LogFAQs > #975118187

Doe posted...

Also seems unlikely in 1957 that 11 people out of 12 would turn their backs on a racist old man like that.

He was racist toward a Latino who had been proven innocent. It's not the same as if the defendant had been Black.

Also, old Hollywood was really good about pretending that (almost) nobody was racist while casually acting like some people are just inherently smarter and more motivated than others. I don't think that applies to this film, or the play it's based on, but it certainly is true of a great many movies from the era.