INHERIT THE WIND [1960 / 2018] [Eureka Classics] [Blu-ray + DVD] [UK Release]
The Fabulous “Monkey Trial” That Rocked America! It’s A Three-Ring Circus!
Described by Steven Spielberg as one of our great filmmakers, not just for the art and passion he put on screen, but for the impact he has made on the conscience of the world, the films of producer and director Stanley Kramer frequently confronted social issues considered too controversial for the major studios. In ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ Stanley Kramer tackled the creationism vs. evolution debate.
When a teacher in a small Tennessee town is brought to trial for teaching Darwinism, attorney Henry Drummond [Spencer Tracy] faces off against fundamentalist leader Matthew Harrison Brady [Frederic March] in an explosive battle of beliefs.
Also operating as a searing critique of McCarthyism, ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, and is rightfully recognised as one of the most entertaining, and provocative films of its era. Eureka Classics is proud to present ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK in a special Dual Format edition.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1960 Berlin International Film Festival: Win: Silver Berlin Bear: Best Actor for Fredric March. Win: Youth Film Award: Best Feature Film Suitable for Young People for Stanley Kramer. Nomination: Golden Berlin Bear: Stanley Kramer. 1960 National Board of Review, USA: Win: Top Ten Films. 1961 Academy Awards®: Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role for Spencer Tracy. Nomination: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for Harold Jacob Smith and Nedrick Young. Nomination: Best Cinematography in Black-and-White for Ernest Laszlo. Nomination: Best Film Editing for Frederic Knudtson. 1961 Golden Globes: Nomination: Best Motion Picture in a Drama. Nomination: Best Actor in a Drama for Spencer Tracy. 1961 BAFTA Film Awards: Nomination: Best Film from any Source for Stanley Kramer. Nomination: Best Foreign Actor for Fredric March. Nomination: Best Foreign Actor for Spencer Tracy. 1961 Laurel Awards: Nomination: Golden Laurel Award: Top Male Dramatic Performance for Spencer Tracy [5th place].
FILM FACT No.2: Actress and singer Leslie Uggams sings both the opening and closing songs by herself a cappella. Stanley Kramer offered the role of Henry Drummond to Spencer Tracy, who initially turned it down. Stanley Kramer then sought Fredric March, Gene Kelly and Florence Eldridge as co-stars, and Spencer Tracy eventually agreed to make the film. However, none of the other co-stars had been signed at the time; Spencer Tracy was the first. Once Spencer Tracy signed on, the others signed too. The film's title was taken from the Biblical book of Proverbs 11:29: "He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind." The film had its World Premiere at the Astoria Theatre in London's West End on the 7th July, 1960.
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Dick York, Donna Anderson, Harry Morgan, Claude Akins, Elliott Reid, Paul Hartman, Philip Coolidge, Jimmy Boyd, Noah Beery Jr., Norman Fell, Gordon Polk, Hope Summers, Ray Teal, Renee Godfrey, Florence Eldridge, Leon Alton (uncredited), Don Anderson (uncredited), Eddie Baker (uncredited), Frank Baker (uncredited), John Barton (uncredited), Gail Bonney (uncredited), Chet Brandenburg (uncredited), Brad Brown (uncredited), Ralph Bucko (uncredited), George Calliga (uncredited), Dick Cherney (uncredited), Oliver Cross (uncredited), Jack Daly (uncredited), Richard Deacon (uncredited), Jack Deery (uncredited), Lester Dorr (uncredited), George Dunn (uncredited), Donald Elson (uncredited), Adolph Faylauer (uncredited), Duke Fishman (uncredited), David Fresco (uncredited), Joseph Glick (uncredited), Signe Hack (uncredited), Stuart Hall (uncredited), Joseph Hamilton (uncredited), Sam Harris (uncredited), Earle Hodgins (uncredited), Tex Holden (uncredited), Wendell Holmes (uncredited), Shep Houghton (uncredited), Colin Kenny (uncredited), Perk Lazelle (uncredited), Hank Mann (uncredited), Thomas Martin (uncredited), Harp McGuire (uncredited), Frank Mills (uncredited), Hans Moebus (uncredited), Robert Osterloh (uncredited), Stephen Paylow (uncredited), Bob Perry (uncredited), Joe Ploski (uncredited), 'Snub' Pollard (uncredited), Paul Power (uncredited), Waclaw Rekwart (uncredited), Addison Richards (uncredited), Leoda Richards (uncredited), Robert Robinson (uncredited), Scott Seaton (uncredited), Leslie Sketchley (uncredited), Stephen Soldi (uncredited), Rudy Sooter (uncredited), Bert Stevens (uncredited), Martin Strader (uncredited), Hal Taggart (uncredited), Harry Tenbrook (uncredited), George Tracy (uncredited), Charles Wagenheim (uncredited), Justice Watson (uncredited) and Will Wright (uncredited)
Director: Stanley Kramer
Producer: Stanley Kramer
Screenplay: Harold Jacob Smith (screenplay), Nedrick Young (aka Nathan E. Douglas) (screenplay), Jerome Lawrence (play) and Robert E. Lee (play)
Composer: Ernest Gold
Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo, A.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Black-and-White)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH®
Running Time: 128 minutes
Region: Blu-ray: Region B/2 + DVD: PAL
Number of discs: 2
Studio: United Artists / Eureka Entertainment Limited
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ [1960] brings us this classic film, where science teacher Bertram T. Cates [Dick York] is jailed for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution in the fundamentalist community of Hillsboro, Tennessee. The town is caught in the national spotlight when two legal heavyweights take on the case: former Presidential candidate Matthew Harrison Brady [Frederic March] for the prosecution, and ACLU founder Henry Drummond [Spencer Tracy] for the defence. Matthew Harrison Brady and Henry Drummond, known in real life as William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow, mesmerize crowds as they wrestle with the still timely issue of the separation of church and state.
‘INHERIT THE WIND’ is based on the Scopes Trial, formally known as The State of Tennessee vs. John Thomas Scopes and commonly referred to as the Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case in July 1925 in which a substitute high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which had made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. The trial was deliberately staged in order to attract publicity to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, where it was held. Scopes was unsure whether he had ever actually taught evolution, but he purposely incriminated himself so that the case could have a defendant. It eventually was adapted from Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee’s play of the same name, Stanley Kramer’s 1960 film is a searing indictment of religious fundamentalism and anti-intellectualism. ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ still continues and resonates beyond its immediate parallels with McCarthyism.
‘INHERIT THE WIND’ is everything that a brilliant legal drama ought to be, but without any comic touches and has definitely a clear storyline so making this sophisticated film accessible to young children as well and will learn a lot from this brilliant court drama, that resonates today, especially in the climate of America in the 21st century. The lawyers are the heroes in this exciting retelling of the watershed trial, bolstered by impressive performances by Spencer Tracy and Frederic March. Each character eventually questions his beliefs. Presidential candidate Matthew Harrison Brady’s narrow interpretation of the Christian Bible is stretched to include modern science; the atheistic ACLU founder Henry Drummond ends up reconsidering his doubts about God. But don't worry about any heavy-duty moralizing; this courtroom drama is surprisingly light, with a wry sense of humour. As curiosity seekers flood to the “Heavenly” Hillsboro’s Courthouse during the trial, residents imagine all sorts of ways of cashing in, each more preposterous than the next.
Meanwhile, news hack E. K. Hornbeck [Gene Kelly] of the Baltimore Herald offers ambivalence as a cynic on the right of history, and Bertram T. Cates girlfriend Rachel Brown [Donna Anderson] is conflicted as the daughter of Hillsboro’s fundamentalist preacher Rev. Jeremiah Brown [Claude Akins]. The courtroom sequences are predictably gripping, increasing in intensity as Matthew Harrison Brady’s faltering, empty rhetoric is exposed under Henry Drummond’s immovable scrutiny and intellectual agility. Juxtaposed against the daytime court scenes are increasingly unhinged sequences set at night and culminating in Rev. Jeremiah Brown’s frothing fire and brimstone sermon which covers all angles and eventually boils over into outright mania.
The townsfolk of Hillsboro are completely contrary to the more typical Hollywood image of the period of apple pie small town America, who are religious fundamentalists and bigots who are actually calling for the hanging of Bertram T. Cates and tar and feathering Henry Drummond, while stopping short of a being a lynch mob. Under these circumstances it would seem that there is little chance or hope for justice.
As a courtroom drama this is one of the best you’ll ever see and is beautifully filmed by Stanley Kramer, especially in the courtroom. The cameras constantly travel between close-up and mid-range shots making the trial, to all intents and purposes a national media circus and including a radio mike being used during the final verdict. It is an almost perfect film and is Stanley Kramer’s best film. It is only marginally let down in its final scene in which Spencer Tracy’s character launches a tirade at Gene Kelly’s character and shows signs of some kind of concession to religious fundamentals of America. So all in all, this this is a very handsome and good looking film, and this cult film ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ is as relevant today as it was in the McCarthy era, because the film is truly powerful, provocative and as tightly wound in tension as any drama before or since, this is a classic that still pulls no punches and still has a point to make. Especially as Stanley Kramer made some truly hard-hitting classics in his time, such as ‘Judgement At Nuremberg’ and ‘The Defiant Ones,’ but ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ might just be his finest cinematic achievement so far, because Stanley Kramer’s film asks questions about responsibility, about conscience, about sacrifice, and about the power of language and images to shape minds. ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ is still relevant today for a film released in 1960.
INHERIT THE WIND MUSIC TRACK LIST
(Gimme Dat) OLD TIME RELIGION (uncredited) (Traditional spiritual) [Sung by Leslie Uggams at the start of the film] [Reprised often by the Townfolks]
WE’LL HANG BERT CATES TO A SOUR APPLE TREE (uncredited) (Music by William Steffe) [Sung to the tune of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by marching Townsfolks]
BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC (ca 1856) (uncredited) (Music by William Steffe) (Lyrics by Julia Ward Howe) (1862) [Sung by Leslie Uggams at the end of the film]
Blu-ray Image Quality – Eureka Classics presents us with a really stunning and beautiful black-and-white 1080p image and is helped with the 1.66:1 aspect ratio. We also get presented with a crisp, clean and sharp images and featuring a natural grain structure that provides a lovely filmic look to the film, especially showing off Ernest Laszlo beautiful cinematographer, that really enhance the look of the film, that shows off a marvellous sense of depth. With the close up shots, it showcases all the wrinkles and crevices in Spencer Tracy's weathered face, along with the pores, freckles, blemishes, and the beads of sweat on all the other actors as well. So all in all, Eureka Classics has really worked their magic on this classic film and now looks even better that when the film was released in 1960, so giving it a new lease of life.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Eureka Classics brings us just one 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio experience and is very nicely ambient balanced, and in doing so we hear all the dialogue crystal clear and very easy to comprehend. As to the plethora of sounds, like shattering glass and the pounding of the gavel are distinct but very audible and the film composed music by composer Ernest Gold is very sparse, but very nice when heard throughout the film. So overall, this is a really excellent audio experience, so well done Eureka Classics.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: A New Video Interview with Film Scholar Neil Sinyard [2018] [1080p] [1.78:1] [24:48] Here we are introduced to Neil Sinyard who does an in-depth look at the film ‘INHERIT THE WIND,’ that was released in the cinemas in America in 1960, and it was based on a Broadway play that opened in 1955 and the play was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and it ran for three years and was extremely popular and starred Paul Muni and Ed Begley as the leading roles, and of course the play is based on the fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial, which resulted in John T. Scopes conviction for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to a high school science class, contrary to a Tennessee state law, which means that in State Funded Schools you are not allowed to teach any version of creation, except that of the Holy Bible. Of course the court case became a national sensation and especially with the interest of the two high profile lawyers, who were Henry Drummond and Matthew Harrison Brady, who were very eminent and the Prosecuting Council was William Jennings Bryan. The Defence was with Clarence Seward Darrow who was an American lawyer, a leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and a prominent advocate for Georgist economic reform, who previously defended the famous case of the Loeb and Leopold families hired Clarence Seward Darrow and Benjamin Bachrach to represent the two boys. His opinion of Clarence Seward Darrow would soon change and he later described his attorney as a great, simple, unaffected man, with a "deep-seated, all-embracing kindliness." The murder trial of Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold really shocked the nation of America. Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold murdered a man just for fun, and Clarence Seward Darrow 12-hour-long summation at their sentencing hearing is noted for its influential criticism of capital punishment as retributive rather than transformative justice. Both young men were sentenced to life imprisonment plus 99 years. Richard Loeb was murdered by a fellow prisoner in 1936; Nathan Leopold was released on parole in 1958 and Clarence Seward Darrow saved them from the electric chair and of course the film ‘COMPULSION’ [1959] was based on the case that starred Orson Welles, which was inspired by Patrick Hamilton’s screenplay for the TV film ‘The Rope’ [1957]. In the film ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ near the end of the film Matthew Harrison Brady [Fredric March] dies of a heart attack at the end of the trial, but in real life Matthew Harrison Brady has a heart attack five days after the trial ended. But also in the film Henry Drummond [Spencer Tracy] received a very hostile reception, but in real life, the people of the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, but in real life the people of this town treated Henry Drummond with respect, and this of course means that the film took a few liberties to make the film a much more dramatic setting. When Tony Randall appeared in the original Broadway play, he commented about the premise of the play, by saying, “The play is like the Arthur Miller’s "The Crucible," which was a Tony Award-winning 1953 drama, which premiered two years earlier and was a fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the 17th century in 1692/1693. Arthur Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the United States government persecuted people accused of being communists and of course the Arthur Miller’s play helped mould the Broadway play scenario, and both plays were using an episode in history as a parallel. But with the court case, Bertram T. Cates [Dick York] the judge only fines him $100, whereas with the McCarthyism investigation it destroyed people’s lives and when director Stanley Kramer was about to direct the film, the legacy of McCarthyism was singularly on his mind, because the issues behind the trial and also related to the business of freedom of speech, but on the plus side, the film was of course very outspoken and very hard hitting, even though the Pre-code Hollywood’s Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known as the "Hays Code" between 1930 to 1968 was still hanging around, especially when it comes to religious issues. Neil Synard thought it was a stroke of genius for Staley Kramer to have Gene Kelly as the cynical Reporter E. K. Hornbeck, who in real life was a very Liberal democrat and Neil praises the two screenwriters Harold Jacob Smith and Nedrick Young, but especially Nedrick Young. People wondered why the director Stanley Kramer wanted to make this film, because critics were saying why audiences would want to watch two old men battling it out in a courthouse drama, but of course when the film was released, Stanley Kramer was a hated man and people demonstrated outside the cinemas where the film was being shown and they had placards saying “Stanley Kramer is an Anti-Christ!” Critics complained about the final scene in the courthouse where Henry Drummond is preparing to leave the courtroom and picks up the “Darwin's Theory Of Evolution” book and the Bible and puts both in his briefcase, and as he walks out of the courtroom, we hear over the soundtrack BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC (ca 1856) that is sung by Leslie Uggams at the end of the film and they felt that this was typical of director Stanley Kramer to be controversial and in doing so was having his cake and eating it, where he was cozening up to a fundamentalist Protestant preacher, in other words, relating to or advocating the strict, literal interpretation of the scripture. Neil feels the negative comments were unfair, because he feels the ending of the film is properly equivocal, because the end of the film poses the question, “Who Won?” Neil also says that another aspect of the film and cannot believe that Stanley Kramer was not aware at the time of directing the film in 1960, that the law had been passed in 1925 and was still on the statue book and was not repealed until 1968 and there are still people in the 21st century who still have the bigot religious doctrine and that they feel the law should have never been repealed and still have negative bigot attitudes and still believes the Holy Bible is 100% accurate and the truth, especially in certain parts of America and in Pennsylvania in 2005, they had a similar court case, and of course the film ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ still resonates in today’s society, especially in America. Over a period of time since the 1960 film was released, three TV films came out in 1965, 1988 and 1999, because the original film still reflects certain attitudes in modern times, but of course the 1960 film still really stands out and still remains in the people’s memories, because it was so well directed, it had a totally brilliant screenplay, top professional actors, and was Stanley Kramer’s finest legacy, and of course it still makes the film stand out so well and of course is all down to the brilliant Stanley Kramer being a totally brilliant director. So all in, this is a really nice and interesting special feature.
Theatrical Trailer [1960] [1080p] [1.66:1] [4:06] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘INHERIT THE WIND.’ Director Stanley Kramer introduces clips from the film. This is a very unusual trailer, as he informs us "Look, the subject's tricky but cineastes have liked it – we've won awards already..." and of course the film won lots of plaudits, and especially awards and nominations, which the film totally deserved. We also get a sneak preview of the London World Premiere of the film at the Astoria Theatre where see star studded guest arriving that includes Direct/Producer Stanley Kramer, Gregory Peck and his wife, Otto Preminger, Walter Wenger and Jeff Chandler. They also give us a sneak preview of the film being shown at the 1960 Berlin Film Festival and won two awards. Near the end Stanley Kramer poses the question whether the film is a winner and informs the audience that it is up to them to decide if it is a winner, but also declares that the film has a screen performance beyond anything you have seen before.
BONUS: Limited Edition 24 page Collector's Booklet and contains an interesting in-depth look at the film ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ entitled Staley Kramer on “Inherit the Wind.” It also includes VIEWING NOTES informing us about the 1.66:1 aspect ratio. Also information about the PRODUCTION CREDITS. But as an extra bonus, we get log of black-and-white publicity images from the film.
Finally, ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ is a film that deals with what should now be an open and shut case, that Darwin was right all along. When Christian George W. Bush spouted his unintelligent idiot teaching, both about “intelligent design” and evolution together, he placed two ideas at equal standing, the former a rampantly improbable religious claim of divine intervention and the latter a provably true account of all life on Earth. ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ is a tremendous courtroom drama about an important subject... free speech and many people still today wear their ignorance on their sleeve as if it was a badge of honour. As Drummond makes the point in the film ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ and as Darrow made the point in real life, we have allowed such people to insult religion by making the claim that they are somehow representative of religion as a whole. ‘INHERIT THE WIND’ is a fascinating look at the ramifications and potential pitfalls of devout zealous ideas trumping over free thought and science. It is a film as important today as it was when the film was released in 1960. And as Nelson Mandela said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others,” sums it up very eloquently, very precise and still relevant today. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
