodorakis.

Cast:
Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire, Barbara Eda-Young, Cornelia Sharpe, Edward Grover, Tony Roberts, Allan Rich, Albert Henderson, Joseph Bova, Woodie King Jr., James Tolkan, Bernard Barrow, Nathan George, M. Emmet Walsh, Ted Beniades, F. Murray Abraham, Judd Hirsch.

Recommended reading:

Serpico

by Peter Maas.
 
First published 1973.
Published by Harper Perennial.
Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0060738189
ISBN-13: 978-0060738181
 
Description:
 
THE CLASSIC TRUE STORY OF THE COP WHO COULDN'T BE BOUGHT.
 
With an Afterword by Frank Serpico.
 

The 1960s was a time of social and generational upheaval felt with particular intensity in the melting pot of New York City. A culture of corruption pervaded the New York Police Department, where payoffs, protection, and shakedowns of gambling rackets and drug dealers were common practice. The so-called blue code of silence protected the minority of crooked cops from the sanction of the majority.

 

Into this maelstrom came a working class, Brooklyn-born, Italian cop with long hair, a beard, and a taste for opera and ballet. Frank Serpico was a man who couldn't be silenced – or bought – and he refused to go along with the system. He had sworn an oath to uphold the law, even if the perpetrators happened to be other cops. For this unwavering commitment to justice, Serpico nearly paid with his life.

 

"I don't think anyone can come away from Serpico without admiration for one man's lonely integrity." – New York Times.
 
"A penetrating . . . exciting story." – San Francisco Chronicle.
 
"[A] raw and moving portrait." – Chicago Sun-Times.
 
"An absorbing story of what one angry, honest man can do." – Detroit News.
 
"Excellent." – Newsweek.