Sidney Lumet (June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his name. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men (1957), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982). He did not win an individual Academy Award, although he did receive an Academy Honorary Award and 14 of his films were nominated for various Oscars, such as Network, which was nominated for 10, winning 4.
The Encyclopedia of Hollywood states that Lumet was one of the most prolific directors of the modern era, making more than one movie per year on average since his directorial debut in 1957. He was noted by Turner Classic Movies for his “strong direction of actors”, “vigorous storytelling” and the “social realism” in his best work. Film critic Roger Ebert described him as having been “one of the finest craftsmen and warmest humanitarians among all film directors.” Lumet was also known as an “actor’s director,” having worked with the best of them during his career, probably more than “any other director.”
Lumet began his career as an Off-Broadway director, then became a highly efficient TV director. His first movie was typical of his best work: a well-acted, tightly written, deeply considered “problem picture,” 12 Angry Men (1957). From that point on Lumet divided his energies among other idealistic problem pictures along with literate adaptations of plays and novels, big stylish pictures, New York-based black comedies, and realistic crime dramas, including Serpico and Prince of the City. As a result of directing 12 Angry Men, he was also responsible for leading the first wave of directors who made a successful transition from TV to movies. In 2005, Lumet received an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement for his “brilliant services to screenwriters, performers, and the art of the motion picture.” Two years later, he concluded his career with the acclaimed drama Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007).
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Sidney Lumet Biography / Wiki
Name | Sidney Lumet |
Also Know | |
Gender | Male |
Known For | Directing |
Place of Birth | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
Date of Birth | 1924-06-25 |
Age(as in 2022) | 86 |
Deathday | 2011-04-09 |
Sidney Lumet Acting Movies
Movie Name | Character | Release Date | Overview |
By Sidney Lumet | Self | 2015-07-13 | An analysis of director Sidney Lumet’s work (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead) in his own words, based on a five-da… |
The Making of ‘Network’ | 2006-02-28 | An engrossing feature length documentary. This piece offers a really excellent background piece on Chayefsky which is invaluable in helping to underst… | |
Directed by Sidney Lumet: How the Devil Was Made | 2008-04-15 | An involved behind-the-scenes documentary that focuses on the High Definition cameras used for the movie as well as intimate interviews with the cast … | |
Revisiting ‘Fail-Safe’ | 2000-10-31 | Documentary featuring interviews with director Sidney Lumet, Fail-Safe (2000) producer George Clooney, star Dan O’Herlihy and screenwriter Walter Be… | |
The Sun… the Sand… the Hill | Himself | 1965-07-01 | Promotional film depicting the production and Cannes premiere of the Sidney Lumet film “The Hill.”… |
The Making of Tootsie | Interviewee | 1982-01-01 | Behind-the-scenes documentary on the set of Sydney Pollack’s 1982 film “Tootsie.”… |
Wiz on Down the Road | Self – Director | 1978-01-01 | A short promotional film on the making of “The Wiz†(1978). Includes a brief history of Oz portrayals in film and behind the scenes interviews…. |
The Making of Dog Day Afternoon | 2006-02-28 | Chronicling the making of Dog Day Afternoon… | |
One Third of a Nation | Joey Rogers | 1939-02-10 | The negligent owner of a tenement slum becomes romantically involved with one of the building’s residents. Future film director Sidney Lumet plays a k… |
The 400 Million | Additional Voice (voice) | 1939-03-07 | The 400 million people of China are heirs to a great civilization, as their pagodas and stone lions can attest. But they are under attack from the Jap… |
Prince of the City: The Real Story | 2007-01-01 | The true story behind the Prince of the City…. | |
The Education of Gore Vidal | Himself | 2003-06-30 | A contrarian and wickedly funny man, “The Education of Gore Vidal” explores Vidal’s extraordinary life and work, joining him at his cliff-side villa i… |
Inside: ‘Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb’ | Himself – Director, ‘Fail Safe’ | 2000-05-05 | A documentary on the making of Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1964 film…. |
Anthony Perkins: A Life in the Shadows | Self | 1999-01-11 | The life of legendary actor Anthony Perkins is recounted by friends and family, colleagues and co-stars, revealing the man underneath Norman Bates…. |
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Making ’12 Angry Men’ | Himself | 2008-03-04 | A making of featurette of 12 Angry Men made exclusively for the Collector’s Edition DVD…. |
Making “Murder On The Orient Express” | 2004-09-07 | This featurette takes a closer look at the production history of Murder on the Orient Express. Included in it are clips from archival interviews with … | |
Fonda on Fonda | Self | 1992-01-13 | Jane Fonda hosts a tribute to her father…. |
The Tramp and the Dictator | Self (uncredited) | 2002-02-14 | A look at the parallel lives of Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler and how they crossed with the creation of the film “The Great Dictator,†released… |
Eugene O’Neill: A Documentary Film | Self | 2006-03-27 | Eugene O’Neill tells the haunting story of the life and work of America’s greatest and only Nobel Prize-winning playwright — set within the context o… |
Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust | 2004-01-01 | Daniel Anker’s 90-minute documentary takes on over 60 years of a very complex subject: Hollywood’s complicated, often contradictory relationship w… | |
I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale | Himself | 2009-01-16 | John Cazale was in only five films – The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather – Part Two, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter – each was nomin… |
A Decade Under the Influence | Self | 2003-04-25 | A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today’s best filmmakers interview the influential direc… |
Intimate Portrait: Sean Connery | Self | 2002-10-18 | Oscar-winning actor Sean Connery is profiled in this segment of “Intimate Portrait.” Includes film clips, never-before-seen photos and interviews with… |
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story | Himself | 2008-05-15 | Jack L. Warner, Harry Warner, Albert Warner and Sam Warner were siblings who were born in Poland and emigrated to Canada near the turn of the century…. |
The Manchurian Candidate | Political Pundit | 2004-07-30 | Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow s… |
Night Of 100 Stars III | Self | 1990-05-21 | A celebrity benefit for The Actors’ Fund of America, featuring music, songs, dance and comedy…. |
And the Oscar Goes To… | Self (archive footage) | 2014-02-01 | The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry’s most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO… traces the history of the Academy … |
Sidney Lumet Directing Movies
Movie Name | Job | Release Date | Overview |
Fail Safe | Director | 1964-10-07 | Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little t… |
Family Business | Director | 1989-12-06 | Jessie is an aging career criminal who has been in more jails, fights, schemes, and lineups than just about anyone else. His son Vito, while currently… |
Murder on the Orient Express | Director | 1974-11-22 | In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before…. |
Network | Director | 1976-11-14 | When veteran anchorman Howard Beale is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to viewers that he will kill himself during … |
Guilty as Sin | Director | 1993-06-04 | Before a criminal lawyer knows what has happened, she is forced to defend a wife killer she knows is guilty…. |
The Pawnbroker | Director | 1965-04-20 | A Jewish pawnbroker, a victim of Nazi persecution, loses all faith in his fellow man until he realizes too late the tragedy of his actions…. |
The Anderson Tapes | Director | 1971-06-17 | Thief Duke Anderson—just released from ten years in jail—takes up with his old girlfriend in her posh apartment block, and makes plans to rob the … |
The Verdict | Director | 1982-12-08 | Frank Galvin is a down-on-his-luck lawyer and reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing, when a former associate reminds him of his obligations in a m… |
Q & A | Director | 1990-04-27 | A young district attorney seeking to prove a case against a corrupt police detective encounters a former lover and her new protector, a crime boss who… |
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead | Director | 2007-09-26 | When two brothers organize the robbery of their parents’ jewelry store, the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that send them and … |
The Hill | Director | 1965-06-17 | North Africa, World War II. British soldiers on the brink of collapse push beyond endurance to struggle up a brutal incline. It’s not a military objec… |
The Morning After | Director | 1986-12-25 | Failed actress Alex Sternbergen wakes up hungover one morning in an apartment she does not recognize, unable to remember the previous evening — and w… |
The Wiz | Director | 1978-10-24 | Dorothy Gale, a shy kindergarten teacher, is swept away to the magic land of Oz where she embarks on a quest to return home…. |
Prince of the City | Director | 1981-08-19 | New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice help eliminate corruption in the police department, as lo… |
Serpico | Director | 1973-12-18 | Frank Serpico is an idealistic New York City cop who refuses to take bribes, unlike the rest of the force. His actions get Frank shunned by the other … |
The Offence | Director | 1973-01-11 | A burned-out British police detective finally snaps while interrogating a suspected child molester…. |
Find Me Guilty | Director | 2006-03-16 | Based on the true story of Jack DiNorscio, a mobster who defended himself in court for what would be the longest mafia trial in U.S. history…. |
A Stranger Among Us | Director | 1992-07-17 | Detective Emily Eden is a tough New York City cop forced to go undercover to solve a puzzling murder. Her search for the truth takes her into a secret… |
Strip Search | Director | 2004-04-27 | Strip Search follows several parallel stories examining personal freedoms vs. national security in the aftermath of 9/11; two main subplots involve an… |
The Deadly Affair | Director | 1966-05-13 | Charles Dobbs is a British secret agent investigating the apparent suicide of Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan. Dobbs suspects that Fennan’s wife… |
Long Day’s Journey Into Night | Director | 1962-10-09 | Over the course of one day in August 1912, the family of retired actor James Tyrone grapples with the morphine addiction of his wife Mary, the illness… |
Equus | Director | 1977-10-16 | A psychiatrist, Martin Dysart, investigates the savage blinding of six horses with a metal spike in a stable in Hampshire, England. The atrocity was c… |
Critical Care | Director | 1997-10-31 | Werner Ernst is a young hospital resident who becomes embroiled in a legal battle between two half-sisters who are fighting over the care of their com… |
Gloria | Director | 1999-01-22 | Sharon Stone plays a street-wise, middle-aged moll standing up against the mobs, all of which is complicated by a 6 year old urchin with a will of his… |
Night Falls on Manhattan | Director | 1996-10-22 | A newly elected District attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner…. |
Power | Director | 1986-01-31 | Pete St. John is a powerful and successful political consultant, with clients spread around the country. When his long-time friend and client Ohio sen… |
Deathtrap | Director | 1982-03-19 | A Broadway playwright puts murder in his plan to take credit for a student’s script…. |
The Fugitive Kind | Director | 1960-04-14 | Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dy… |
Running on Empty | Director | 1988-09-09 | The Popes are a family who haven’t been able to use their real identity for years. In the late sixties, the parents set a weapons lab afire in an effo… |
Child’s Play | Director | 1972-12-12 | At an exclusive boys’ school, a new gym teacher is drawn into a feud between two older instructors, and he discovers that everything at the school is … |
Bye Bye Braverman | Director | 1968-02-21 | One day, Morroe Rieff learns that his friend and fellow writer, Leslie Braverman, has died. After meeting Leslie’s widow, Inez, who is more flirtatiou… |
Daniel | Director | 1983-08-26 | The fictionalized story of Daniel, the son of Paul and Rochelle Isaacson, who were executed as Soviet spies in the 1950s. As a graduate student in New… |
The Group | Director | 1966-03-04 | It’s 1933, and eight young women are friends and members of the upper- class group at a private girl’s school, about to graduate and start their own l… |
The Appointment | Director | 1969-05-22 | The lawyer Federico Fendi has reasons to believe that his wife Carla in secret is Rome’s highest paid prostitute…. |
Garbo Talks | Director | 1984-10-12 | When New York accountant Gilbert Rolfe finds out his mother has a brain tumor, he is devastated. His incorrigible mother, Estelle, has one last wish: … |
Stage Struck | Director | 1958-04-22 | A young woman arrives in New York City determined to become a great theatrical star, but discovers that her goal may not be as easily attainable as sh… |
A View from the Bridge | Director | 1962-01-19 | Eddie Carbone, a Brooklyn longshoreman is unhappily married to Beatrice and unconsciously in love with Catherine, the niece that they have raised from… |
Just Tell Me What You Want | Director | 1980-01-18 | A television producer woman tries to let down her overbearing boyfriend who is her boss. She wants to marry with a young writer…. |
The Sea Gull | Director | 1968-12-23 | Film adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s story of life in rural Russia during the latter part of the 19th century…. |
Lovin’ Molly | Director | 1974-04-14 | Spanning nearly 40 years from 1925 to 1964, two Texas farm boys; straight-arrow Gid and laid-back Johnny fight over the affections of the beautiful an… |
That Kind of Woman | Director | 1959-09-11 | A young G.I. falls in love with a kept woman on a train to New York…. |
Last of the Mobile Hot Shots | Director | 1970-01-02 | A new bride gets caught between her decadent husband and his black half-brother…. |
Three Plays by Tennessee Williams | Director | 1958-04-15 | A presentation of Tennessee Williams’ three one-act plays: “Moony’s Kid Don’t Cry”, “The Last of My Solid Gold Watches”, and “This Property Is Condemn… |
The Iceman Cometh | Director | 1960-11-14 | Theodore Hickman, a hardware salesman, makes by-yearly visits to Harry Hope’s 1910-era waterfront bar for his periodical drinking binges. But on this … |
King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis | Director | 1970-03-24 | Constructed from a wealth of archival footage, the documentary follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1955 to 1968, in his rise from regional activi… |
Tragedy in a Temporary Town | Director | 1956-02-19 | Fifteen-year-old girl Dotty Fisher is assaulted at a construction camp. In the wake of this incident, the construction workers form a vigilante group … |
The Dybbuk | Director | 1960-10-03 | The Dybbuk is a made for TV film adaptation of a classic Jewish folktale. The story is about a young Jewish man, Sender (Theodore Bikel) who loves a y… |
12 Angry Men | Director | 1957-04-10 | The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of m… |
Dog Day Afternoon | Director | 1975-08-01 | Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturale. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turn… |
Crime in the Streets | Director | 1955-03-08 | Frankie Dane is the leader of a teenage gang, the Hornets. The gang makes trouble for people in the neighborhood, but Frankie carries a darker nature,… |
The Challenge | Director | 1955-01-01 | A school bus driver (Jack Warden) is fired by the local school board when he refuses to sign a loyalty oath. This was a pilot for a proposed anthology… |
Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates | Director | 1958-02-09 | In Holland, poor but industrious and honorable 15-year-old Hans Brinker and his younger sister yearn to participate in December’s great ice skating ra… |
No Room | Director | 1953-04-14 | Story of a brother who thwarts his kinsman’s safe-cracking attempt…. |
Director | An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC…. | ||
Director | Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The long… | ||
Director | The Best of Broadway is a 60-minute television anthology series telecast live on CBS from 1954 to 1955 for a total of 9 episodes…. | ||
Director | 100 Centre Street is an American legal drama created by Sidney Lumet and starring Alan Arkin, Val Avery, Bobby Cannavale, Joel de la Fuente and Paula … | ||
Director | The United States Steel Hour is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radi… | ||
Director | Producers’ Showcase is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, th… | ||
Director | This syndicated anthology series staged a different play every week covering all genres, dramas, comedies, musicals, fantasies, mysteries, et al, util… | ||
Director | The Goodyear Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the “Golden Age of Television… | ||
Director | The Alcoa Hour is an American anthology television series that was aired live on NBC from 1955 to 1957. The series was sponsored by Alcoa…. | ||
Director | DuPont Show of the Month is an acclaimed 90-minute television anthology series that aired monthly on CBS from 1957 to 1961. The DuPont Company also sp… | ||
Director | A drama series that ran every other week, attracted top notch actors and actresses, and was broadcast from New York City…. | ||
Sidney Lumet Production Movies
Movie Name | Job | Release Date | Overview |
Fail Safe | Executive Producer | 1964-10-07 | Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little t… |
The Deadly Affair | Producer | 1966-05-13 | Charles Dobbs is a British secret agent investigating the apparent suicide of Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan. Dobbs suspects that Fennan’s wife… |
Critical Care | Producer | 1997-10-31 | Werner Ernst is a young hospital resident who becomes embroiled in a legal battle between two half-sisters who are fighting over the care of their com… |
Bye Bye Braverman | Producer | 1968-02-21 | One day, Morroe Rieff learns that his friend and fellow writer, Leslie Braverman, has died. After meeting Leslie’s widow, Inez, who is more flirtatiou… |
Last of the Mobile Hot Shots | Producer | 1970-01-02 | A new bride gets caught between her decadent husband and his black half-brother…. |
The Sea Gull | Producer | 1968-12-23 | Film adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s story of life in rural Russia during the latter part of the 19th century…. |
Daniel | Executive Producer | 1983-08-26 | The fictionalized story of Daniel, the son of Paul and Rochelle Isaacson, who were executed as Soviet spies in the 1950s. As a graduate student in New… |
Just Tell Me What You Want | Producer | 1980-01-18 | A television producer woman tries to let down her overbearing boyfriend who is her boss. She wants to marry with a young writer…. |
Writing
Movie Name | Job | Release Date | Overview |
Q & A | Screenplay | 1990-04-27 | A young district attorney seeking to prove a case against a corrupt police detective encounters a former lover and her new protector, a crime boss who… |
Prince of the City | Screenplay | 1981-08-19 | New York City detective Daniel Ciello agrees to help the United States Department of Justice help eliminate corruption in the police department, as lo… |
Find Me Guilty | Author | 2006-03-16 | Based on the true story of Jack DiNorscio, a mobster who defended himself in court for what would be the longest mafia trial in U.S. history…. |
Find Me Guilty | Screenplay | 2006-03-16 | Based on the true story of Jack DiNorscio, a mobster who defended himself in court for what would be the longest mafia trial in U.S. history…. |
Night Falls on Manhattan | Screenplay | 1996-10-22 | A newly elected District attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner…. |
Credit: TMDB
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