12 Angry Men Assignment
Identities of the characters in the film:
Juror # Character Description
Actor
1
Foreman
(High School Coach)
Martin Balsam
(short sleeves, diagonal tie)
2
Timid Fellow
John Fiedler
(little balding guy w/glasses, pipe)
3
Resentful Father
(messenger service)
Lee J. Cobb
(rectangular tie pattern, neat hair)
4
Stockbroker
(wears glasses)
E.G. Marshall
(light gray suit)
5
Slum Guy
Jack Klugman
(dark gray suit)
6
Motive Guy
(working man)
Edward Binns
(short sleeves, no tie)
7
Sports Fan
(salesman)
Jack Warden
(hat, striped jacket)
8
Reasonable Fellow
(architect)
Henry Fonda
(very light suit, black tie)
9
Old Gentleman
Joseph Sweeney
(very thin, white hair)
10
Bigot
(has summer cold)
Ed Begley
(diamond patterned tie, messy hair)
11
Watchmaker
(from Europe)
George Voskovec
(black suspenders)
12
Ad Man
(doodler)
Robert Webber
(black suit, black glasses)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
OPTION #1 - In 1-2 double spaced pages:
1. Discuss the positives and negatives of the jury system as
portrayed in 12 Angry Men. Give specific examples.
2. Excluding Henry Fonda’s character (Juror #8), discuss 3
jury members and how their beliefs, personalities and
views of their responsibility affected their participation in
the jury.
OPTION #2 – Answer ALL of the following short response
questions:
TWELVE ANGRY MEN WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
1. Were there any flaws in the prosecution's case
which might have cast reasonable doubt on their
evidence? If so, what were they? Were they
problems of relevance or reliability?
2. What evidence was introduced by the jury
members that the defense had not even used?
3. What inferences were made by jury members?
What inferences were made in favor of the
prosecution, upon what basis? What inferences were
made in favor of the defendant that the defense had
not made? Comment upon the relevance and
reliability of all of these inferences.
4. Choose one of the jurors and discuss your
perceptions of that person's behavior. Explain how
you think that man's personal perspective may have
influenced his decisions.