Volume II: Filmography

THE TWELFTH JUROR

William Russell (standing right) played the role of an express man. Courtesy of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (F-190)

January 12, 1912 (Friday)

Length: 1 reel

Character: Drama

Cast: William Russell

ADVERTISEMENT, The Moving Picture World, January 6, 1912:

"The Twelfth Juror is a spectacular mystery story that will keep you guessing and puzzling until you reach the great jury room scene, near the end. There the Twelfth Juror explains everything to your own and the jury's satisfaction and dispels all your doubts and fears, but his simple enough story GRIPS you as you see it grip his fellow jurors - and it sets an innocent man free. It is a most startling, tricky 'twisting' plot we have ever had to do with."

ARTICLE, The Moving Picture World, January 6, 1912:

"A young man, son of a retired merchant, enters his father's study and asks him for a loan. The father offers him some small change and the young man rejects the tithe with scorn. The father rages at the son, and a butler hears, or, at least, he claims he has heard, when he was examined by detectives who came when the father is found stark and suddenly dead on the floor of the study, and he tells the officers that the son has packed his suitcase and gone to the railroad station. Sure enough, the officers find the son there and 'nab' him before he can board the train. In searching him later, they find a large roll of bills, known to be missing from his dead parent's wallet. Still, as a matter of fact, he did not take his parent's life. But the butler did - you guessed. No; he, too, was guiltless. Then, who, you puzzle, WAS the murderer? As it came out in court, there was no murderer. There was no murder. There were merely an odd combination of circumstances that made things look black for a clean-handed young man until the twelfth juror, in the picture of that name, has told a simple enough story that cleared him."

SYNOPSIS, The Moving Picture World, January 6, 1912:

"A rich man is found dead in his library. His cash box, which was known to have been full of money, is lying empty beside him. The last person known to have been with him was his son. The servants testified that the two had had a violent quarrel. The son is sought and is found at a railway station. Brought back to the house he is searched and the stolen money is found in his overcoat pocket. He admits a quarrel, and that it was over money matters, but denies the crime and says he does not know how the money got into his pocket. A strong case is made out against the prisoner when he goes on trial. When the jury takes their first ballot, the vote stands 11 for conviction. The majority argue with a stubborn twelfth juror, but to no avail. Finally he bows to the will of the others. The foreman approaches the door to give the signal that will notify the court officer that a decision has been reached. His hand is raised, but the twelfth juror stays it. He tells them he has a statement to make.

"The twelfth juror in private life is an underpaid expressman. His little daughter is very ill, and the doctor tells the heartbroken father and mother that her only chance of life is to go South. They haven't the money, and realize that their poverty means the death warrant of their loved one. The expressman is sent to a 'fine house' to get a trunk. While waiting in the hall, he sees the prisoner, after a quarrel with his father, run up the stairs. The old man, who is brandishing a cane and holding a cash box, works himself into a frightful fit of rage. He is suddenly stricken and falls dead. The expressman goes to his assistance but is attracted by the packet of bills that has fallen on the carpet. He realizes that this wealth means life for his little girl, and yielding to impulse, picks it up and places it in his pocket. He closes the door and makes his escape undetected.

"He finds his crime of no avail, however, for his little daughter proves to him that stolen money is accursed, and the expressman, yielding to her prayers, goes back to the house, intending to return the bills. He finds the front door open, and slips the cash into the pocket of a coat on the hat rack, believing that it is the old man's. When drawn for the jury he serves, hoping that he might be able to save the innocent man, but the circumstantial evidence was so strong that he could not win over even one of his associates. And he finally decided to confess all to them. The jurors believe him, return a verdict of not guilty. The twelfth juror again confesses his fault in open court, and a new investigation establishes the truth of what he had told. He escapes punishment, under the circumstances, and the little girl is sent South to regain her health through the kindly aid of the man whose life has been put in jeopardy because of the one crime of he who later was the twelfth juror."

REVIEW, The Morning Telegraph, January 14, 1912:

"Not unlike a sketch called Circumstantial Evidence, this photoplay is different in part and is a remarkably praiseworthy production from the fact that such a really complicated story is successfully told in silent acting. It is remarkably dramatic, is splendidly played and exceedingly well staged. After a quarrel between father and son the father is discovered dead, with money stolen, which is later found in the son's pocket. The son is accused and tried for the crime. The twelfth juror holds out for acquittal and on being pushed to the wall, as it were, he tells how he had overhead the quarrel, had seen the father die of apoplexy, had stolen the money laying on the floor because of his great need and the illness of his own wife [sic; synopsis says daughter]. His story is again told in open court, with added detail not herein given, and he is exonerated and the indicted son is acquitted. The story is one of those few offerings that one recalls out of the hundreds."

REVIEW, The New York Dramatic Mirror, January 17, 1912:

"The care with which this production is put on in all the finer details the picture technique and the power and understanding exhibited in the acting of this exceptionally terse and dramatic story make this film a convincing and absorbing one. It shows rare discretion throughout, and the small details present in the entire make-up of the story, playing and set add distinctiveness and individual character to the entire picture. It tells the story of a young man who is just departing for college. He has a quarrel with his father over some money that is refused him. He leaves in anger and his trunk goes with him, but the expressman is obliged to wait in the hallway. The father dies in a fit of apoplexy, and the expressman, hearing the noise, enters and sees the money. He takes it home to his sick child whose only hope of life is a trip south. The child, however, compels him to return it. He places the money in a coat in the hallway that he supposes belongs to the old man. It belongs to the son and he wears it away with him. This is the evidence that is brought against him in the courtroom.

"The expressman is one of the jurors, and when 11 offer the verdict of guilty, he tells his story that wins the young man's acquittal. It is thought that the telling of the story would have been more dramatic and absorbing to the spectator, had the events of the first part concerning the expressman's theft being shown as a commencement instead of being told as a sort of dream story at the end. An open confession also would have been more logical as well as dramatic. Perchance his real purpose in the film should have been as a witness rather than as a juror, as the authorities would realize that he was at the seat of the crime. This would moreover have given originality to the situation, as the incident of the twelfth juryman is quite old and used."

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