Procès de singe

This film - about the 'Monkey trial' of a teacher who supported the theory of evolution over the teachings of the Bible - has two great reasons for watching it. Spencer Tracy and Fredric March. Together or apart, they are as wonderful as ever. The film has great pace and energy and there is never a dull moment. Simply a joy to watch.

This movie is made by the performances. The material is very good, but at time its a bit melodramatic and obvious, which is the way the play is. Were it not for the collision of Spencer Tracy and Frederick March this would be just an excellent Hollywood film instead of the classic that it is.

I would be tempted to say that all you need is a basic knowledge of the plot and the ability to jump straight to the court room scenes, but that would be unfair. Watch the movie once and then after that you can simply watch the fireworks.

What can I say about the battle between Tracy and March? Nothing. Words fail me. This is one of the great battles on screen in any film. It should be seen by anyone who wants to see how "easy" acting should appear. All the more important is the fact that this is a battle of ideas that still matter today as much as then. If only all of the world's problem could be debated this perfectly we'd live in a happier place.

See this movie.

People like to comment on this film's "overacting". Try watching any of Joan Crawford's movies from this period and then get back to me. Inherit the Wind is a totally compelling story of the traditional school of thought versus a new scientific one. It centers on a small southern town coming to terms with Darwinism and its implications on Christianity. Spencer Tracy is an eloquent defense lawyer fighting to let evolution stay in the public schools. The script is quite good. The court room exchanges are thought provoking and moving especially when one knows about the real people and events behind the story. It's very difficult to come up with a criticism here. Not a weak performance to be seen.

Too bad the battle over evolution still seethes in certain parts of the country, which means the movie still has topicality. This earnest version of the famous Scopes trial recounts that milestone event Stanley Kramer style, which means the message comes through loud and clear. It's an actor's hothouse, two hours of dialog with little action except for the marching mobs. Tracy wisely low-keys it much of the time while March, unfortunately, sometimes borders on loud-mouth parody. At the same time, Kelly manages the professional cynic in amiable style. And I really like York as the skinny, slightly befuddled teacher whose dedication to science in the classroom causes the big ruckus. Then there's the rather plain- faced Donna Anderson (Rachel) shrewdly cast as Cates' (York) girl friend, but more importantly, functions as the town's barometer of opinion.

All in all, there's no doubt whose side the movie's on. At times the backwoods fundamentalists are near caricatures, aggressively smug in their trust in the Bible and loud rejection of science as to humanity's origin. But it's important to note that Drummond's (Tracy) basically arguing for freedom of thought and not atheism per-se. Doing the latter would, of course, have spelled box-office doom. Still, it was pretty gutsy of Kramer to take on biblical literalism, even in 1960. In fact, Drummond's religious views are never made clear, though Kramer has him add the Bible to Darwin's tome as the movie closes.

I think it's fair to say that the movie takes a basically liberal position toward religion and reason, rejecting only that which cannot stand up to science. All in all, it's a histrionic powerhouse that at times fairly crackles with emotional give and take in an epic cultural clash.

This movie is well acted both March and Tracy perform remarkably. The story line depicts how ignorance and blind faith can generate a mob mentality. It beautifully reflects the social values of the time and depicts very well the attitudes of the time in which the movie was set. Like 12 angry men, it has simple sets and gives hope to the notion that not only can movies be educational and entertaining, there are producers that care about making a meaningful statement using a plot and acting to entertain.