Review of Inherit the Wind (1960) by Bradley P — 06 Nov 2011

A Tennessee teacher violates a law against teaching evolution.

What is most remarkable about Inherit the Wind is its progressive politics, which are on full display, demonizing, in some cases, the blindly religious and valorizing those on the side of evolution. People march in unison, singing "That Old Time Religion," and the preacher's anti-evolution speech is lit in dark tones, like we're listening to the film's villain. Inherit the Wind doesn't "teach the controversy;" it takes a clear side. Obviously, I'm in line with the film's politics, but I was glad that the film didn't take the easy way out, equating all who believe in creationism with hypocrisy and foolishness; there are a few reasons to like Brady, the prosecutor, and even if one can't like him, one can at least find him pitiable.

I also liked Gene Kelly's performance. He delivers quick, scathing one-liners like a dance step:

"Woman: I know where you can find a nice, comfortable bed.

Kelly's character: I had a nice comfortable bed, and I left it to come here.".

What bothered me about this film were the trial scenes. Everything seemed over-the-top, staged, like the lawyers were more concentrated on sounding like skilled rhetors than proving their respective case. Such theatrics, including the defense attorney breaking into a long speech about individual freedom during questioning and the prosecutor addressing the crowd like a cheerleader instead of the jury, seem more common in courtroom movies than in the courtroom. The result is a lack of verisimilitude and, for me, a conscious realization that I was watching actors, not lawyers.

Overall, there's a lot to like about this important film, but I think that the filmmakers took too many liberties with reality.