Inherit The Wind

Inherit the Wind is about the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, which pitted Darwin's theory of evolution against creationism in court. Spencer Tracy and Fredric March play Henry Drummond and Matthew Harrison Brady, characters based on the real-life court opponents Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. It is unbelievable that almost 50 years later (the movie was made in 1960), and more than 80 years after the Scopes trial, this debate is still waged in some sectors of society. I understand that according to a recent poll more than 35% of Americans believe that "God created man more or less in his current form some time in the last 10,000 years" and more than 50% doubt that man evolved from other species. Now you may think that this type of belief is only possible in the realm of the slack-jawed yokel, but 50% of Americans is quite a lot of yokels. The film really gets going in the impassioned court room arguments between the two men. Its a fascinating examination of how religion stacks up against scientific fact and the emotion evoked by the debate. Excellent performances all round.