Review of Inherit The Wind

Introduction

This has as much relevance today as it ever did, so much so that it was adapted a few times for the screen. The starting point for this film was the incredulous 1925 case of Tennessee State versus schoolteacher John Thomas Scopes; he was a high school biology teacher charged with illegally teaching the theory of evolution according to Darwinism, as opposed to teaching Creationism according to The Bible. It`s incredible to believe that such things ever happened, but it did and still does in some American states today.

In the blue corner we have Spencer Tracey as top class lawyer Henry Drummond. He`s defending the teacher`s right to think freely. However, his hands are severely tied by the right-wing Judge and prosecuting team. In the red corner we have Fredric March as the hotshot prosecuting attorney and self-proclaimed Bible expert who loves to play to the spectators as he spouts his Creationism diatribe.

Don`t let me prejudice you with my opinion on this.

Video

Presented with a black & white 1.66:1 letterbox transfer, Inherit the Wind plays and looks fine on a widescreen TV. The black & white image looks good with contrast rendered well. Grey scale too looks good and the film has a good level of detail. Apart from some dirt here and there, there`s nothing wrong with the transfer.

Audio

The mono soundtrack is spread across the front 2-channels and sounds clear. It`s a dialogue heavy film and this sounds nice and clear. There`s a choice of some other European audio tracks too.

Features

Nothing. There`s the usual array of subtitles and foreign language audio.

Conclusion

As films go, Inherit the Wind is an interesting one and having only seen this for the first time I admit that I was intrigued from start to finish. I`m sure I`m not the only one who has heated debates about evolution and the creation of man. While I consider myself interested in religion, I don`t prescribe to the Creationism theory as laid down in The Bible. Try arguing that against the opposition and it`s pointless. The stubbornness and refusal to at least listen and explore alternatives to what they believe is in perfect keeping with this film.

Casting works well for the story with both sides of the argument getting almost equal time with two heavy weight actors. The story here sticks pretty well to the points made in the original legal case and does fall on the idea that evolution should be considered and not outlawed.

While the mere idea of Creationism versus evolution might not be to everyone`s taste, those that have a passing interest may well enjoy watching Tracy and March going at each other.