1. 12 Angry Men (1957), directed by Sidney Lumet, dramatizes jury deliberations in a murder trial when a dissenting juror works to convince his fellow jurors that the case is not so clear-cut.

2. Anatomy of a Murder (1959).

3. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) [tie vote].

Comments:

“12 Angry Men is such a landmark film for its depiction of jury deliberation, its great ensemble cast, its use of the resources of film to depict the claustrophobia of the jury room, etc. On a personal note, it’s probably the film that began my fascination with law and film as I still vividly remember watching it from the backseat of my parents’ car at a drive-in long after I probably should have been asleep.” —Diane Waldman

“12 Angry Men deservedly won the ABA’s initial [Silver] Gavel Award. It is a powerful examination of not only a jury at work but also the most important of American political values.” —David Ray Papke

“Judgment at Nuremberg makes us confront important international legal and moral issues, which are with us today. Its performances, its direction, its script combine to present a powerful and harrowing look at how the victors and the vanquished view the same events. Anatomy of a Murder is a great classic that forces us to think about the lawyer/client relationship. 12 Angry Men is that rarity, a look at how a jury comes to its all-important decision, and the film is wonderfully acted and written.” —Christine Corcos

“Judgment at Nuremberg holds up remarkably well. The dynamic of the relationships and interplay between Judge Haywood (Tracy), Rolfe (Schell), Jannings (Lancaster), and even Lawson (Widmark) still gives me a lawyer’s goose-bumps. The issues seem timely now—when we discuss this film in my law school seminar the discussion inevitably turns to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In contrast, To Kill A Mockingbird seems, strangely, to have aged a bit on re-viewing. It is still profoundly influential; the social issues are even more timely. But the plot is too simplified and overdetermined; the story subsumed beneath Scout’s romanticized notions of Atticus Finch as attorney. Anatomy of a Murder, however, still provides a cinematic distillation of a murder case, with Jimmy Stewart as the ever-engaging and pitch-perfect criminal defense attorney. My law students also love the ‘idea’ of Twelve Angry Men—with its empowered jury searching for the ‘truthful story.’ But some law students now find the pacing too slow and the claustrophobia of the jury room puts them to sleep.” —Philip N. Meyer

Read the related sidebar: “How the ‘Golden Decade’ of legal films still infuences us today.”