Disinherit the Wind

Recently we watched a review copy of “Alleged,” a romantic drama based on events that occurred behind the scenes of the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial” of 1925.

In this flick Charles Anderson (Nathan West) is a talented young reporter who feels trapped in Dayton, Tennessee, at a time of decline. The trial happens in his town (actually the trial's created to infuse some income into the place), and he can’t resist when he lands a once-in-a-lifetime chance to break into the journalistic big leagues as the protégé of influential Baltimore Sun editor H.L Mencken (Colm Meaney).At the "Trial of the Century," the great Clarence Darrow (Brian Dennehy) defends evolution against the popular statesman William Jennings Bryan (Fred Thompson), whose beliefs were actually not all that fundamentalist. (For example, he believed the six days of creation were six geological periods.) Charles finds himself torn between his love for Rose (Ashley Johnson—“What a Girl Wants”) and the ethical compromises Mencken expects him to make. “Alleged” uses the fictional Charles and Rose to present actual conflicts that boiled over in 1925 and continue to simmer today — evolution and creation in the public schools, the role of science in society, and media sensationalism motivated by religious and political biases on both sides. “Alleged” is not a retelling of the famous Monkey Trial, yet the trial provides a real-life backdrop to reveal biases, controversial issues, and character flaws. The film is less about the trial and more about honesty in journalism and telling the truth. Oh, and a romance. "Alleged" has some A-list actors and decent production values. But the plot is disjointed in places, making it difficult always to follow what’s going on and who believes what. A number of characters seem more like caricatures than real humans. But the film raises important issues and it's worth overlooking some flaws. Here are a few facts I found when digging around after I saw it:. . More than 60,000 Americans were sterilized in America against their will in the name of eugenics. . Stanley Kramer's classic film, Inherit the Wind (1960, with Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, and Gene Kelly), was loosely based on the events of the Scopes Monkey Trial, but names were changed and other modifications made such that the movie didn’t adhere reliably to the facts of the trial. While “Alleged” is not a remake of Inherit the Wind, Kramer's film fits the premise of "Alleged" to the extent that certain political and religious biases held by the writers of Inherit the Wind motivated them to modify the actual events into an alternative story that is now largely believed. . Various "lies" about the actual Scopes Trail that are largely believed to be true include:The State of TN outlawed the teaching of evolution in 1925. (It permitted the teaching of 99.999% of Darwinian theory.) The textbook used by Scopes in 1925 was a "Christian" version of biology and excluded evolution. (It was 100% evolutionary.)Clarence Darrow performed brilliantly in Dayton. (The ACLU sought to have him removed from the case on appeal due to his strategies and conduct at the trial.) Bryan feared allowing evolutionary scientists at the trial. (It was Darrow who kept the scientists off the stand when the Judge determined that they could be cross-examined on the stand.) For a comparison of the movie Inherit the Wind with the facts of the actual Scopes trial, you can see www.themonkeytrial.com. But first watch Alleged. It'll make you think. And isn't that the point?