Inherit the Wind

In the 1920s, schoolteacher Bertram Cates (Dick York) is arrested in Hillsboro, Tennessee, for teaching his students Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Henry Drummond (Spencer Tracy), a renowned defense attorney and atheist, is brought in to defend Cates, with the help of newspaper reporter E.K. Hornbeck (Gene Kelly). The case becomes a national sensation, pitting Drummond against prosecutor Matthew Harrison Brady (Fredric March), a former presidential candidate and evangelist who is determined to uphold creationism. As the trial unfolds, Drummond uses his wit and rhetorical skills to challenge Brady's arguments and expose the contradictions in the Bible, ultimately leading to Cates' acquittal, but at a great personal cost for both men.