On this day in movie history - 12 Angry Men (1997 movie & play):

12 Angry Men

directed by William Friedkin,

written by Reginald Rose,

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

was released in the United States on August 17, 1997.

Cast: Courtney B. Vance, Ossie Davis, George C. Scott, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Dorian Harewood, James Gandolfini, Tony Danza, Jack Lemmon, Hume Cronyn, Mykelti Williamson, Edward James Olmos, William Petersen, Mary McDonnell, Tyrees Allen, Douglas Spain.

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.

Born on this day – Jack Lemmon:

Jack Lemmon

Actor

February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001

On this day in movie history - Days of Wine and Roses (1962 movie & books):

Days of Wine and Roses

directed by Blake Edwards,

written by JP Miller,

based on the 1958 teleplay by JP Miller,

was released in the United States on December 26, 1962.
Music by Henry Mancini.

Cast:

Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford, Jack Klugman, Alan Hewitt, Tom Palmer, Debbie Megowan, Maxine Stuart, Jack Albertson, Leon Alton, Don Anderson, Carl Arnold, Roger Barrett, Russ Bender, Mary Benoit, Mel Blanc, Gail Bonney, Lynn Borden, Dick Crockett, Russell Custer, George DeNormand, Jennifer Edwards, Ella Ethridge, James Gonzalez, Lisa Guiraut, Chuck Hicks, Barbara Hines, Charlene Holt, Tai Yen Horowitz, Jerry Jensen, Kenner G. Kemp, Rita Kenaston, James Lanphier, Ken Lynch, John Bard Manulis, Mathew McCue, Harold Miller, Richard O'Brien, Doye O'Dell, Pat O'Malley, Alan Paige, Peggy Patten, Jack Riley, Tom Rosqui, Myrna Ross, Doc Scortt, Robert 'Buddy' Shaw, Stanley Sober, Olan Soule, Katherine Squire, Florence Stark, Bert Stevens, Lynn Terry, Arthur Tovey, John Truax, Charles Watts, Charles Wood.

Recommended reading:

Days of Wine and Roses

By J.P. Miller.

Published by Dramatist's Play Service.
Teleplay first published 1958.
Paperback.
ISBN-10: 0822202816
ISBN-13: 9780822202813

Description:

In the fast-moving milieu of Madison Avenue, social drinking is almost an occupational necessity, and one that fast-rising young Joe Clay adopts with too ready ease. Unfortunately, the girl he meets and marries shares his proclivity, and while they continue to tell themselves that they drink because they choose to, it is soon apparent that their habit has become a serious problem. But their failure to acknowledge this plunges them headlong into the shattering events of the play a career in shambles, a marriage destroyed, the esteem of friends and family lost, and a child who has become the innocent victim of their obsession. In the poignant ending of the play a spectre of hope arises but, more important, so does a galvanizing awareness of the depth of their torment, and of the lesson which their compulsive self-destruction must have for others.

Days of Wine and Roses

By David Westheimer.

Mass Market Paperback.

ISBN: B0000CLO9H

Published 1963.

Published by Bantam Books.

Description:

A story of Brandy Alexander and the insidious way alcohol can destroy a life. Based on J.P. Miller's play and includes three still pictures on back cover from the movie of the same name.

On this day in movie history - Grumpy Old Men (1993):

Grumpy Old Men

directed by Donald Petrie,

written by Mark Steven Johnson,

was released in the United States on December 25, 1993.
Music by Alan Silvestri.

Cast:

Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Ossie Davis, Buck Henry, Christopher McDonald, Steve Cochran, Joe Howard, Isabell O'Connor, Buffy Sedlachek, John Carroll Lynch, Charles Brin, Oliver Osterberg, Joel Edwards, Steven Mark Hahn, Sharon Howard, Larissa Lowthorp, Katie Sagona, Katie Wahlquist.

On this day in movie history - Grumpier Old Men (1995):

Grumpier Old Men

directed by Howard Deutch,

written by Mark Steven Johnson,

was released in the United States on December 22, 1995.
Music by Alan Silvestri.

Cast:

Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Sophia Loren, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollak, Katie Sagona, Ann Morgan Guilbert, James Andelin, Marcus Klemp, Max Wright, Cheryl Hawker, Wayne A. Evenson, Allison Levine, John Patrick Martin, Adam Ward, Ryan Waldoch, James Cada, Jaclyn Ross, Kyle Christopherson, Jeffrey L. Smith, Geraldo Rivera, Warren Schueneman, Jack Mitsch, Sterling Robson, Gregory Schuneman, Denny Schusted, Michelle Johnston, Wallace Olson, Carl Johnson, Eugene Karels, Lawrence Grivna, Joel Edwards, Larissa Lowthorp, Johnny Luckett, Tammara Melloy, Shirley Stoler, Ryan Wotherspoon.