Inherit the Wind

Title: Inherit the Wind
Year: 1960
Director: Stanley Kramer
Writers: Nedrick Young & Harold Jacob Smith, based on the play by Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee
Starring: Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Dick York
Music: Ernest Gold
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor (Tracy), Best Cinematography (black-and-white) and Best Editing; formerly on IMDb's Top 250
Synopsis: a science teacher is put on trial for teaching evolution
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), May 2008; also in high school
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good).
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for concept, cinematography and special effects/design) c. 2.9/4 (Good).

Based-on-a-true-story courtroom drama around a touchy political issue sounds like a train wreck waiting to happen. Somehow, the train wreck never happens. They manage to keep things charged without ever being offensive, PC or preachy. Presumably this means the characters are real enough that they never come across as the writers' mouthpiece. The characters didn't strike me as interesting while watching it, but I'm sure they must be to blame for the movie working. The quality of the acting is mixed, but Tracy is good, and he's the one that matters. The music in the opening credits is fantastic. I certainly did not appreciate this movie when we watched it in 9th grade.