25 best movies that never won an Oscar

6. 12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men is the prototypical bottle movie, a.k.a. a film that takes place entirely in one setting. It’s based on a stage play about 12 jurors grappling with their prejudices and life experiences while trying to decide if a man is guilty of murder. It’s 96 minutes of incredible writing and performances, none of which earned the film an Oscar in 1958.

The Academy at least recognized how good 12 Angry Men was, as it nominated the film for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director (Sidney Lumet). It just happened to be up against The Bridge On The River Kwai,  another classic in its own right that beat 12 Angry Men in all three categories. It’s hard to be too upset about those results.

It’s hard to believe though that none of the 12 actors who played the titular angry men were nominated. None of them would have probably beaten Alec Guiness (a.k.a. Obi-Wan Kenobi) for his The Bridge On The River Kwai performance, but they were never even given a chance to compete. The omission of a Henry Fonda nomination is particularly baffling.

The movie  did, however, get its proper due from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (which sounds like a shady Mission: Impossible organization). That voting body named 12 Angry Men its Best Foreign Film of 1958. Take that, The Bridge On The River Kwai!