On September 20, 1954, Dramatic History was Made, with the Only Broadcast of the Original, 50-Minute, Reginald Rose Teleplay, 12 Angry Men (Complete, Restored Video)

By Nicholas Stix

I will have much to say about this teleplay later.

Longtime readers and contributors will have earlier sniffed out that something big is afoot here. Their noses have not misled them.
 

As the first production, considering the time alloted, this version is a worthy precursor to the film.
By hjls
2 May 2010

This Studio One production, long thought lost forever, was found among the personal effects of famed defense attorney Sam Liebowitz. It differs from the 1957 film in a number of ways. At a length of about 50 minutes, it cannot approach the depth of detail or character development that the film does.

That said, this production contains a number of good things.

First, the performance of Robert Cummings as juror #8. Love That Bob aside, this was a much underrated dramatic actor. His sensitive portrayal depicts a man less sure of his feelings than Henry Fonda in the film.

Second, Franchot Tone as juror #3. Also an underrated thespian, Tone lacks the explosive, force of nature personality brought to the big screen by Lee J. Cobb in the same role. Still, Tone’s performance is totally believable. Joseph Sweeney and George Voskovic perform the same roles (and quite well) in both versions.





LIVE TV RESTORATION: Twelve Angry Men - Studio One (Original 1954 Broadcast)
74,800 views
•Dec 10, 2016

NBNTelevision
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Before it was on the stage or a 1957 movie, Twelve Angry Men was a live teleplay on CBS Studio One. The film kinescope copy, thought to be lost until found a few years ago, is cleaned and restored to the original frame rate of live television, so you may see what it looked like when originally broadcast live.

This project was one of the more difficult of projects, due to the dirty film and poor sound quality on the soundtrack. Commercials are inserted from a show of the same season, as the originals are not on the film. This production was obviously one of “close quarters.” See if you can notice various cameras moving in and out of the edge of the picture from time to time. For best results watch in 60p by selecting it from the YouTube video settings.