Reginald Rose and the Journey of 12 Angry Men - by Phil Rosenzweig (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In early 1957, a low-budget black and white movie opened across the country. 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 and 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 20th 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 journey of his most famous work, one that ultimately that 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, it casts new light on one of America's great dramas - and about its author, a man of immense talent and courage"--

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

A detailed account of the cauldron of creativity, placing the reader into the early days of television, a period that gave rise to some of the most celebrated talents of the mid-20th century. Absorbing . . . the reconstruction of Rose's jury service was fascinating.---Aubrey Solomon, Television writer and film historian

A very smart look at the influence of one particular television show and its movie version on many different, and surprising, parts of society, not only in America, but around the world.---Tom Stempel, Professor Emeritus in Film at Los Angeles City College, author of Storytellers to the Nation: A History of American Television Writing

An engaging, insightful study of a landmark film and its surprisingly long-term impact.---Beverly Gray, author of Seduced by Mrs. Robinson: How "The Graduate" Became the Touchstone of a Generation

Phil Rosenzweig's excellent book tells the story of Reginald Rose, the chief creator of two of American pop culture's most enduring law-related works - the film 12 Angry Men and the television series The Defenders. More so than any other works of the mid-twentieth century, 12 Angry Men and The Defenders capture both the inspiring promise and the endangered status of the proverbial rule of law.---David Ray Papke, Marquette University

Reginald Rose was one of the architects of an exciting era of powerful, socially conscious dramas using the new medium of television. Phil Rosenzweig's compelling book recounts the struggles and successes of a time that brought issues like human rights, urban poverty, abortion and racial justice into our living rooms and daily conversations.---Glenn Frankel, author of Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic

[W]e're in [Rosenzweig's] debt for bringing the virtues of this imperishable movie before us once again -- and not a moment too soon.-- "Los Angeles Review of Books"

This book by Phil Rosenzweig tells two stories: the life of Reginald Rose, and how '12 Angry Men' became a classic that sits on the American Film Institute's list of the best movies ever made.---Penny A Parrish, The Free Lance-Star

Drawing on his extensive research and years of teaching management courses, the author traces the evolution of one of the most celebrated dramas of the 20th century in this first biography of NYC's Reginald Rose (a lead writer in the mid-century's Golden Age of Television) and study of his courtroom masterpiece championing socially conscious themes of legal justice and civil rights . . . the book is filled with fascinating information, photos, and insights into the man and his work's socio-historical context.-- "DC Metro Theater Arts"

...[A] fascinating book about Rose's masterpiece...-- "The Economist"

About the Author

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.