In Inherit the Wind (1960), Spencer Tracy plays Henry Drummond, a lawyer defending a teacher put on trial for teaching evolution, in a drama inspired by the 1925 Scopes trial. Directed by Stanley Kramer, the film pits Drummond against Matthew Harrison Brady, played by Fredric March, in a courtroom contest over science, faith, and free thought.
Tracy’s Drummond is warm, witty, and stubbornly humane. He argues with logic and humour rather than anger, and the film’s power comes from his refusal to turn his opponent into a villain. Tracy was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role, and the performance remains a high point of his later career.
