Review of Inherit the Wind (1960) by Christopher M — 08 Dec 2007

Here we have one of the all-time great court dramas adapted into a powerful, stirring film starring Spencer Tracy and Fredric March. As play adaptations go you can't do much better. Inherit The Wind details an actual case from 1925 which put a Southern school teacher on trial for teaching his students the theory of evolution (there being a law against it).

The whole town is drawn into a rabid frenzy as two great, legendary lawyers come to town: Matthew Harrison Brady, a boisterous, bloated religious fanatic, to prosecute, and Henry Drummond, an almost enigmatic Northern lawyer, to defend the young teacher.

The film that ensues, an adaptation of a well-established American play, is a magnificent and rousing legal drama that belongs in the books right next to 12 Angry Men, which was also based on a classic American play.

What's interesting about Inherit The Wind, and what separates it from most other court dramas, is that the trial is not over a typical "dramatic" crime like murder but a crime based on the ability of a man to express his own thoughts, which becomes a larger case about the basic question of how far can one take the words of the Christian bible (or any religious text for that matter) without reconciling it with the real world.

It's an intriguing question resulting in an intriguing film which features two absolute heavyweight acting performances from Tracy and March. And their battle is just as powerful and thought provoking as that of Henry Fonda and Lee J.

Cobb in 12 Angry Men. This is an immense American classic not to be missed.