Inherit the Wind

Genre: social and political drama
Director: Stanley Kramer
Release: 1960
Studio: Lomitas Prodns, United Artists
Rating: PG
MBiS score: 7.5/10


A Classroom Lesson stirs up Passions in Court


There had to be a showdown one day in contentious America but few knew it would happen in a quaint Tennessee town named Dayton. When John T. Scopes wilfully spoke to his students about Darwin’s theories, he was quickly arrested and accused of immoral behaviour. The incident led to the infamous « Monkey Trial » of 1925 on which INHERIT THE WIND is largely based.

As you will see in the movie, the trial caused a ruckus reminiscent of today’s legal circuses. Imagine a full-blown media frenzy (with radio play-by-play), a swarm of fast buck artists, public protests, private quarrels and the intervention of two high-profile advocates arguing for or against the Bible and evolution. All of this is splendidly captured in Stanley Kramer’s vivid and idealistic film and played out with gusto by a stellar cast including Fredric March and Spencer Tracy as former friends and duelling lawyers, Gene Kelly as a cynical newshound and Dick York (of Bewitched fame) as Bertram Cates, the embattled teacher.

Truth be told, there is something for everyone here, so much so that INHERIT THE WIND is both admirable and exhausting. On the one hand, its emphasis on heavy drama, a jam-packed script, relentless courtroom discussions and rather unsympathetic characters may turn you off. On the other, can we reject a movie so committed to defending freedom of expression and independent thought? It seems impossible to do so. As INHERIT THE WIND emphatically shows, no society grows without vigorous debate even though this process can be mind-numbing at times. Paralysis comes easily, progress involves pain. And although the subject matter of Kramer's film is old news indeed, it still applies every time someone seeks refuge in warped science or misappropriated religion to further arguments that are devoid of reason or common decency.

A score of 7.5 out of 10 would fairly reflect the value of this respectable film. You may pass on it but, in this mixed-up world of ours, seeing it will steel you against some of the shenanigans going on today. We all need a lesson once in a while.


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