Inherit the Wind scene, creationism vs. evolution

[@Mordock999]

"Do you ever think about things you DO think about?" No truer words were ever spoken. A brilliant scene from a brilliant movie.

[@jamesfrancese6091]

That one is a direct quote from the actual Scopes transcript (Darrow speaking)

[@richardboettger6761]

So much of the text of this movie is still very valid in today's world.

[@scottmiller6495]

​@@richardboettger6761 The only problem is that most of today's young people (especially here in the U.S.) don't believe in God and think it's only a fable or a myth about who started the world! What is it going to take for them to realize they're wrong? I won't go any further with this but I do believe because it's True!!!!!

[@richardboettger6761]

@@scottmiller6495 That's your opinion and you're entitled to it. I would ask that you try not to foist it on others though because frankly it's none of your business, and a true Christian would not try to force their own ideas off on others.

[@scottmiller6495]

@@richardboettger6761 Ok.

[@susankaesler5516]

Although this was based on the Scopes trial, the authors were very clear that this amazing play is a metaphor for the McCarthy era. On trial is the ability to THINK.

[@bobmcgahey1280]

perhaps the film is--but the real trial had a different agenda William Jennings Bryan was NOT necessarily against evolution. Bryan was a great populist and what he feared about Darwin was eugenics and social darwinism! If you read Darwin you will see the seeds of social darwinism in origin of species.

[@ekathe85]

The error is to pin on Darwin what one should pin on Spencer. Scientific facts do not necessarily dictate human morality.

[@zefallafez]

“Free to think” like a marxist or end up in a gulag or executed.

[@brianforbes8325]

Actually, Bob McGahey, I think Bryan WAS opposed to evolution because for most of his life, he held to a strong fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible. Where the film was incorrect was in the scene where Brady (Frederic March) cites Bishop Usher's determination that God created the earth on a certain date in 4004 B.C. Bryan did not actually cite that in the trial. He probably did oppose Social Darwinism as well, but religion had become central to his public creed by the time of that trial. As for "The Origin of Species" planting the seeds of Social Darwinism, Darwin himself would have been aghast at how his explanation of biological evolution was applied for social, economic, and political purposes. Of course, he did not live to see the full flower of Social Darwinism, because he died in 1882.

[@brianforbes8325]

Actually, Bob, I stand corrected. Bryan DID quote Bishop Ussher (spelled with two s') at the historic trial when Darrow asked him about the date of the Flood. However, I stand by what I wrote previously; Bryan did oppose evolution on religious as well as social and humanitarian grounds.

[@kwebster62]

Fredric March is almost unrecognizable here, but demonstrates his mastery of his craft. Great acting jobs by Tracy and March in this film.

[@friscowolf2917]

Frederic March was my all-time favorite Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the 1931 film. (Coincidentally, ten years later Spencer Tracy played the same role!)

[@Diamondraw4Real]

Yeah I love old movies like this

[@AManOfFocusCommitmentSheerWill]

The energy and the dialogue they presented in their portrayal in this scene at the stage of their lives is Spectacular. Till the end of their days, they were true natural experts of their profession.

[@jamesalexander5623]

4 Best Actor Oscars Between Them!

[@theenglishzzz]

Yes, you are 190,% correct. And I just saw him the other day, in the 1933 comedy ' Design For Living' he was a very good looking. Gentleman with class,. Very likeable.

[@robertmiles1603]

Boy, old actors back then were something else. Look at how they just go right at it. That fire, that passion. Saying words in the script like they're what they mean, right from their own minds, not someone else's hand. And if this was filmed in a southern courthouse in summer with no AC imagine the conditions. Back then this was normal. There's no beating this.

[@richardl772]

Forget the actors for once, what about the scriptwriters……..

[@thomasmayk]

@@richardl772 Forget these actors??!! Are you serious? Yes, the writing of Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee was superb, but it demanded the very strongest of interpretations. Spencer Tracy and Fredric March each thought the other was the greatest actor of their generation. I'd say it was a tie. If you don't know about them, you should familiarize yourself with them and many of their contemporaries at once.

[@robertklose2140]

Fredric March should have gotten an academy award for his role as the fundamentalist Matthew Harrison Brady

[@richardl772]

@@thomasmayk. Suggest you pay attention to the words ‘for once’……

[@bromleysimon7414]

@@robertklose2140 He sure knows how to grumble and fume every time Drummond bests him!

[@bcdside]

@5:34 These are actual quotes from the Scopes Monkey Trial when William Jennings Bryan said, "I do not think about things that I do not think about." And Clarence Darrow responded with: "Do you ever think about things that you do think about?"

[@DongusEddy]

"There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns." Donald Rumsfeld Princeton University grad.

[@RaytheonNublinski]

Zing.

[@toncuz8291]

Tracey was brilliant in this...because he meant every word of it.

[@jamesthompson3099]

@@andrewjohn2124 Both the screenwriters and the playwrights that wrote the original theater play were explicit that this was not historical but simply used the trial as a basis on which to construct a story. It was more a commentary on the McCarthy era.

[@Perrosiutico]

​@@andrewjohn2124 I've known this play since childhood and was lead to think that the play was an accurate, though dramatized, version of the actual events including verbatim lines from the trial transcripts. On returning to examine the transcripts, the play scripts and the actual historic records of the times I have concluded that the play is far more fiction than I had thought. Not withstanding the notable passage that ends with "Do ever think about things you do think about?" Reading the transcripts of the Scopes trial reveals an articulate and well-informed advocate in Bryan and a rather blunt and bigoted adversary in Darrow while H.L. Mencken, the character that was portrayed as E.K. Hornbeck was, in life, just mean and nasty. It was nothing like this electrifying scene performed by Frederick March and Spencer Tracy.

[@padfolio]

Brilliant. So many actors could learn from the intensity of Tracy and March in this scene alone.

[@lilballer3076]

That's the only good acting in this movie everyone else is so fake and obvious

[@matthewmulcahy4402]

Those two actors are giants.

[@WilliamNorrie-c1n]

ACTORS:....... - > YOUR < ASS!---- The MONKEY - SCOPES TRIAL -- 1899! INHERIT the WIND --- 195? TUNE IN --next week -- SAME -- piecea[t]RRUMMPP LLC/INC * TIME -- SAME ____ piecea[t]RRUMMPP CHANNEL!

[@contractmed1]

This is number four on my list of my favorite movies of all time (the highest one that wasn't nominated for Best Picture), and this might be the most intense confrontation in the history of cinema. Spencer Tracy's acting in this scene is one of very few things I have ever seen in a movie that still sends shivers down my spine, and I was initially incredulous when I learned that he lost Best Actor in a Leading Role, until I saw "Elmer Gantry" for myself (which was also an excellent movie, and Burt Lancaster was phenomenal).

[@normanpearson8753]

@@matthewmulcahy4402 Tracy was fabulous in each role .

[@rhowar1]

I had the good fortune to play Henry Drummond in the stage version of Inherit the Wind. It took a while to convince our community theater/college theater director to decide to do it. When we opened we had protesters for and against. We got a lot of bad press, but we were close to being sold out every night of the performance. It was one of my greatest roles. I wish I could do it again. Also, nobody ever figured out that it was a protest against Mcarthyism. We had to explain it.

[@gigiis526]

Gods word as the standard for creation is not Mcartyism but it is merely the absolute truth.

[@gordonbartlett1921]

@@gigiis526 Look -- if you can't keep up, just stay out.

[@donxavier10]

@@gigiis526 you can no more prove that to be true than you can prove the existence of fairies or goblins. You wish to believe in the Bible? That's fine. But don't state something is true that you cannot prove.

[@Diamondraw4Real]

You would have to bc this scene looks like it could be about creationism on trial js

[@brianforbes8325]

rhowar1, I'm glad you got the opportunity to play the role of Drummond. I dream of playing that role. I couldn't have done it when I was younger, but now that I am in Drummond's age range, I believe that I have the gravitas to do it.

[@ralphadamo1857]

I saw this as a child on TV. These performances were unforgettable. Even today, this is, for me, the definitive recorded version of the play. I especially love Frederic March's portrayal of the Brady character. Even though the story calls for Brady to be defeated in this scene, and even though the director's cutaways suggest that the townspeople have lost respect for Brady, March's portrayal is also a sympathetic one. We care about Brady, even though many disagree with him.

[@rhowar1]

Yes. I agree with you.

[@LATVERIAN1]

Actually, what's "forgettable" is the true factual history of the actual trial. You might as well be watching "Mary Poppins" or "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". They're both as much a fantasy as this film. HELLywood's version of Creation vs Evolution.

[@c.a.savage5689]

H. L. Mencken, who covered the trial (character played admirably by Gene Kelly) would beg to disagree. Look up what he wrote about William J. Bryan, obituary the Baltimore Sun, 1925.

[@thomasmayk]

Yes, I have always found that character and Mr March's portrayal of it to be very sympathetic, at times even pitiful. I loved his acting and Spencer Tracy's.

[@normanpearson8753]

@@ralphadamo1857 Well put .

[@theolamp5312]

Even now, we are so many years later, graced by the presence of 2 of the greatest actors in film history. That is the magic and persistence of film.

[@niuchemist]

That is an incredible line: "Mr, you can conquer the air! But the birds will lose their wonder and the clouds will smell of gasoline!"

[@kevincooper4912]

One of favorites too

[@richardboettger6761]

The writing, cast and acting is top notch in this film, especially between the principle actors. There isn't a bad line between them.

[@glennkramer2922]

One of the all time great movies

[@TylerDWard]

Such a great philosophical idea. It’s coming back around today with the invention of AI.

[@richardboettger6761]

@@TylerDWard AI scares the hell out of me, particularly in its current form! But let's face it the criminal faction and there will always be a criminal faction will certainly take advantage of it in every possible way. The speed of technology has far exceeded human evolution.

[@westxlcr]

This is one of the most underrated movies in existence! :D What a powerful scene!!

[@kevinkilduff2064]

Some of the best acting you'll see by two of the best actors ever to grace a movie set. This is truly one of the great movies and should be recognized as such.

[@Rick-mx5kh]

March was no slouch, either. This is one of my favorite movies...because of these two acting titans.

[@scottmiller6495]

I totally agree, Inherit the Wind should have won Best Picture of 1960, it wasn't even mentioned or nominated in the awards ceremony, it is much better than Elmer Gantry! Spencer Tracy deserved an Oscar for his performance, again not even mentioned, what was the academy thinking that year? Are you kidding me!!!!!

[@kevinkilduff2064]

Absolutely agree, Scott!@@scottmiller6495

[@Philbert-s2c]

@@scottmiller6495 This is probably my favorite film of all time but in defense of "Elmer Gantry" it's a truly great film as well.

[@gunterangel]

​​@@scottmiller6495 In fact the movie was nominated for four Oscars : Spencer Tracy for best actor, best b&w cinematography, best editing and best screenplay after a source. Tracy was also nominated for a Golden Globe. Both Tracy and March were nominated for BAFTAAs. And Fredric March won the 'Silver Bear' for best actor at the Berlin film festival. So the movie was considerably recognized actually.

[@mikek5958]

"Is it possible that something is holy to the celebrated agnostic?" "Yes! The individual human mind."

[@collinbarry-kamp4146]

Mike K Spencer Tracy’s delivery gives me goosebumps every time I hear him say it

[@mikek5958]

@@collinbarry-kamp4146 Me too. One of my all-time favorite scenes in one of my all-time favorite movies.

[@collinbarry-kamp4146]

Mike K Nice dude! It’s my all time favorite movie!

[@gigiis526]

The mind may be amazing but that is because God created it! But it is far from holy. There is only one that is holy and that is triune Lord

[@gordonbartlett1921]

@@gigiis526 And just what is "triune" Lord? Apparently, Christians don't spell check.

[@ChristianF15cher]

"An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral. And the advance of man's knowledge is a greater miracle than all the sticks turned to snakes thru the parting of the waters." As true then as it is now.

[@xtzyshuadog]

timeless, would you say?

[@puppyofpurgatory9041]

Kurt Vonnegut said that Voltaire was the secular version of Abraham. So I guess Clarence Darrow was Samuel. Or maybe Nehemiah.

[@PeterDB90]

Idea greater monument than a cathedral? True. The advance of man's knowledge a greater miracle than all the sticks turned to snakes thru the parting of the waters? Now that's debatable. Advancements of man are truly amazing, but if a man raised his arms above a sea and asked God to part waters for him and all the waters of the sea parted before him, even Einstein would shit his pants.

[@gigiis526]

@@PeterDB90 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 9:10

[@gordonbartlett1921]

@@PeterDB90 Wrong. At least the second part. The sticks turned to snakes, etc. is mythology. The advance of Man's knowledge is not.

[@nyterpfan]

What is really on trial is the ability to THINK and INQUIRE FREELY!! (ANY belief system that doesn't allow an individual to do this is a belief system to run as far away from as possible!!) Incredible scene from an incredible film. The themes are timeless!!

[@tbirdguy1]

100% This. IF your belief system is so weak that it must extinguish the abilities of other human being to think for themselves, it is something to get out of as fast as you can.

[@dexterlang1403]

Why this didn't make it to the top 100 movies is a travesty

[@araymond1able]

Still top 250. If I had 100 movies to watch I probably would pick it. I have it on DVR. It is one that grabs your attention.

[@quantummusicde]

Too many downvotes from christans

[@normanpearson8753]

@@quantummusicde If this thread was Brits only , it wouldn't be tainted with tiresome teligious comments .

[@malafakka8530]

Because even top 100 will never be possible because there a lot more than 100 best movies. You can't fit them all in.

[@kevinnazario1015]

One of the finest example of acting. One of the best movies ever made. Still relevant in 2022. Perhaps even more today that when it was made.

[@brianforbes8325]

"Is that the way of things?! Is that the way of things?!". ....."Brady, Brady, Brady almighty!" What an intense performance by Spencer Tracy. Frederic March was outstanding too.

[@westxlcr]

“The Bible is a book. It’s a good book, but it is not the only book.” Probably my favorite line from the film and one I’ve quoted many times.

[@carealoo744]

Except it's not a good book.

[@nyterpfan]

@@carealoo744 Greatest quote I've ever seen about the Bible was spoken by none other than Malcolm X, who said: "The one thing I know about the Bible is that most people don't know how to read it." THAT is 100% spot-on truth!!

[@tellmo25]

"not the only book"... truth in that might still be found on what others have beared witness to. Reveling all things through nature is another language not yet entirely discovered. What a conversation that would be.

[@gregorymoore2877]

@@carealoo744 Except it's actually the written word of God.

[@mendonburns-gilbert1642]

My thoughts exactly. Poorly written and laid out.

[@LicardoDeBousee]

I live in Chattanooga, TN, maybe one hour from Dayton (Rhea County) where the Scopes-Monkey Trial took place. I went up there for the first time three years ago and it was incredible to see the scene of one of the most pivotal and important court trials in US History. We are now sadly repeating this same history nearly one hundred years later in America in the year 2022… ignoramuses have taken control of certain levels of government (legislatures, governorships, higher-level judiciaries) and are attempting to litter our education systems and laws with intellectual ignorance, fanaticism and theological bigotry instead of logic, reason and empirical objectivity as the framers intended with our secular constitution. If they think they are unopposed in their efforts, they are sorely mistaken. I will stand up to and expose this arrogant, cancerous filth for what it is, an attempt to rid the world of any sense of intellect and trying to bring us back to the Dark Ages… vote, Vote, VOTE!!!

[@waynetaylor8082]

I share your view and am pessimistic about OUR future. Seems to me that as eyewitnesses to history pass away we get ever closer to repeating the past. Today we are subjected to many "stable geniuses", who have studied other "only I can fix it" types. They have history as their playbook and therefore less likely to make the mistakes of a Hitler or Mussolini. The opposition to them is less ruthless and self righteous and unwilling to engage in the manner necessary? I hope I am wrong.

[@maryelaine-blinstrubchambe6083]

Beautifully said! Thank you. And VOTE BLUE! Religion does not have a place in our educational system. 💙💙💙

[@rezzer7918]

Trump '24 🇺🇸🗽🙏💥✊️

[@rezzer7918]

​@@maryelaine-blinstrubchambe6083 don't be such a chump; take control, vote for Trump 🗽🇺🇸

[@twylagauthreaux9153]

Both March and Tracy were awesome!

[@peacehopelovecharity]

Claude Aikens was superb as the overzealous southern preacher who condemned his own daughter. I've seen that play out in real life where a high school classmate had her preacher father say she was dead and going to hell.

[@eponymousk]

Ah, this is my favorite scene from my favorite movie. I could see it a thousand times and not tire of it.

[@IndyDefense]

They sure don't make em like they used to.

[@deich31]

Only one Spencer Tracy.

[@SheridanJazz]

Same can be said for March. Two old pros at the top of their game!

[@DakariKingMykan]

There was even an Inherit the wind in 1988... seriously botched of this one

[@victorymansions]

So true

[@jayweekes77]

boi

[@Gods2ndFavoriteBassPlyr]

This is one of the greatest movies of this, or any other time... And this is one of the best scenes in any movie, ever. Tracy was beyond brilliant!

[@robertlongwill8856]

GodsFavoriteBassPlyr I agree with you about Spencer Tracy he was probably one of the top five actors ever and Frederik March is just as awesome this was such a brilliant movie and this was a fantastic scene

[@Davedio]

Never before or since has there been any higher mastery of the art of acting as there is on display in the 6 minutes of cinema that was committed to film when this scene was made. Stories of other actors coming to this set from other film productions simply to watch are an indication of how mesmerizing Tracy and March were when they were in their element.

[@robertbuchwald6514]

Two of the finest actors in the world.! Fredric March and Spencer Tracy. It doesn't get any better.

[@tommonk7651]

One of the greatest scenes in movie history and based on the actual transcript. Wow!

[@knightinashes6934]

I'm on the side for evolution but when they talk about the increment time a day is before the sun was created, before translated to English, the word for day in Hebrew was yom. Yom can mean a period of time without specified length.

[@MrWholphin]

The word yom (יום) is used almost exclusively to refer to regular day, similar to how we understand a day. A day according to the Bible is defined in Genesis 1 as a light to dark sequence. In prophetic passages יום is used on occasion to represent a season, such as "the day of the Lord" which is a reference to the time of the apocalypse. But this is nothing indicative of long geological ages. Such a belief is a wishful attempt to harmonise the text with a fully naturalistic interpretation of origins.

[@mars_over]

But as you said in the beggining, "yom is used almost exclusively to refer to regular day". So that means that it could have another interpretation.

[@cs5384]

At the time in Tennessee (my home!) young earth creationism was taught in public school AS SCIENCE and fundamentalist Christians did not want evolution to be taught, as it obviously contradicted their religious belief. Even Scopes initially lost the battle to teach evolution in science class. It was ruled much later again that teaching evolution in science class violated the rights of Christians, who believed every creature was handmade by God less than 12k years ago. So while sure, YOM can mean anything from a blink of the eye to a day to a century, it was the Christians then who insisted it meant solely "day".

[@SiriusMined]

Right, but biblical literalists insist it was 24 earth hours.

[@judsongaiden9878]

Some biblical scholars suggest that a "day" - before there was a way to calculate such a thing - was equivalent to 1,000 years according to how we measure days now.

[@pcarlisi]

"Do you ever think about things that you do think about?" Absolutely sick burn...

[@razgriz501]

Just realized this. Drummond said that in order to understand Darwin, the price was to give up our faith in the "pleasant poetry of Genesis." Of course, Brady jumps to the conclusion that Drummond is advocating atheism, but that's not what Drummond said. What he's saying is that we can no longer take Genesis at face value as a literal account. The difference is there, but subtle.

[@richardgomes5420]

Some people would definitely abandon the poetry of holy books and embrace atheism. However, the vast majority is able to somehow smash Religion and Science together, cherry picking useful or beautiful passages from holy books and disregarding passages they don't find useful, beautiful or relevant. Even professional scientists can be religious people, which tells me that Religion is not driven by rationality or evidence or scientific formalism... definitely not!... but driven by emotions. People resort to Religion due to indoctrination since early age and because Religion can be comforting, serving as an emotional support, or source of hope or even relief from desperation.

[@CptCarlosRuiz]

Like many of the highest educated, truest agnostics or atheists, Drummond would of course have read the Bible. But that's true: I do not think Drummond is even trying to suggest people shouldn't have faith or religion -- only that they have no right to legislate that opposing viewpoints be ILLEGAL. Even to this day, religious right-wing people cannot fathom this concept. All who oppose them must perish, must be burned as heathens and apostates, must die to the glory of their God.

[@tylergannon7398]

@@richardgomes5420 No, there is quite a bit of evidence both historical and Biblical that the Bible wasn’t meant to be taken literally. The reason this isn’t commonly known or accepted is because there have been several Christian leaders and theologians who rejected the notion in favor of a literal interpretation but just like in this trial said Christians can’t answer some of the simplest questions about the very obviously poetic and allegorical language in the Bible.

[@richardgomes5420]

@@tylergannon7398 Can you provide some links to the evidences you mentioned, please? Thanks

[@spikespa5208]

A Book to provide guidance to treating with our fellow humans and perhaps provide solace to the lost. But as a natural history/science text? Not so much.

[@Asasnol21]

The dialogue in this one is out of this world, and both actors work wonders to bring it to life. Literally every line out of Tracy's mouth can be hanged on a wall as banner of human progress. Extend the testaments! Let us have a book of Brady! We shall hex the Pentateuch and fit you in neatly between Numbers and Deuteronomy.

[@smitty0]

I just stumbled upon this and I have had these types of discussions with my parents for the past few years. What an amazing piece.

[@SuaveTito]

I actually read this play for English class sophomore year, and I'm surprised at the number of people that see this play as being a debate of evolution vs. creationism, which may be true of the Scopes trial it was based on. Drummond emphasizes that Cates was on trial because he was thinking for himself, that which the play conveys is a fundamental human right and that which no human on this planet should be arrested and imprisoned for.

[@jorgesegniniaguirre]

Yeah, the problem is, a whole lot of religious people actually considers free thinking as an attack on their belief system. See, if you're dependent on your faith, any suggestion that things might not be the way you believe them to be is a threat. This has always been true for royalty, extremist governments, monetary systems, and so on.

[@Diamondraw4Real]

@@jorgesegniniaguirre orange man too

[@thatperformer3879]

@@jorgesegniniaguirre I’m not Christian, I’m Conservative, and you’re brainwashed. All of you liberals are brainwashed. You voted in vaccine tyranny, called us all Nazis for six straight years, publicly shamed us for our beliefs, burned down cities when you couldn’t have your way, forced pedophile agendas on kindergarteners, and you have the AUDACITY to say you stand for justice? FOH! You’ve been the Nazis all along and the democrats you vote for are openly destroying this country!

[@spikespa5208]

Didn't think for a second there wouldn't be someone dragging _him_ into the comments.

[@aphill2208]

I've seen 3 versions of this movie this to me by far is the best!! Tracey and March killed their roles😊😊

[@anneroy4560]

You cannot go wrong with Mr Tracy ...

[@kyleshiflet9952]

No you can not he's my favorite actor

[@alanfaichney2431]

My favourite Movie of all time, I am 65 and I watched Daniel Day Lewis at his Craft , But for me Spencer Tracy is my all time Great. 📽

[@vincentfisher1603]

I loved March's performance in Hombre. He and Diane Cilento's performances were outstanding.

[@LuxWeaver]

“We’ll ‘hex’ the Pentateuch and slip you in neatly between Numbers and Deuteronomy! The witness is excused.”

[@arthurjeremypearson]

"Is is possible that something is holy to the celebrated agnostic?" And how Drummond growls: "YES!"

[@sosalpha]

Yes Bishop Ussher... The infallible man that nobody is allowed to question. I wish the premise of this story and people's antiscience was fictional however they plague our society.

[@hansstrudel9614]

I like how a devout Protestant such as Mr. Bryan would quote a Catholic Bishop (Which Darrow was a Catholic).

[@friscowolf2917]

@@hansstrudel9614 Actually Ussher was an Archbishop of the Church of Ireland, which was part of the larger Anglican Communion.

[@hansstrudel9614]

@@friscowolf2917 Protestants in Ireland? IMPOSSIBLE

[@jamesalexander5623]

@@hansstrudel9614 Before the Republic .... They had control!

[@Garrett1240]

@@hansstrudel9614 Darrow was agnostic.

[@ustadspencertracy7195]

2:12 The subtle hesitation before he says they must abandon their faith was a nice touch.

[@niyaboyd3805]

My middle school did this play, and I absolutely loved it🤗

[@shoulderkolibri]

Awesome movie. Makes it's point sharply, and show just how an argument backed by knowledge can easily triumph over the erroneous claim of the dogmatic and ignorant.

[@CIVDC]

Its a bit of a shame that William Jennings Bryan is remembered only for the Scopes Trial. He was a hardcore creationist (ironically, less fundamentalist than some modern day creationists), yes. But as a politician, he advocated for the worker's rights, 8 hour workdays, unions, women's rights etc. He was more a champion of the poor than he was radical Christian. Still love this play - I got to play Henry Drummond once on stage.

[@CIVDC]

Also, part of his dislike of evolution came from the prevalence of the idea Social Darwinism during that time period, which misread Darwin in order to justify economic inequalities.

[@david672orford]

@@CIVDC Civic Biology, the textbook at the center of the trial, taught eugenic in one of the two chapters on evolution and heredity. It talk presented the history of the "Jukes" and the "Kallikaks", two families which should not be allowed to breed because too many of them were poor and criminal.

[@Timothy-c4p]

These two actors, Spencer Tracy and Frederic March, have captured one of the most incredible moments in film history. And it’s all done in a simple court room setting with nothing but their words and actions to bring it alive. And make it into something that will last!

[@dovbarleib3256]

Dick York's finest performance too.

[@Zentz29]

pascal's wager assumes that christianity is the only religion in existance. maybe YOU should consider it from the perspective of a different religion. what if YOU are wrong & the muslims, jews or hindus etc are right? pascal's wager fails on EVERY level. do you believe in appolo, anubis, zeus, allah, krishna, shiva, haties etc? of course you don't. an atheist takes it one step further & dosn't believe in yaweh either. pascal's wager isn't relevant to anything...

[@Diamondraw4Real]

Even if you replace Muslim or Hindu for Christian Pascal's wager is pointless

[@tylergannon7398]

You believe in Zeus you just don’t know it.

[@Zentz29]

@@Diamondraw4Real "Even if you replace Muslim or Hindu..." Yeah, that's what I said. Pascal's wager is dumb AF.

[@dionysusNME]

I am a life long atheist and also a huge admirer of the thought and philosophy of Blaise Pascal, who was surprisingly humanistic and even existentialist in his views and inquiries. While his famous Wager is incorrect and indeed can be refuted by applying the same logic to other gods and religions, to call the exercise "dumb AF" betrays an astounding level of ignorance, and lack of free thinking. Defend what you say with an argument of your own when you attack the ideas of those who think deeper than you do, even if, especially if, they are wrong.

[@evoman1776]

Imagine if there was actual film of Clarence Darrow putting William Jennings Bryan on the stand. That would be something to see.

[@rossmcl1776]

I cant imagine it would be any better than this.

[@david672orford]

@@rossmcl1776 The movie version is far more exciting. At the actually trial Bryan just sat there answering what he regarded as stupid questions from Darrow. Darrow got really annoyed when (unlike in the movie) he found out that Bryan did not believe the earth was only 6000 years old.

[@jasonabbott5546]

The Bible is a book. It’s a good book. But it’s not the only book. Two giants acting their behinds off. People who weren’t in the film used to crowd in just to see Tracy and March do their scenes. And off camera applause wrecked many takes. Gene Kelly was awesome, way out of his comfort zone.

[@donschmidt8203]

Davedio's comment on this startling scene is spot on. Never before or since have two actors of such talent been assembled in the same film. Tracy's powerful oratory seems to stretch to the portals of heaven itself. Clarence Darrow might have been envious of such bombastic power. What this true to life movie conveys is the tragedy of empathy in the world. Or rather the lack of it. An inability to comprehend and care for anyone remotely different than ourselves. This primitive mindset is the basis of all prejuduces. All of our wars. I will love my neighbor, so long as he looks, thinks and acts exactly like myself. In so many ways man is as primitive now as the pusillanimous paramecium Darwin claimed we evolved from. There is so much more evolving to do. These two great actors displayed the evils of ignorance in it's most grotesque nature. I cant choose which actor is greater. Call it a split decision. Unlike the theme of this movie. God gave us the power to think. And to love. These words are not mutually exclusive.

[@roscoefoofoo]

Wisely seen and said!

[@wehaveasituation]

Brady ..Brady..Brady...Belichik speaks to Brady, and Brady wins the Super Bowl..again..

[@SheridanJazz]

Probably not the same family, but good one. Cheers!

[@JackJ1957]

"I don't know as I was ever in a community in my life where my religious ideas differed as widely from the great mass as I have found them since I have been in Tennessee. Yet I came here a perfect stranger and I can say what I have said before that I have not found upon any body's part - any citizen here in this town or outside the slightest discourtesy. I have been treated better, kindlier and more hospitably than I fancied would have been the case in the north." Clarence Darrow, 1925

[@whereisrowena]

"I am a man, not a sponge." Love. It.

[@ichimonji1988]

The problem is that the word "better" is useless without standards. The standards are ours, intelligence has allowed us to survive, so we look down on creatures of lesser intelligence, even though they are by no means less survivable, even though they will outlast us by countless thousands of years.

[@thomasmayk]

One of my all time favorite movies. The characters, of course, were based on Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. The writing was brilliant, though some of the courtroom dialog was taken right out of the minutes from the Scopes "monkey" trial itself. Spencer Tracy and Fredric March, the two greatest screen actors of their generation, embodied their roles superbly. In fact, they are so great, it is a humbling experience to watch and listen to them, especially Tracy. My favorite line of his, as Darrow/Drummond (not in this scene): "I want those amens in the record."

[@angus4463]

Clarence was my Great Uncle.. The Darrow family has a long history of debate and fighting for causes

[@JustWasted3HoursHere]

Brady: "I do not think about things I do not think about." Drummond: "Do you think about things that you DO think about?" Two of my favorite lines from this movie. So funny, but the logical arguments from Drummond are awesome. If you haven't seen this movie you should check it out.

[@rossrivero7516]

Spencer Tracy’s greatest moment as an actor

[@robertlongwill8856]

I can't disagree with you. Spencer Tracy is the all time greatest actor along with James Cagney. But a close second is Spencer Tracy's almost 8 minutes soliloquy in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner go on with the late Great Katharine Hepburn

[@rossrivero7516]

@@robertlongwill8856 also his closing monologue in Judgment at Nuremberg

[@robertlongwill8856]

@@rossrivero7516 oh my God yes I haven't seen that movie for years I think I will go try and find it. And thank you for the reminder. Spencer Tracy is one of the greatest actors of all time. He could do everything. And Katharine Hepburn was his equal.

[@rossrivero7516]

@@robertlongwill8856 definitely

[@kyleshiflet9952]

I love how Brady is finally given a taste of his own medicine

[@Davedio]

Master class in acting: March & Tracy at the top of their game. Other productions at the studio visited this set to watch the filming.

[@kl990]

I really want to thank whoever put this clip on youtube. I am doing a project about EVOLUTION VS CRATIONISM, and I am using this clip in my project. Thanks.

[@nobodyaskedbut]

Both are brilliant in this great film. March along with the incomparable Paul Muni created the film acting art form in the early 1930s. Both March and Tracy also played Jekyll & Hyde with March doing it first in a magnificent performance in 1932. Tracy's greatest performance was his essentially one man performance in The Old Man and the Sea (1958).

[@telephilia]

The Tracy version of Jekyll and Hyde suffered from it being made during the reign of the Code and MGM's generally wholesome approach to film making (though it is not without its sinister sexual innuendoes). March's had the advantage of pre-code (and his scenes with Miriam Hopkins are very pre-code) and Paramount's more artsy approach to film making at that time.

[@richardholmes6418]

The acting is downright mesmerizing. March is great but Spencer Tracy might be the greatest actor of all time-he is certainly my favorite.

[@Existantia]

After Brady loses his God-like stature it was amazing to see the vulnerable man underneath. Later, at his house, the way he was almost child-like. "They laughed at me Mother." and he collapses in his wife's arms. I'll admit I shed a tear, but at the same time thought it was weird that he referred to her as "Mother" and she referred to him as "Baby" in that moment.

[@Lyrelia]

@TheCb1010 Pascal's wager is a philosophy of cowards. The only life to live where there is nothing to be lost is one of open-minded consideration and thought. That is certainly not one of the greatest values of religious culture. Why should we believe there is a Heaven, just in case. If God is as religions proclaim, why would he punish me merely for not having faith. Wouldn't being a decent person, despite a lack of divine incentive, be more substantial and sincere than faith 'just in case'?

[@andrewjohn2124]

I don't think you understand the context of Pascal's Wager nor the meaning of it. If you have time please read this short article. www.peterkreeft.com/topics/pascals-wager.htm

[@Appealsman1]

Nice post!!! Very informative and good to see again. This was such a great movie in every way, acting, dialogue and message

[@joernhaese1156]

Stanley Kramer was without a doubt one of the best directors Hollywood ever had. Spencer Tracy's acting is more than remarkable. The topic is an all time classic, it is as actual today as it was hundreds of years ago. Maybe it should be made compulsory in 8th grade school education. Because, what we need in these days are new ideas to move mankind ahead, and out of the misery we face. He is absolutely right: "An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral". .."and a free individual human spirit is the only holy thing on earth"! I rest my case.

[@tr7b410]

When the ego tries to use words to split hairs over dogmas that are not rooted in TRUTH, you get over 2k Christian denominations.

[@robertrettig9483]

Those two great actors make "monkeys" out of all the actors today. Not even close

[@keithferris9574]

It's okay that these two actors can be fantastic masters, and there can be phenomenal actors today. They are not mutually exclusive. There are definitely masters today.

[@jfilmsproductions7289]

Man, this script was so well written!

[@sophistichistory4645]

Spencer Tracy vs. Frederick March Put two acting titans together like this..... ......and "lightning in a mason jar" is sure to happen.

[@ckanowitz]

I always get so emotional at 3:20 when John Stebbins applauds.

[@michaelgarfield9845]

Who gives a shit about the religious aspect. Just watch great actors at work. Actors today are awarded Oscars for much lesser performances.

[@DarthCookieKS]

Michael Garfield Oscar Ńüñêz

[@cenaalan5825]

today actors are rewarded for ability to adjust to special effects. In old days great actor should be a special effect itself.

[@--sql]

I learned how mutations happen during cell replication and what types of changes can occur in the DNA sequence in ninth grade biology. Those questions have well established answers.

[@TheWalter7276]

coming form a guy with a username of poop fingers

[@williamlacey1981]

Two Dr Jekyll’s and Mr Hyde’s unite

[@malcolmjawohowelll2892]

The best script amd amd the finest actor america ever produced the astonishing reality of Spencer Tracy....living the role

[@joelstein4657]

How did we get from this to "special effects" and comic book heroes in movies. I think I'll take a minute to lament the passing of the human brain.

[@OxyMiracle]

"I don't think about things... I don't think about." "Do you ever think about things you do think about?" haha

[@niuchemist]

I absolutely love that line: "Mister, you may conquer the air ... but the birds will lose their wonder and the clouds will smell of gasoline."

[@nakas999]

I LOVE this scene!!!

[@kimberlyphillipssmith7956]

I just bought this movie for our classic movie collection. Fantastic movie.

[@genghiskhan7041]

An acting master class by these two guys. Classic.

[@mastgrr]

Agreed. I love the ending where it clearly says it's possible to believe both in religion and scientific knowledge.

[@smitty1647]

sure, through compartmentalization. if you reject every part of religion that contradicts scientific knowledge you're gonna end up nonreligious

[@edhirt1020]

Which was also the point of Contact (1997). When Jodie Foster the agnostic scientist realizes that, it is one of the most poignant moments on film. Much like this movie …

[@RJBeee91]

@ysbaddaden2003 If you have any evidence to support you claim, then it is a theory. I presume you do not. The evidence as the the origin of the universe is circumstantial, but nevertheless revealing. Is it concrete? No. However it is far more satisfying than the over-used "God did it".

[@Eisenbison]

If it's a claim built around evidence, then it's an hypothesis. It graduates to become a theory if it survives enough rigorous testing that the scientific community can reaffirm its accuracy with a high degree of certainty, having directly tested to see if any central aspect of it is falsifiable.

[@shopwreckin]

"I do not think about things that I do not think about." that's classic!

[@jamesalexander5623]

That seems to be the Mindset of Every Republican in Congress!

[@dexterlang1403]

@@jamesalexander5623 😂

[@mcsaurus]

@musicgurrl32: Inherit the Wind is just a play like Triumph of the Will is just a documentary. I've been through all of this in recent posts. Yes, it's frightening that Tennessee would pass the Butler Act but it's just as frightening that the public mind can be so manipulated by the makers of political art.

[@josephshields2922]

William Jennings Bryant (Brady)was a great populist and Progressive politician who ran 4 times for president. He was in the Cabinet of Woodrow Wilson and fought to keep America out of World War 1. Delivered the famous "Cross of gold Speech" as he campaigned for free Silver. He was Champion of the working man and should be remembered for that instead of the one time he played for the wrong team.

[@nickpaine]

Very true. Bryan was forward looking in his earlier days. This is a great film, but it portrays him as out of touch, which he was by that time. 😊

[@david672orford]

@@nickpaine Contrary to what people claim, this scene is almost entirely fiction. Some of the lines are from the trial transcript, but all the really stupid things which Brady says are pure fiction. Some of them are words which Darrow tried and failed to put in Bryan's mouth. It is Darrow's fantasy version of the exchange.

[@johnmccarron7066]

"The Bible is a book. It is a good book. But it is not the only book!"

[@toosiyabrandt8676]

HI It is the only book mapping our exact history from it's Beginning to it's everlasting Outcome, 6000 years of the history of death, to be followed by the thousand year reign of the resurrected Christ, from Jerusalem, which is about to break forth on us, check out Book of Revelation and many End Time vids on You Tube. Shalom to you in Christ Yeshua.

[@Warhero1171]

Plot twist: It isn't really a good book.

[@SagesseNoir]

@@Warhero1171 I guess it can be considered as we consider Greek literature with its mythology. Hebrew bible may be seen as Hebrew literature with Hebrew mythology.

[@Warhero1171]

@Rizal Disraeli Ramos It's also the book that teaches us to discriminate against nonbelievers and homosexuals. Christianity and Islam are contradictory. They claim to have an all loving god that sends people to hell if they make one minor infraction. They claim that anyone who doesn't believe in God will burn in hell for eternity. Decent human beings don't massacre entire cities in the name of God, or burn thousands at the stake. Religion is foolish, but religions such as Christianity and Islam are detrimental to humanity. Secular humanists manage to be far more decent than religious people, while denying the existence of God.

[@danielfoster3798]

Rizal Disraeli Ramos w

[@lucariofan508]

@fdssg Stop using logic! It makes their heads hurt.

[@beachside1]

I love this movie. I can watch it over and over

[@zacharysiple783]

Me too-it's one of my absolute favorite religious-themed movies.(I think of it as that.)

[@MJBYouTubeNetwork]

Was it Eastern Standard Time? Or Rocky Mountain time? Maybe it was Central Standard Time, or Pacific/West Coast Time.

[@ShawDAMAN]

You are absolutely right. What many people do not realize however is that "eternal damnation" is NOT taught in the Bible. Not by a long shot. Religious leaders took a few verses out of context in order to frighten people into coming to church and keeping the church coffers full. And this business of the 'original sin' being sex- more nonsense. In the Bible God told people to "be fruitful and become many." So he told them to sin- and then punished them for it!?!? NONSENSE.........

[@Jw-un8oh]

Still hearing this nonsense from my dad in 2020 while stuck under quanrantine 😓. Creationist's wonder why they are so unliked...

[@gigiis526]

Those that love darkness hate the light and they hate the truth that comes from God who created light! You suppress the truth because you love your wicked sin. God ststates that you a a fool because creation proves there has to be a creator! Nothing can come from nothing. Basic law of physics.

[@paulnistor3547]

J w, I feel sorry for your dad!

[@Diamondraw4Real]

You don't know how to use an apostrophe so...

[@DrownedInExile]

@@gigiis526 God told you that? Are you a prophet? Well then hallelujah! Let us have a book of GiGi! Slip you in neatly between Numbers and Deuteronomy!

[@thatperformer3879]

You voted for vaccine tyranny like the little Nazi liberal that you are. Nice job.

[@williameaton9058]

I never understood why people with a semblance of an intellect still chose to defend creationism. Why would you submit yourself to ridicule for defending something so laughable. Creationism hasnt advanced its argument for over a century...evolution has a mountain of evidence now just because creationists waste everyone's time by challenging the theory.

[@TheBermudaMan]

Is it the idea of the Earth being created over six days that you take issue with, or just the possibility of the existence of a Creator?

[@laelpenner1241]

It's only a theory.. you said so in your comment, and before that you say it's been proved??

[@sarahmillard6401]

Lael Penner, please don’t show your ignorance, and look up the definition of a scientific theory. It doesn’t mean it’s just a guess or “only” an idea. Gravity is also a theory, is that “only” an idea? Feel free to defenestrate yourself - after all, gravity is only a theory, huh? 🤭

[@yourteamsucks2136]

Prove Creationism or Intelligent Design in a laboratory following the scientific method and maybe people will take your asinine idea seriously.

[@lukegowest]

Defenestrate yourself ? I love it. It means to throw yourself out of a window.

[@madeleinebaier5347]

"Let us have a book of Brady! We shall hex the Pentateuch, and slip you in neatly between Numbers and Deuteronomy"!!!

[@jadezee6316]

during the filming of these scenes between tracy and march...the sound stage was filled to the brim...with people rushing for places to watch these two great actors going at it....

[@padfolio]

Burt Reynolds mentioned that he was one of them.

[@Aristeia48]

This is just simply such a breath-takingly terrific scene and I hope it makes theist and atheist alike think.

[@HylianPirate278]

Now about the video... We might do this play in Drama next year. I'm pretty excited, it's great. I just hope that creationists don't misunderstand it and misinterpret it, even though they seem to do that to EVERYTHING.

[@teresagrotius4343]

Love this movie. Acting is phenomenal.

[@rentslave]

Early on,the sheriff calms the girlfriend:"The safest place on Earth is in jail."Tell that to Epstein.

[@kathleenschuman6131]

Spencer Tracy was my all time favorite. He never seemed to be anything but the character he was portraying. A certified gem. Frederick March was no slouch either. Wonderful scene.

[@sirequinox4874]

What incredible performances by two titans of the cinema. One of the greatest scenes ever put on film.