Click here to copy URL

Inherit the Wind

7.5

4,165

Ratings

Add to lists

where to watch

Pro reviews

Links

1 Related Movies

Related to:

Inherit the Wind (TV)

Original title

Inherit the Wind

Year

1960

Running time

127 min.

Country

United States

Director

Stanley Kramer

Screenwriter

Harold Jacob Smith, Nedrick Young. Theater: Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee

Cast

Music

Ernest Gold

Cinematography

Ernest Laszlo (B&W)

Producer

United Artists, Stanley Kramer Productions

Genre

Drama | Courtroom Drama / Lawyers. 1920s. Education. Religion. Based on a true story

Synopsis

Teacher B.T. Cates is arrested for teaching Darwin's theories. Famous lawyer Henry Drummond defends him; fundamentalist politician Matthew Brady prosecutes. This is a very thinly disguised rendition of the 1925 "Scopes monkey trial" with debates between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan taken largely from the transcripts.

Rankings Position

#36 Best Movies Based on a True Story

Awards: 1960: 4 Nominations for Oscar: Actor (Tracy), Cinematography B&W, Editing, adap. screenplay

1960: Golden Globes: 2 Nominations, including Best Film - Drama

1960: Berlin Film Festival: Silver Bear - Best Actor (Fredric March)

1960: National Board of Review: Top 10 Best Films

1960: BAFTA Awards: 3 Nominations including Best Film

Show all

Critics' reviews

"'Inherit The Wind 'acutely captures the farcical Monkey Trial and offers the awesome talents of two double-Oscar winners, Tracy and March, in their only film together."

TV Guide
"One of the most intelligent, respectable and entertaining motion pictures of this year."

Bosley Crowther: The New York Times
"Spencer Tracy does his cuddly curmudgeon turn as Clarence Darrow; it's a lazy, vague performance, but its wit provides the only crack of light in the film's somber, gray overcast."

Dave Kehr: Chicago Reader
"It is 'Inherit the Wind' among all of Kramer's films that seems most relevant and still generates controversy. (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times
"This is a rousing and fascinating motion picture. Producer-director Stanley Kramer has held the action in tight check"

Variety Staff: Variety
"The case itself had so many dramatic elements that the movie can't help holding our attention, but it's a very crude piece of work, totally lacking in subtlety"

Pauline Kael: The New Yorker
"Tolerably gripping in its old-fashioned way, thanks chiefly to old pro performances from Tracy and March as the rival lawyers and ideologists"

Time Out

Movie Soulmates' ratings: Register so you can access movie recommendations tailored to your movie taste.
Friends' ratings: Register so you can check out ratings by your friends, family members, and like-minded members of the FA community.

Is the synopsis/plot summary missing? Do you want to report a spoiler, error or omission? Please send us a message.
If you are not a registered user please send us an email to [email protected]

All copyrighted material (movie posters, DVD covers, stills, trailers) and trademarks belong to their respective producers and/or distributors.

For US ratings information please visit: www.mpaa.org www.filmratings.com www.parentalguide.org

Inherit the Wind

User history