Inherit The Wind (1960)

Starring: Spencer Tracy, Gene Kelly, & Fredric March

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I don't watch a lot of old movies, because I can't stand over-acting. Some of the legends of early film were notorious over-actors, and in my opinion, it made a lot of these early films unwatchable. In the case of Inherit The Wind, an over-actor meets one of Hollywood's all-time greats, head to head in the courtroom, and the result is pure gold. Based on the famous 1925 Scopes trial, and the 1955 novel, Inherit The Wind follows a courtroom trial, in a small town, that gripped the nation. The accused, Bertram Cates, has done the unthinkable, taught the theory of evolution to a high school class in the deep south. The trial is not the issue, neither is the slap on the wrist punishment, what's at stake here is the right to teach information that contradicts the bible. With the case gaining national attention, two world renown lawyers come to argue the case. In real life, those were Clarence Darrow and former Presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan. The legendary, Spencer Tracy portrays Darrow, in one of his best known performances. As Darrow, Tracy is witty, but at the same time, whole-heatedly behind his belief in the U.S. Constitution, and he argues with a passion that is rarely seen in the films of today. Tracy is paired with notorious over-actor, Fredric March, who plays his opposing counsel. March was so over the top to the point of being ridiculous, but when paired with the fervent defense presented by Tracy, it's the perfect dynamic. The film is simply about a trial, that doesn't even result in life or death, it's a fairly boring concept, but what makes the film the classic that it is, was the chemistry between Tracy and March. Seldom, if ever, have I seen two actors with completely different styles, play so well off one another. In the rarest of cases, Inherit The Wind was not entertaining for the story, theme, or elements, the fun lies in watching Tracy and March go at it in a way that you may never see again, and that's why I highly recommend this classic.