Inherit the Wind (1960 film)
Inherit the Wind is a 1960 American drama film directed by Stanley Kramer and based on the 1955 play of the same name written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. It stars Spencer Tracy as lawyer Henry Drummond and Fredric March as his friend and rival Matthew Harrison Brady. It also features Gene Kelly, Dick York, Harry Morgan, Donna Anderson, Claude Akins, Noah Beery Jr., Florence Eldridge, Jimmy Boyd and Gordon Polk.
| Inherit the Wind | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Stanley Kramer |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | |
| Produced by | Stanley Kramer |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Ernest Laszlo |
| Edited by | Frederic Knudtson |
| Music by | Ernest Gold |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
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Running time | 128 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $2 million |
| Box office | $2 million (worldwide) |
The script was adapted by Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith. Kramer was commended for bringing in Young, as the latter was blacklisted and forced to use the pseudonym Nathan E. Douglas.
Inherit the Wind is a parable that fictionalizes the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial as a means to discuss McCarthyism. Written in response to the chilling effect of the McCarthy era investigations on intellectual discourse, the film (like the play) is critical of creationism.
A television remake of the film which starred Melvyn Douglas and Ed Begley was broadcast in 1965. Another television remake that starred Jason Robards and Kirk Douglas aired in 1988. It was remade for television again in 1999, co-starring Jack Lemmon as Drummond and George C. Scott as Brady.