(woman) ♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
♪ It was good for little David
♪ And it's good enough for me
♪ Oh, gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
♪ It was good for old Jonah
♪ And it's good enough for me
♪ It was good for the Hebrew children
♪ And it's good enough for me
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
- Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. - (door opens)
Good morning, visitors.
For our science lesson for today,
we will continue our discussion of Darwin's theory of the descent of man.
Darwin's theory tells us that man evolved from a lower order of animals.
From the first Wiggly protozoa here in the sea, to the ape, and finally to man.
Some of you are probably gonna say that's why some of us act like monkeys.
(laughter)
But what Mr Charles Darwin was trying to tell us...
Bertram T Cates?
Come off it, Sam. You've known me all my life.
Bert, you're charged with violation of public act 31428,
volume 37, statute number 31428 of the state code,
which makes it unlawful for any public school teacher
to teach any theory that denies the creation of man as taught in the Bible
and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals.
Bertram Cates, I hereby place you under arrest.
Monkey trial! Here's another one. "Monkey Shines In Hillsboro."
The whole world's laughing at us. Look. From Chicago.
"Heavenly Hillsboro. Does it have a hole in its head or its head in a hole?"
I'm telling you we've gone too far.
Let 'em laugh. We fighting the Lord's battle, ain't we?
I'd rather have a heathen laughing at me than have my sons laughing at my Bible.
They mocked the Lord too.
They smote him and spat upon him and he turned his other cheek.
Reverend, we don't want to smite 'em back. We just want to make 'em stop.
Tom, you're a prosecuting attorney. What can we do?
In view of my position, I hardly think it ethical to express my opinion.
You'd better go back to law school.
What do we care what a bunch of foreigners and city slickers think?
- Ever had a Frenchman at your hotel? - You're missing...
How long since you sold a pound of grits to some smart aleck from New York?
Heaven has chosen us to light the road back to the shepherd, back to the fold.
- We're not sheep. - I'd rather be a sheep than a Judas goat!
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
As mayor, I stand to uphold the laws of this community,
no matter how it may affect my political future.
Now, I shall just ignore these slanders, like water off a duck's back.
You only got two months more as mayor and you shouldn't have been elected.
You've been a lousy mayor!
(glass rings)
My friends, as you all know, I deal with figures:
accounts, cheques, balances.
My bank operates on the principle of practical reality and so do I.
Are you aware that the great big universities throughout the country
will consider student applicants from our state ineligible because of this law?
I don't know whose idea it was to hang up a shingle spelling "horse and buggy",
but, as for me, I won't invest in antiquity.
I want my bank holding credit with New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois.
And I may want my son to go to Yale.
Now, I believe, just as much as anyone in this room,
in a basic fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible.
But we can't close our eyes to all progress, everything which represents...
Wait a minute. Wait a minute!
"Matthew Harrison Brady volunteers to prosecute in monkey trial."
Matthew Harrison Brady.
- The Lord has sent us his right hand. - And I'll be working with him.
They'll pour out of the hills. This town will fill up like a rain barrel in a flood.
It'll be bigger than the chautauqua at Chattanooga.
People will have to have someplace to stay.
And they gotta eat.
This will put Hillsboro on the map of this country.
Let us give thanks to the Lord. Let us pray.
You better start praying, son.
Imagine, Matthew Harrison Brady coming here.
I voted for him for president. Twice.
Once in 1900 and again in '08.
I wasn't old enough to vote for him the first time he run, but my pa did.
I seen him once. At a chautauqua meeting in Chattanooga.
When he spoke, the tent poles shook.
- Who's gonna be your lawyer? - I don't know yet.
I wrote to that newspaper in Baltimore. They're sending somebody.
Well, he'd better be loud.
- (knocking) - Ah.
Probably one of those newspaper reporters. You're a popular fella.
- Yeah. - Oh, Bert.
You don't mind, do you? Just for the looks of it. Can't tell who it might be.
Sure. Don't worry about it, Mort.
(knocking)
All right.
- Who is it? - (woman) Mort?
Rachel! Come on in.
Ah, you got a present for Bert, huh?
Mort, don't let my father know I came here.
The Reverend don't tell me his business. I don't see why I should tell him mine.
- Is Bert all right? - Of course he's...
The safest place in the world's in a jail.
Come on in. Come on.
Tell them you're sorry.
Tell them it was all a mistake. Please te...
Tell them if they let my body out of jail I'd lock up my mind?
Could you stand that, Rachel?
- At least we'd be together. - It wouldn't be the...
It wouldn't be the same.
Rachel.
Do you remember those warm dark nights down by the river bank?
Just watching the water.
Wondering about the miracle of it.
Wondering what the stars were for.
What's on the other side of the moon.
There'd be no more of that, Rach.
- We could still have that. - No, we couldn't.
That'd be in the locked-off part. For both of us.
(man) Well!
So this is where the fate of learning will be decided for the next 10,000 years.
O tempora, o mores.
Well, I see we have both beauty and biology on our side.
- Who are you? - This your writing?
- Yes. - This is mine.
Hornbeck. EK Hornbeck. Baltimore Herald.
- I've been waiting to hear from you. - Read it.
My typewriter's been singing a sweet sad song about the Hillsboro heretic.
B Cates: latter-day Dreyfus, Romeo with a biology book.
Want a bite?
Don't worry, I'm not the serpent. This isn't from the tree of knowledge.
Oh, no. You won't find one growing in heavenly Hillsboro.
A few ignorance bushes, perhaps, but no tree of knowledge.
Ask Adam.
You make me sound like a martyr.
You could be. Martyrs always have a point to prove and so do you.
But you haven't won your halo yet.
That won't come until after they've tossed you into the arena with the lion.
- You mean Brady? - I don't want Bert to be a martyr.
- What are you trying to prove? - I'm not trying to prove anything.
All I wanna do is teach my students that man wasn't planted here like a geranium.
That life comes from a long miracle, it didn't take seven days.
But it's against the law. A schoolteacher's a public servant.
He should do what the law and the school board want him to.
Has the accused anything to say in his defence?
If not, I sentence you to life as a public servant,
a silent butler in the service of your school board.
Wastebaskets for ideas on sale in the outer lobby.
I don't see anything funny in this, Mr Hornbeck.
- Objection sustained. Neither do I. - Then why don't you leave us alone?
You newspaper people have stirred up enough trouble for Bert.
What do you want anyway?
I came to tell boy Socrates here
that the Baltimore Herald is opposed to hemlock and will provide a lawyer.
- Who? - Who? I don't know yet.
What's the difference? A new lawyer with old tricks, an old lawyer with new tricks.
Wake up, Copernicus. The law's still on the side of the lawmakers,
and everything revolves around their terra firma.
Then why bother, you and your newspaper?
Because I know that the sunrise is an optical illusion.
My teacher told me so.
You don't seem like the kind who'd want to bother. You seem so...
Cynical. True, true. That's part of my fascination.
I do hateful things for which people love me,
and I do lovable things for which they hate me.
I'm admired for my detestability.
Now, don't worry, little Eva.
I may be rancid butter, but I'm on your side of the bread.
♪ Gimme that old-time religion Gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
♪ Gimme that old-time religion Gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
♪ It was good for old Jonah
♪ And it's good enough for me
♪ Gimme that old-time religion Gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
♪ It was good for little David
♪ And it's good enough for me
♪ Oh, gimme that old-time religion Gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
♪ Gimme that old-time religion Gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
♪ It was good for little David
♪ And it's good enough for me
♪ Oh, gimme that old-time religion Gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
♪ Gimme that old-time religion Gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
♪ It was good for old Jonah
♪ And it's good enough for me
♪ It was good for old Jonah
♪ And it's good enough for me
♪ Gimme that old-time religion Gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
♪ It's good enough for me
Matthew Harrison Brady,
as mayor of Hillsboro may I say that this municipality
is proud to have within its city limits
the warrior who has always fought for us ordinary people.
The ladyfolk of this town would not have the vote
if it hadn't been for you fighting to give them all that suffrage.
Mr President Wilson would not have got to the White House and won the war
if it hadn't been for you supporting him and being his secretary of state.
In conclusion, the governor of our glorious state
has vested in me the authority to confer upon you
a commission as honorary colonel in the state militia!
(cheering)
It is good enough for Brady...
♪ It is good enough for Brady And it's good enough for me
(cheering)
"Colonel Brady."
I like the sound of that.
Friends,
Mrs Brady and I are delighted to be among you.
We all voted for you. Three times!
I trust it was in three separate elections.
(laughter)
I can only wish for one thing:
that you had not given us quite so warm a welcome.
- (woman) Mr Brady? - Yes.
- Here you are. - Oh, bless you.
- And Mrs Brady. - Oh, thank you.
Now, who, may I ask, is the spiritual leader of the community?
The Reverend Jeremiah Brown.
How are you, Reverend? Will you stand here at my side? Thank you.
My friends of Hillsboro, you know why I've come here.
It is not merely to prosecute a lawbreaker,
a young man who has spoken out against the revealed word.
I have come here because what has happened in your town
has unloosed a wicked attack from the big cities of the North.
We did not seek this struggle.
We are simple folk who seek only to live in brotherhood and peace,
to cherish our loved ones,
to teach our children the ways of righteousness and of the Lord.
But what would they teach them, these idolaters?
These priests of evolution, what would they have them do?
Measure the distance between the stars and forget him who holds the stars.
They are lost, my friends.
I tell you, if man believes he is descended from the beasts, he must remain a beast.
And as the young wolf turns upon the old, these innocent ones,
corrupted and despairing of salvation, will turn upon their fathers,
and our land will become a land of Sodom and Gomorrah,
of pestilence, of fire, of hatred and of death.
- I disagree. - (woman) What a nerve!
Who are you?
Uh, Hornbeck. EK Hornbeck of the Baltimore Herald.
Oh, yes. Yes, I know your paper.
And your writing, sir.
Ladies and gentlemen, my paper is happy to announce
that it is sending two representatives to heavenly Hillsboro.
The most gifted reporter in America today, myself,
and the most agile legal mind of the 20th century, Henry Drummond.
- Henry Drummond? - Who's Henry Drummond?
- We'll send him back to hell! - Ride him out on a rail!
- Don't let him in the town! - Keep him out! Keep him out!
(shouting)
No, no, no!
I believe we should welcome Henry Drummond.
If the enemy sends his Goliath into battle, it magnifies our cause.
Henry Drummond has stalked the courtrooms of this land for 40 years.
When he fights, headlines follow.
The whole world will be watching our victory over Drummond.
If St George had killed a dragonfly instead of a dragon, who would remember him?
(laughter)
We have not only the opportunity to slay the devil's disciple but the devil himself!
It is good enough for Brady...
♪ It is good enough for Brady It is good enough for Brady
♪ It is good enough for Brady And it's good enough for me
♪ Oh, gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion
It's good enough for me
♪ Oh, gimme that old-time religion
♪ Gimme that old-time religion Gimme that old-time...
You're the stranger, ain't you?
Are you looking for a nice clean place to stay?
I had a nice clean place to stay, madam, and I left it to come here.
♪ It is good enough for Brady
And it's good enough for me
♪ Oh, gimme that old-time...
(plays hymn on harmonium)
Rachel.
I waited supper for you. It's on the table.
Peace will come, my daughter.
We must thank God that the sinner stands naked and exposed.
Stop preaching, Pa. I have something to tell you.
You're upset. Eat and we'll talk in the morning.
No. Now.
I'm not leaving Bert.
I don't understand.
You heard what Mr Brady said.
I love him, Pa. I love him.
No, no. That is the love of Judas.
He has nothing to offer you but sin. I told you that from the beginning.
What's he done? What's he done that's so terrible?
Why do you hate him so?
Because I love God and I hate his enemies.
- Bert loves God. - Then what is he doing with Drummond?
Why is he bringing him here to spew his atheistic filth into the ears of our people?
You're a schoolteacher.
You know how easy it is to mould minds for good or to twist them for evil.
- Bert didn't twist any minds. - You're infected with his agnosticism!
- Get down and pray for forgiveness. - Forgiveness for what?
Because you have betrayed me and your faith.
I'm not betraying anybody.
I'm glad your mother isn't here to see what's become of you.
- Pa, please listen. - If she is looking down from heaven,
I ask her to forgive you and to forgive me.
Pa, ever since I was a little girl,
I'd wake up in the middle of the night afraid of the dark,
like the whole house was upside down
and if I didn't hang on to the mattress, I'd fall out into the sky.
Forgive her, Mother. Forgive her, dear God.
I wanted to run to you to have you tell me that I was safe,
that everything was all right,
but I was always more afraid of you than of falling.
- It's the same way now! - I have failed. I have failed.
Tell me what to do, dear Lord. Guide my faltering...
- Pa. - I love my daughter.
- How can I save her? Tell me what to do. - Please get up!
And I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean.
From all your filthiness and from your idols will I cleanse you.
And a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit put within you.
And I will tear out the stony heart of flesh,
and I will give you a heart of flesh.
- Hello, devil. Welcome to hell. - Hello, Hornbeck.
Hillsboro, heavenly Hillsboro, the buckle on the Bible Belt.
Come on.
Where are we staying?
We're sharing a room at the Mansion House.
Like everything else in this town, misnamed.
Follow me and I shall point out the unplumbed and plumbingless depths.
Bible? Bible?
Hot dogs. Here you are. Get your red-hot.
That poses a pretty problem. Which is hungrier, my stomach or my soul?
- Hot dog. - Yes, sir.
What do you think of all these monkey kinds?
Got no opinion, sir. Opinions are bad for business.
Are you an evolutionist, an infidel, a sinner?
The worst kind. I write for a newspaper.
- Want a hot dog? - No, thanks.
Then you, sir, you must be a man of God.
No, no, no. Ulcers.
Ladies and gentlemen, devolution is not a theory but a proven fact.
My friends, man did not evolve from the ape,
but the ape devolved from man.
Take a look at this creature sitting here.
There before you is an example of the ungrace
to which man can fall because of his own bestiality.
Look at those beetling brows. Look at those shifty eyes.
For as sure as the good Lord cast out Satan from heavenly glory,
so did he devolve this poor beast from man.
Quit looking at me, will you, son?
These are the wages of sin, my friends.
You take a lesson. Look and beware.
I thank you. Your contributions will be gratefully received.
Grandpa. Welcome to Hillsboro, sir.
Have you come to testify for the prosecution or the defence?
You.
- Are you Henry Drummond? - Yes, I am.
- I'm Royce McHenry, farmer hereabouts. - Nice to know you.
I wanna tell you we're just plain folk down here.
We don't need no outsiders to tell us how or what to think.
That isn't my mission, Mr McHenry.
Then why don't you go back where you came from?
Hmm.
- Pretty hot, aren't they? - Their messiah arrived yesterday.
Drummond, why don't you give your ulcers a break and go home?
You'll win no victories here.
I've been a lawyer long enough to know there are no total victories.
There's only one man in this town who thinks at all and he's in jail.
That's why I'm here.
Just plain folk, second generation.
Mr Drummond?
We're all members of Mr Cates' homeroom and biology class.
We all like Mr Cates very much.
And we hope you do right by him.
Well, so do I, son. So do I.
- Sarah! - It's good to see you, Henry.
I only wish it were under different circumstances.
Sarah, you look lovelier than ever.
Oh, you know Mr Hornbeck?
- How do you do, Mrs Brady? - How do you do?
Aha!
Excuse me.
Henry! Henry Drummond!
- How are you, Henry? - Hello, Matt.
See you've already made some young friends.
- Youth appeals to me these days. - Room 206, Mr Drummond.
Neither of us is getting any younger.
Matt, you know what the doctor said about not overeating in this heat.
Don't worry, Mother. We need strength for the fight ahead.
- I'll take up your bags. - Thank you.
Oh, it's you again, Mr Hornbeck.
I read your article yesterday. Very biased reporting, I must say.
Mr Brady, it's the duty of a newspaper
to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
I don't like that fella. Oh!
Henry, I'd like for you to meet some of the people of Hillsboro. Mr Carter, the mayor.
- Welcome to Hillsboro. - Thank you.
Prosecuting attorney for this district, Mr Davenport. We'll be working together.
Mr Drummond, let me assure you that while we may not agree with your ideas,
- we respect your right to voice them. - Good boy.
Drummond and I have worked side by side in many battles for the common folk.
Twice he campaigned for me when I ran for president.
That's right.
After all these years we find ourselves on the opposite side of an issue.
Well, that's evolution for you. Good day, gentlemen.
Good day, young gentlemen, and thank you. Sarah.
Goodbye, Henry.
(cheering)
(booing)
I believe we can desist with the taking of photographs for the time being.
Mr Drummond, is the defence ready for the selection of the next juror?
- The defence is ready, Your Honour. - Colonel Brady, is the prosecution ready?
The prosecution is ready.
Mort, call a venireman to fill the twelfth and last seat on the jury.
- Jesse H Dunlap. - Here, sir.
- You're next, Jesse. - (shouting)
(judge bangs gavel)
Order in the court!
I wanna warn the spectators that the court will not tolerate any undue disturbance.
The 11th juror...
I thought I made myself plain. I'm not gonna warn you again...
11 down and one to go, as John P Carmody...
And you reporters have just one more minute on those telephones.
(reporters talking)
As you know, for all last night and today
the legion of the unwashed and holy have been rivering out of the rustic backways
to listen to their plump messiah coo and bellow.
The high priest of mumbo jumbo, Matthew Harrison Brady,
has alternately been stuffing himself with fried chicken
and belching platitudes since his arrival here two days ago.
(gavel)
Can we continue, Colonel Brady?
Your Honour, before we continue,
will the court entertain a motion on a matter of procedure?
Will the learned prosecutor state the motion?
It has been called to my attention
that the temperature in this courtroom is now 97 degrees Fahrenheit.
And it may get hotter.
(laughter)
I do not think the dignity of this court will suffer
if we remove a few superfluous outer garments.
Does the defence have any objection to Colonel Brady's motion?
I don't know if the dignity of this court can be upheld with these galluses.
We'll take that chance, Mr Drummond.
Those who wish to remove their coats may do so.
Is the counsel for the defence
showing us the latest fashion from the great metropolitan city of Chicago?
(laughter)
Glad you asked me that. I brought these along special.
I bought these in Peabody's general store,
in your home town, Mr Brady, Weeping Water, Nebraska.
(laughter)
(gavel)
Let us proceed with the selection of the final juror. Mort.
State your name and occupation, Jess.
Jesse H Dunlap. Farmer.
- Mr Davenport. - Right.
Do you believe in the Bible, Mr Dunlap?
I believe in the holy word of God. And I believe in Matthew Harrison Brady.
Amen!
Hallelujah, brother.
(applause followed by gavel)
This man is acceptable to the prosecution.
- (judge) Mr Drummond? - No questions. Not acceptable.
Does Mr Drummond refuse this man a place on the jury
because he believes in the Bible?
If you find an evolutionist in this town, you can refuse him.
I object to the defence attorney rejecting a worthy citizen
without so much as asking him a question.
All right, I'll ask him a question.
How are you?
Well, kinda hot.
Me too. Excused.
(laughter)
(gavel)
You are excused from jury duty, Jesse. You may step down.
Your Honour,
I object to the note of levity which the counsel for the defence is introducing.
The court agrees with you, Colonel Brady.
And I object to all this "Colonel Brady" talk.
I am not familiar with Mr Brady's military record.
He was made honorary colonel in our state militia the day he arrived.
The use of the title prejudices the case of my client.
It calls up a picture of the prosecution astride a white horse
ablaze in the uniform of a military colonel,
and with all the forces of right and righteousness marshalled behind him.
We want to give you a fair hearing in this courtroom.
We don't want anything prejudicial to your client.
What do you suggest we do, Counsellor?
Break him. Make him a private.
I have no serious objection to the honorary title of Private Brady.
You'd better do something about this, Jason.
- Get him up here. - Oh, Mr Drummond.
- You know our mayor? - Yes.
I believe he has a suggestion to make.
By authority of, uh...
I'm sure the governor won't object.
I hereby appoint you a temporary honorary colonel in the state militia.
Well! Well, gentlemen, what can I say?
It is not every day that a man attains the position of temporary honorary colonel.
I thank you.
Colonel Brady, Colonel Drummond, you will examine the next venireman.
Mort.
George Sillers.
You're next, George.
State your name and occupation, George.
George Sillers. I work at the feed store.
Tell me, sir, would you call yourself a religious man?
I'm as religious as the next fella.
In Hillsboro, sir, that means a great deal.
(murmurs of agreement)
Tell me, Mr Sillers, do you have any children?
Not as I know of.
(laughter)
If you had a son, or a daughter, what would you think
if that sweet child came home from school and told you a godless teacher...
Objection! We're supposed to be selecting jury members.
The prosecution is denouncing the defendant before the trial has even begun.
Objection sustained.
Do you have any personal opinions with regard to the defendant
that might prejudice you on his behalf?
- Cates? - Hm.
I don't hardly know the man.
He bought some peat marsh from me one time. He paid his bill.
Mr Sillers impresses me as an honest, God-fearing man. I accept him.
Thank you, Colonel Brady. Colonel Drummond?
Mr Sillers, you have just said that you are a religious man. Do you work at it hard?
I'm pretty busy down at the feed store. My wife tends the religion for both of us.
Oh, I see. I see.
You take care of this life and she takes care of the next one?
That is objected to as immaterial and argumentative.
(judge) Objection sustained.
While your wife has been taking care of the religion,
have you ever heard of a fella called Charles Darwin?
- Not till recent. - Tell me something.
From what you've heard, is he the kind of man you'd invite for Sunday dinner?
My opponent from Chicago is cluttering up the issue with hypothetical questions.
I have established that Mr Sillers is not working very hard at religion.
Now, for your sake, I'm trying to establish that he is not working at evolution.
I'm just working at the feed store.
(laughter followed by gavel)
- Mr Sillers, do you think you can render... - Objection. The prosecution's accepted...
- All I want is a fair trial. - So do I.
Unless the state of mind of the members of the jury conforms to the laws...
Oh, conform, conform!
Do you want to run the jury through a meat grinder so they're all the same?
Take a box seat there, Mr Sillers.
Your Honour, this is ludicrous!
Gentlemen, you are both out of order.
The bench rules that the jury has been selected.
Due to the excessive heat, court is adjourned until ten tomorrow morning.
One moment, please. One moment.
Order in the court.
Reverend Brown has asked me to announce
that there will be a prayer meeting tonight to pray for justice and guidance.
All are invited.
Your Honour, I object to that commercial announcement.
- Commercial announcement? - Of Reverend Brown's product.
Why don't you announce there will be an evolution meeting?
- I have no knowledge of such a meeting. - That's quite understandable.
It isn't enough that everybody has to pass under a sign that says "Read Your Bible".
- I want that sign taken down. - No! No!
No! No!
Or else I want another sign put up,
just as big, with just as big letters, which says "Read Your Darwin".
(cheering followed by booing)
That's what I mean about this man.
- (judge) Order! - Your Honour.
We want the counsel from the North to get every fairness and consideration.
We must not forget he is our guest.
Guest, hell! I'm a lawyer in a courtroom!
Then behave like it! Stop using this court as a platform for your obscene ideas,
trying to dirty the minds of our young.
You are both out of order. The court is adjourned.
My conduct is not under question, and certainly not by you.
- Your language is. - I don't swear just for the hell of it.
Language is a poor enough means of communication.
We should use all the words we've got.
Besides, there are damn few words that anybody understands.
Henry Drummond, atheist!
You, what are you gonna say in your paper now?
He that sups with the devil must have a long spoon.
We'll fix you, Cates. We'll run you out of town.
Well, anyway, the Baltimore Herald is with you, right up to the lynching.
Bert.
You've got to call the whole thing off now.
- Who are you? - This is Rachel Brown. We're engaged.
Reverend Brown's daughter?
Don't you see what's happening?
They're using you as a weapon against your own people.
What you think or believe isn't the point any more. You're helping something bad.
It's not as simple as all that. Good or bad, black or white, day or night.
Do you know that at the top of the world, twilight is six months long?
Bert and I don't live on top of the world.
We live in Hillsboro, and when the sun goes down, it's dark.
Why do you come here to make it different?
I didn't come to make Hillsboro different. I came to defend his right to be different.
That's the point. How about it, boy?
I don't know what the point is any more.
I tried to open their kids' minds. Their kids.
To give them knowledge they could use. They're using it, as a stranglehold on me.
You're learning, Cates. Disillusionment is what little heroes are made of.
Do I finish with a paper medal on my chest?
"Bert Cates: world's biggest chump. He died fighting." Let's face it.
- To him I'm a headline. To you, a cause. - And to yourself?
All right, let's face it. You chose to get into this by yourself.
You didn't get into it because of his headline or my cause,
or maybe even because of their kids.
You got into it because of something you believed in for yourself.
- I didn't believe it would happen this way. - It can get worse.
Those people are in a lean and hungry mood.
They look at me as if I was a murderer.
In a way you are. You killed one of their fairy-tale notions.
They'll bring down the wrath of God, Brady and the state legislature on you.
- You make a joke out of everything. - Young lady,
I know what Bert is going through. It's the loneliest feeling in the world.
It's like walking down an empty street listening to your own footsteps.
But all you have to do is to knock on any door and say:
"if you'll let me in, I'll live the way you want me to live,
and I'll think the way you want me to think."
And all the blinds'll go up, all the doors'll open,
and you'll never be lonely ever again.
It's up to you, Cates. You just say the word and we'll change the plea.
That is, of course, if you honestly believe that the law is right and you're wrong.
If that's the case, tell me and I'll pack my bag
and go back to Chicago, where it's a nice cool 100 in the shade.
Bert, I've gone to my father's church every Sunday as long as I can remember.
This is where I live. This is where my children'll be born.
What kind of a life could we have?
What kind of life could we have if I gave up now?
Your father's kind? Hallelujah and ignorance here we come?
What goes on here is not necessarily the Christian religion everyplace else.
Rach, I can't live the way you want me to.
You're the one who's got to decide.
It's his church or our house. You can't live in both.
Sorry, Bert. I have to take you back now.
You ever been in love, Hornbeck?
Only with the sound of my own words, thank God.
I have been to their cities and I have seen the altars
upon which they sacrifice the futures of their children to the gods of science.
And what are their rewards? Confusion and self-destruction.
New ways to kill each other in wars.
The way of scientism is the way of darkness.
Mr Brady, do you believe seriously
that the majority of the American people hold with your views?
Not just the views of Matthew Harrison Brady, Mr Hornbeck.
There isn't one state where the evolutionists are in the majority.
It'll be the people themselves who will speak.
How do you account for the unfortunate comment that your crusade has aroused?
The attacks stem from a vociferous minority which controls the press.
I hope you gentlemen - madam - will not be influenced by this same negative bias.
Pardon me.
Thank you, O Lord, dear Father, from whom all blessings flow, for thy bounty.
Make us worthy of thy grace. Amen.
Go ahead, Henry. I said grace for you too.
God may be a matter of indifference to the evolutionists and the life beyond hold no...
- Sarah! - But the mass of mankind will worship.
Justice rests...
Here, sit with me. He'll be busy for a while.
Where is it? The hat with the little blue feather.
Blue feather?
You used to wear it to all the conventions. And it was much too becoming.
And whatever happened to that skinny black tie you used to wear?
Not very attractive. Like an old shoelace.
It's back in the shoe.
How are you, Sarah? How are you?
- A little greyer, Henry. And you? - A little grimmer.
I don't believe it. I watched you in court. You seemed to enjoy it as much as ever.
That's Matt. He brings out the worst in me.
We've missed you, Henry.
You don't make many good friends in a lifetime.
I never dreamed our ideas would separate us.
(Brady) I have reason to be. I have messages of encouragement from...
- He still has a loud voice. - He still has something to say, Henry.
- About how everybody else should live? - Oh, don't be cynical.
I think every man longs to be his brother's keeper and to be cared for in return.
It sounds more convincing coming from you.
He doesn't have a blue feather in his hat, that's all.
You know, looking back, I don't think Matt would have made a great president.
But I would have voted for him for king just to have you for queen.
- What would you have been? - Your Majesty's loyal opposition.
(Brady) ..the written word of the Bible.
I believe that Hillsboro... Pardon me.
Will become the shrine of all those millions upon millions
who find a rallying point for their expression of God's will.
That's all for today, gentlemen.
Hearken to the Word.
Hearken to the Word!
The Word tells us that the world was created in six days.
In the beginning the earth was without form and void,
and the Lord said "Let there be light."
- (crowd murmurs) - And there was light.
(crowd murmurs)
The Lord saw the light and the light saw the Lord and it said "Am I good, Lord?"
And the Lord said "Thou art good."
Amen!
(man) And the evening and the morning were the first day.
The Lord said "Let there be a firmament." And even as he spoke it was so.
And the evening and the morning were the second day.
On the third day brought he forth the dry land and the grass and the fruit tree.
And on the fourth day the sun, the moon and the stars,
and he pronounced them good.
The fifth day peopled he the sea with fish
and the air with fowl and made he the great whale.
And he blessed them all.
(crowd shouts)
But... on the morning of the sixth day the Lord rose,
and his eye was dark and a scowl lay across his face.
Why? Why was the Lord troubled?
- Why? Tell us! - Tell us the troubles of the Lord!
Tell us the troubles of the Lord!
The Lord looked around at all his handiwork, bowed down before him,
and he said "it is not good. It is not enough. It is not finished!"
"I shall make me a man!"
(enthusiastic shouting)
- Do we believe? - Yes.
- Do we believe the Word? - Yes.
- Do we believe the truth of the Word? - Yes.
- Do we curse him who denies the Word? - Yes.
Do we call down hellfire on the man who has sinned against the Word?
Yes!
Whatever happened to silent prayer?
O Lord of the tempest and the thunder,
strike down this sinner
as thou did thine enemies of old in the days of the Pharaohs.
Let him know the terror of thy sword.
Let his soul, for all eternity, writhe in anguish and damnation!
No! No, Pa! Don't pray to destroy Bert!
Lord, we ask this same curse for those who ask grace for this sinner,
though they be blood of my blood and flesh of my flesh!
Reverend Brown. Reverend Brown.
I know it's the great zeal of your faith which makes you utter this prayer,
but it is possible to be overzealous,
to destroy that which you hope to save so that nothing is left but emptiness.
Remember the wisdom of Solomon in the Book of Proverbs.
"He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind."
The Bible also tells us that God forgives his children.
And we, as children of God, should forgive each other.
My good friends, return to your homes. Go home.
The blessings of the Lord be with you all.
We'll take you home.
- I can't go home. He hates me. - He doesn't hate you.
He damned me. My own father damned me to hell.
No man has the power to damn.
He's always done it. He did it to Bert and the little Stebbins boy.
The Stebbins boy?
That's how the whole thing started.
The Stebbins boy was just an innocent child.
God has no wrath for the innocent, my dear.
That's what Bert said.
He used to say that when we were together.
If I could just explain it clearly, then you'd understand. Mr Brady, please...
We'll do all we can to help you. Come. Now let's go home.
- I'll be right up, Sarah. - All right, Matt.
- Good night, Henry. - Good night.
- You're up late. - Too hot to sleep.
No use trying to fool ourselves, Henry.
We're just not the men we used to be.
By the size of that meal you packed away, I'd say you hadn't changed in 40 years.
Funny how two people can start from the same point and drift apart.
It's the nature of the life process.
There used to be a mutuality of understanding
and admiration between us, Henry.
Why is it, my old friend, that you've moved so far away from me?
All motion is relative, Matt. Maybe it's you who have moved away by standing still.
Hm.
If progress means abandoning God, abandoning the faith of our fathers...
I saw a demonstration of that faith. It's a deadly instrument.
You saw a reflection of the violence and hate in the world around them.
Your world.
But they were driven to it because their faith was challenged.
These are simple people, Henry. Poor people.
They work hard and they need to believe in something... something beautiful.
They're seeking something more perfect than what they have.
Window-shopping for heaven.
Why do you want to take it away from them? It's all they have.
Like a golden chalice of hope.
Ah.
Like my golden Dancer.
- Your what? - Golden Dancer.
She stood in the side window of the general store in Wakeman, Ohio.
I used to say to myself "If I had Golden Dancer I'd have everything I ever wanted."
I was about seven years old at the time and a great judge of rocking horses.
Golden Dancer had a bright red mane, blue eyes,
and she was gold all over with purple spots.
And when the sun hit her stirrups she was a dazzling sight to behold.
But she was a week's wages for my father.
So Golden Dancer and I always had a big plate glass window between us.
And then...
Let's see...
Couldn't have been Christmas. It must have been my birthday.
I woke in the morning and there was Golden Dancer at the foot of my bed.
Mom had skimped on the groceries and my father had worked nights for a month.
I jumped into the saddle and I started to rock.
And it broke. Split in two. The wood was rotten.
The whole thing was put together with spit and sealing wax.
All shine and no substance.
And that's how I feel about that demonstration I saw tonight, Matt.
All glitter. You say you're giving the people hope.
- I think you're stealing their hope. - No, Henry.
As long as the prerequisite for that shining paradise is ignorance, bigotry and hate,
I say to hell with it.
...to keep an open mind on the origin of species.
Very interesting, Howard. Very interesting.
Now go on, Howard. Tell us what else Mr Cates told you in the classroom.
He said first the earth was too hot for any kind of life.
Then it cooled off a mite and cells and things began to grow.
Cell...
Oh.
Mr McKennon, Mr Galbraith. I think you know the rest of these gentlemen.
(gavel)
- Cells, Howard? - Little bugs in the water.
The little bugs got to be bigger bugs, sprouted legs and crawled up on the land.
How long did this take, according to Mr Cates?
A couple of million years. Maybe longer.
Then comes the fishes, and reptiles and mammals. Man's a mammal.
Along with the dogs.
And the cattle in the fields.
- Did he say that? - Yes, sir.
Now, Howard, how does man come out of this slimy mess of bugs and serpents,
according to your professor?
Well, man has sort of evoluted from the Old World monkeys.
Did you hear that, my friends?
Old World monkeys! Ha!
According to Mr Cates, you and I aren't even descended from American monkeys.
Listen carefully.
In all this talk of bugs and evolution, of slime and ooze,
did Mr Cates ever make any reference to God?
- Not as I remember. - Of the miracle he achieved in 7 days,
as described in the beautiful Book of Genesis?
No, sir.
- Ladies and gentlemen... - Objection.
I ask the court to remind the learned counsel he is not in a chautauqua tent.
He is submitting evidence to a jury. There are no ladies on the jury.
Your Honour, I have no intention of making a speech.
There is no need.
I am sure that everyone on the jury,
everyone within the sound of this boy's voice,
is moved by his tragic confusion.
He has been taught that he wriggled up like an animal
from the filth and muck below.
I say that these Bible-haters, these evolutionists are brewers of poison.
And the legislature of this sovereign state has had the wisdom to demand
that the pedlars of poison, in bottles or in books,
clearly label the product they attempt to sell.
I say that if this law is not upheld, this boy will become one of a generation
shorn of its faith by the teachings of godless science.
But if the full penalty of the law is meted out to Bertram Cates,
the faithful the whole world over,
who are watching us here and listening to our every word,
will rise up and call this courtroom blessed.
Your witness, sir.
I sure am glad the colonel didn't make a speech.
Now, Howard.
I heard you say that the world used to get pretty hot.
That's what Mr Cates said.
Any hotter than it is right now, do you think?
I guess it must have been. Mr Cates read it to us from a book.
This the book?
Charles Darwin's Theory Of The Evolution And The Descent Of Man.
- Yes, sir. - That's right, Howard.
That's the very book he read to you in your classroom.
Now, Howard, tell me, do you think there was anything wrong in there?
Well, I don't know.
Objection, Your Honour.
The defence is asking that a 15-year-old give an opinion on a question of morality.
I am trying to establish that Howard or Colonel Brady or Charles Darwin
or anyone sitting in this courtroom, or you, sir, has the right to think.
Colonel Drummond, the right to think is not on trial here.
With all due respect to the court, sir,
I think the right to think is very much on trial here.
And it is in danger in the proceedings of this courtroom.
- A man is on trial. - A thinking man.
He's faced with fine and imprisonment because he speaks what he thinks.
Colonel Drummond, will you please rephrase your question?
Let's put it this way, Howard.
All this fuss and feathers about evolution, do you think it hurt you any?
- Sir? - Did it do you any harm?
Still feel reasonably fit?
What Mr Cates told you, did it hurt your baseball game any?
Did it affect your pitching arm?
No, sir. I'm a lefty.
A southpaw, huh? Still honour your father and your mother?
- Sure. - Haven't murdered anybody, have you?
Objection. This is an absurd piece of jactitation.
(judge clears throat)
Counsel uses a word with which the bench is not familiar.
Jactitation: a specious or false premise.
In this instance as to the murder of known or unknown persons.
Objection sustained.
Ask him if his faith in the Holy Scriptures has been shattered.
When I need your help, Colonel Brady,
you may rest assured I shall humbly ask for it.
Any time, Colonel Drummond. Any time.
He's the only man I know who can strut sitting down.
Now, Howard, tell me something.
Did you believe everything Mr Cates told you?
I'm not sure. I gotta think about it.
Good for you. Good for you.
- Now, your pa's a farmer, isn't he? - Yes, sir.
- Got a tractor? - Brand-new one.
You think there's anything sinful about a tractor because it's not in the Bible?
No.
You know, Moses never made a phone call.
Do you figure that makes the telephone an instrument of the devil?
- I never thought of it that way. - Neither did anybody else.
Your Honour, the defence makes the same old error of all godless men.
He confuses material things with the spiritual value of the revealed word.
Why do you bewilder this child?
Does right have no meaning to you, sir?
Realising that I may prejudice the case of my client,
I must tell you that right has no meaning for me whatsoever.
(murmuring)
But truth has meaning, as a direction.
But it is one of the peculiar imbecilities of our time
that we place a grid of morality upon human behaviour,
so that the action of every man
must be measured against an arbitrary latitude of right and a longitude of wrong
in exact minutes, degrees and seconds.
So...
Howard, do you know... Do you understand what I'm talking about?
No, sir.
Maybe someday you will. That's all, son. Thank you. You're excused.
This boy may not understand, but I do.
I've seen what you can do to a jury. Twist them.
In the Endicott case you made the jury believe the obscenity was in their mind.
It was immoral what you did to the jury. Judgement by confusion.
- You think you can get away with it here? - I'm not trying to get away with anything.
I am simply trying to prevent the clock-stoppers
from dumping a lot of medieval nonsense into the United States Constitution.
This is not a federal court.
- You have to stop them somewhere! - It's obvious what he's doing.
He is trying to make us forget the lawbreaker and put the law on trial.
We have the answer for you in our next witness.
Call Miss Rachel Brown to the stand.
(man) Rachel Brown! Rachel Brown come to the stand, please.
Did you know about this?
He didn't, but we should have.
Rach?
- Rach, what did you tell him? - Take it easy, son.
Sit down, Samson. You're about to get a haircut.
Rachel, do you solemnly swear the testimony you're about to give
is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
I do.
Now, my dear, I just want you to repeat some of the things you told me last night.
Please, Mr Brady.
You said you wanted people to understand, didn't you?
- Yes. - Just answer my question.
Now, Miss Brown, you are an old friend of the defendant, Bertram Cates?
We're engaged to be married.
- Do you attend the same church? - Yes.
We did.
- Do you now? - What?
Attend the same church.
No.
Did Mr Cates leave the church?
No. Not really. Not the spirit of it.
But the body of it. Correct?
Mr Cates left the church you and he once attended together?
- Yes. - Why?
- Because of the Stebbins boy. - The Stebbins boy.
Would you tell us about that, please?
It was two summers ago. The little Stebbins boy was 13 years old.
He was one of Bert's students. He lived right next door to the boarding house,
and he used to come over and look through Bert's microscope.
Bert said the boy had a bright mind
and he might even be a scientist when he grew up.
Yes?
He went to the river with the other boys and went swimming.
He... He got a cramp... and drowned.
Go on.
At the funeral, Pa preached that Tommy didn't die in a state of grace
because his father wouldn't allow him to be baptised.
Tell 'em what your father really said. That Tommy's soul was damned.
Cates, you sinner!
Religion's supposed to comfort people, not frighten 'em to death!
(gavel)
We will have order, please. Now, sit down, Bert.
Don't you see? Bert thought it wasn't fair that a little child couldn't go to heaven.
It wasn't God he abandoned, only the church.
It is true, then, that because of what happened to the Stebbins boy,
Bert Cates left the church?
You've said nothing wrong. We are merely gaining some insight
into the experiences that sometimes will lead a young man astray.
Objection. Whether my client went astray is a matter of interpretation.
Objection sustained. The jury is directed to disregard the remarks of counsel.
Very well.
Will you tell the jury some more of Mr Cates' opinions on the subject of religion?
Objection! Hearsay evidence is not admissible.
The court sees no objection to this line of questioning. Proceed, Colonel Brady.
Just repeat some of the conversations you had with the defendant.
Rachel, you can't. The things I said to you were questions you ask your own heart.
If you say them out loud, you'll make them sound like answers.
- I can't. - You won't hurt him.
This is for his good. Speak up.
- Mr Brady, I confided in you... - We're here to serve the truth, Rachel.
I can't remember.
Rachel, you are testifying under oath.
It is unlawful to withhold pertinent information.
Describe to the court your innermost feelings when Bert Cates said to you:
"God did not create man. Man created God."
Bert didn't say that. He was just bitter because of the little Stebbins boy.
He said man created a vengeful God out of his own bigotry, and the devil...
When he was wondering about the moon, did he mention the possibility of heaven?
Or did he say there was nothing but a world of stars and moons and galaxies?
What did he say about the holy state of matrimony?
- Did he compare it to animals breeding? - Objection!
You want people to see what happened to his brain
so they can bring him back to his senses, don't you? Come on! Tell it! Tell it all!
Matt!
(Rachel groans)
- Under the circumstances, - (Rachel sobs)
I believe the witness should be excused.
Drummond, do you have any objection
to excusing the witness from cross-examination at this time,
subject to later recall?
Your Honour, the defence must have a chance to challenge the words
put into the mouth of the witness by the prosecutor.
Don't plague her. Let her go.
May I have a moment, please?
Do you want every word he's put into her mouth to go into the record?
- It's not that important. - Not that...
They just pulled you apart.
- Please do as I say. You got to. - I've got to what? Send you to jail?
- Let her go. - You all-American idiot.
She handed them your head on a silver platter...
Stay out of this! It's none of your business.
Don't tie my hands, son.
Let her go or I'll change my plea to guilty.
No questions.
For the time being, the witness is excused.
May I have your autograph?
Does the prosecution wish to call any further witnesses?
Not at the present time, Your Honour. The prosecution rests.
We shall proceed with the case for the defence, Colonel Drummond.
I'd like to call Dr Amos Keller, the head of Zoology at the University of Chicago.
- Objection. - On what grounds?
I wish to enquire what possible relevance
the testimony of a zoology professor can have in this trial.
Why, it has every relevance. My client is on trial for teaching evolution.
Any testimony relating to his so-called infringement of the law must be admitted.
- Irrelevant. Immaterial. Inadmissible. - But why?
If Bertram Cates were on trial for murder,
would it be irrelevant to call in witnesses to examine the weapon?
Would it rule out testimony that the weapon was incapable of firing a bullet?
I fail to grasp the learned counsel's meaning.
Oh.
Well, Your Honour, the defence wishes to place Dr Keller on the stand
so that he can explain to the gentlemen of the jury
the exact meaning of the theory of evolution.
How can they judge if they don't know what it's about?
I hold that the very law we are here to enforce excludes such testimony.
The people of this state have made it clear that they do not want zoological hogwash
slobbered around the schoolrooms.
And I refuse to allow these agnostic scientists
to employ this courtroom as a sounding board,
as a platform from which they can shout their heresies into the headlines.
Colonel Drummond, the bench rules that zoology is irrelevant to the case.
Agnostic scientists!
(clears throat)
I call Dr Allen Page, deacon of the Congregational Church,
and professor of geology and archaeology.
- Objection. - Objection sustained.
Does Your Honour deny the existence of zoology, geology and archaeology?
We do not deny the existence of these sciences,
but they do not relate to this point of law.
I call Walter Aaronson, anthropologist, philosopher, author,
and one of the most brilliant minds in the world. Any objection?
- Objection. - Your Honour,
the defence has brought, at great expense and inconvenience, six noted scientists.
Their testimony is basic to the defence of my client.
For I intend to show this court that what Bertram Cates spoke quietly
one spring morning in the Hillsboro high school is no crime.
It is incontrovertible as geometry to any enlightened community of minds.
In this community, and in this sovereign state, exactly the opposite is the case.
The language of the law is clear.
We do not need experts to question the validity of a law already on the books.
What do you need? A gallows to hang him from?
That remark is an insult to this community.
And this community is an insult to the world.
(murmuring followed by gavel)
Your Honour, I request permission to withdraw from this case.
- You can't quit now. - You were ready to five minutes ago.
Colonel Drummond. What reasons can you possibly have?
Well, there are 200 of 'em.
And if that's not enough, there's one more.
I think my client has already been found guilty.
Is Mr Drummond saying that this expression of an honest emotion
will influence the court's impartial administration of the law?
I say that you cannot administer a wicked law impartially.
You can only destroy and punish.
And I warn you that a wicked law, like cholera, destroys everyone it touches.
- Its upholders as well as its defiers. - (judge) Colonel Drummond.
Can't you understand that if you take a law like evolution
and make it a crime to teach it in public schools,
tomorrow you could make it a crime to teach it in private schools,
and tomorrow you may make it a crime to read about it?
And soon you may ban books and newspapers.
And then you may turn Catholic against Protestant,
and Protestant against Protestant,
and try to foist your own religion upon the mind of man.
If you can do one you can do the other,
because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy and needs feeding.
And soon, Your Honour, with banners flying and with drums beating,
we'll be marching backward.
Backward!
Through the glorious ages of that 16th century,
when bigots burned the man who dared bring enlightenment
and intelligence to the human mind.
I hope counsel does not mean to imply that this court is bigoted.
- Your Honour has the right to hope. - I have the right to do more than that.
You have the power to do more than that.
And I exercise that power.
I order you to show cause tomorrow morning at ten o'clock
why you should not be held in contempt of court.
In the meanwhile, I order that you be held in custody of the bailiff.
Bail is fixed at $2,000.
$2,000? Why don't you make it 4,000?
It's four, Colonel Drummond.
Your Honour, my paper will post the bond.
Can you prove legal authorisation to make such a commitment for your employer?
- I'll wire my paper immediately. - Fine.
Until then, Colonel Drummond can avail himself of our municipal accommodation.
(murmuring)
Your Honour. Your Honour, sir.
I'll put up my farm for Mr Drummond.
We have no way of ascertaining the value of your farm, sir.
It ought to be worth that much.
The law demands that bond be posted in cash.
Your Honour, my bank will honour the offer on the security of his farm.
He has considerably more equity in it than that.
Very well. You can make arrangements with the court clerk.
- Who are you? - My name is John Stebbins.
(judge) The court will adjourn and reconvene at 10am tomorrow.
♪ We'll hang Bert Cates to a sour apple tree
♪ Our God is marching on
♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah
She'll sleep all right tonight.
Give her these pills tomorrow and keep her in bed.
Thank you, John.
Rachel.
Rachel?
♪ We'll hang Bert Cates to a sour apple tree
♪ Our God is marching on
♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah
♪ His truth is marching on
♪ We'll hang Bert Cates to a sour apple tree
♪ Our God is marching on
♪ We'll hang Henry Drummond to a sour apple tree
♪ Our God is marching on
(knock at door)
♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah
His truth...
Grrr!
- Trick or treat? - Oh, for...
Hooligans of the world unite!
You've got nothing to burn but your intellectuals.
Well, those are the boobs that make our laws. It's the democratic process.
I suppose you have something better to suggest.
♪ We'll hang Henry Drummond to a sour apple tree
Hm.
Looks like you're going out in a blaze of glory, Counsellor.
Well, you were pretty impressive for a while there today, Henry.
"Your Honour, after a while you'll be setting man against man,
creed against creed, et cetera, et cetera. Ad nauseam." Unquote.
Henry, why don't you wake up? Darwin was wrong.
Man's still an ape and his creed's still a totem pole.
When he first achieved the upright position, he looked at the stars.
Thought they were something to eat.
He couldn't reach them, and he decided they were groceries of a bigger creature.
That's how Jehovah was born.
I wish I had your worm's-eye view of history. It would make things a lot easier.
Oh, no. Not for you. No. You'd still be spending your time
trying to make sense out of what is laughingly referred to as the human race.
Why don't you take your blinders off?
Don't you know the future's already obsolete?
You think man still has a noble destiny.
Well, I tell you he's already started on his backward march
to the salt and stupid sea from which he came.
What about men like Bert Cates?
Cates?
A monkey who tried to fly.
Cates climbed to the top of the totem pole but then he jumped.
And there was nobody there to catch him. Not even you.
You were there. You saw what they did to my witnesses.
- What you need's a drink. - What I need is a miracle.
Miracle? Here's a whole bagful.
Courtesy of Matthew Harrison Brady.
Your Honour.
Your Honour, I feel I owe you an apology.
Any remarks leading up to the contempt citation I regret.
I realise Your Honour is trying to be fair.
I'm very sorry for any remarks that were made in the heat of the moment.
My friends, Colonel Drummond,
the man that I believe came into the world to save mankind from sin
taught that it was godly to forgive.
I believe in those principles. I accept Colonel Drummond's apology.
- I withdraw the contempt citation. - Thank you.
I should like to add that in the spirit of forgiveness
I feel no animosity toward learned counsel from Chicago.
He is well known to have ridden hobbyhorses before.
Perhaps he'll return home having learned a lesson.
We commend him to learn the words of him who said:
"if you thirst, come unto me and I will give you life."
That's why he hasn't an enemy in the world. Only his friends hate him.
(clears throat)
Perhaps there is much to learn from the counsel for the prosecution.
Your Honour, there were some remarks I made yesterday,
namely, that I wish to withdraw.
I should like to withdraw my withdrawal and continue as counsel for Cates.
I see no reason why Colonel Drummond should not continue as defence counsel.
- Proceed, Colonel Drummond. - Thank you.
Your Honour, the court has ruled out any evidence
as to scientific knowledge or the Darwinian theory.
Would the court admit evidence, expert evidence,
on a book known as the Holy Bible?
Any objection, Colonel Brady?
If counsel can advance the case for the defendant
through the use of the Holy Scriptures, prosecution'll take no exception.
Good. I call one of the world's foremost experts on the Bible and its teachings.
Matthew Harrison Brady.
Your Honour, this is preposterous!
Brother, let us pray.
Well, it's highly unorthodox.
I've never known the defence to call the prosecuting attorney as a witness.
Your Honour, this entire trial is unorthodox.
But if the interests of right and justice will be served, I will take the stand.
- But, Colonel Brady... - (mutters)
The court will support you if you wish to decline
to testify as a witness against your own case.
Your Honour, I shall not testify against anything.
I shall speak out, as I have all my life,
on behalf of the living truth of the Holy Scriptures.
- Colonel Brady... - It won't be necessary to swear him in.
I can make affirmation. I've no objection to swearing to God.
I take it you will tell the truth.
Now, sir, I am right in calling upon you as an authority on the Bible, am I not?
It is not boastful to say that I have studied the Bible as much as any layman,
and I have tried to live according to its precepts.
Bully for you.
I suppose you can quote me chapter and verse in the King James Version.
There are many portions of the Holy Bible that I have committed to memory.
I don't suppose you have committed to memory The Origin Of The Species.
I am not interested in the pagan hypotheses of that book.
- Never read it? - I never will.
Then how in perdition have you got the gall
to whoop up this holy war about something you don't know about?
How can you be so cocksure that the body of scientific knowledge
systematised in the writings of Charles Darwin
is in any way irreconcilable with the Book of Genesis?
Would you state that question again, please?
Well now, let me put it this way.
On page ten of The Origin Of The Species, Darwin states...
I object to this, Your Honour.
Colonel Brady was called as an authority on the Bible.
The gentleman from Chicago is using this opportunity to read into the record
scientific testimony which you have previously ruled irrelevant.
If he's examining Colonel Brady on the Bible, let him stick to the Bible -
the Holy Bible and only the Bible.
You will confine your questions to the Bible.
All right. Forget it.
- We'll play in your ballpark, Colonel. - (laughter)
Now, I'd like to get this part clear first.
This is the book that you're an authority on, isn't it?
Correct.
You believe that every word written in this book should be taken literally?
Everything in the Bible should be accepted exactly as it is given there.
What about this part right here,
where it talks about Jonah being swallowed by the whale?
You figure that really happened?
The Bible does not say a whale. It says a big fish.
As a matter of fact, it says a great fish.
But I guess one's pretty much the same as the other.
What do you think about that business?
I believe in a God who can make a whale and who can make a man,
and make both do what he pleases.
God bless you, Matthew Harrison Brady.
(crowd) Amen!
I want those amens in the record.
Now I recollect a story about Joshua,
Joshua making the sun stand still.
As an expert, do you tell me that's as right as the Jonah business?
That's a pretty neat trick.
I do not question or scoff at the miracles of the Lord as do ye of little faith.
Have you pondered what would happen to the earth if the sun stood still?
You can testify to that if I get you on the stand.
If, as they say, the sun stood still,
they must have some kind of an idea that the sun moved around the earth.
Do you think so, or don't you believe the earth moves round the sun?
- I have faith in the Bible. - But not much in the solar system.
- The sun stopped. - Good.
Now, if what you say actually happened,
if Joshua stopped the sun in the sky,
the earth stopped spinning on its axis.
Continents toppled over one another, mountains flew into space,
and the earth, shrivelled to a cinder, crashed into the sun.
- How come they missed that bit of news? - Because it didn't happen.
But it had to happen, according to natural law.
Or don't you believe in natural law?
Would you ban Copernicus from the classroom along with Charles Darwin?
Would you pass a law throwing out all scientific knowledge
since Joshua, Revelations, period?
Natural law was born in the mind of the heavenly Father.
He can change it, cancel it, as he pleases.
It constantly amazes me that you apostles of science, for all your supposed wisdom,
fail to grasp this simple fact.
Now, listen to this.
This is Genesis, 4 to 16.
"And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord
and dwelt in the Land of Nod, on the east of Eden."
"And Cain knew his wife."
Now, where the hell did she come from?
- Who? - Mrs Cain. Cain's wife.
If in the beginning there were Cain and Abel and Adam and Eve,
where did this extra woman come from? Did you ever stop to think about that?
No, sir. I leave the agnostics to hunt for her.
(laughter)
- Never bothered you? - Never bothered me.
- Never tried to find out? - No.
Somebody else pulled another creation in the next county?
The Bible satisfies me. It is enough.
It frightens me to think of the state of learning in the world
if everybody had your driving curiosity.
Now, this book goes into a lot of "begats".
"And Arphaxad begat Salah;
and Salah begat Eber."
And so on and so on and so on.
Are these pretty important people?
They are the generations of the holy men and women of the Bible.
- How did they go about all this begatting? - What do you mean?
I mean did they begat in much the same way as folks get themselves begat today?
The process is about the same.
I don't think your scientists have improved it any.
(laughter followed by gavel)
In other words, all of these folks were conceived and brought forth
by the normal biological function known as sex?
What do you think of sex, Colonel Brady?
In what spirit is this question asked?
Well, I'm not asking you what you think of sex as a father,
as a husband or even as a presidential candidate.
You're up here as an expert on the Bible. What is the biblical evaluation of sex?
It is considered original sin.
And all these holy people got themselves begat through original sin?
Well, all that sinning make 'em any less holy?
Where is this leading us? What has it to do with the State versus Bertram Cates?
The court must be satisfied that this questioning has a bearing on the case.
You've ruled out my witnesses.
You must allow me to examine my one witness in my own way.
Your Honour, I am willing to sit here
and endure Mr Drummond's sneering and his disrespect.
For he is pleading the prosecution's case by his contempt for all that is holy.
I object, I object, I object!
On what grounds?
Is it possible that something is holy to the celebrated agnostic?
Yes.
The individual human mind.
In a child's power to master the multiplication table
there is more sanctity than in all your shouted amens
and holy holies and hosannas.
An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral.
And the advance of man's knowledge is a greater miracle
than all the sticks turned to snakes or the parting of the waters.
But now are we to forgo all this progress
because Mr Brady now frightens us with a fable?
Gentlemen, progress has never been a bargain. You have to pay for it.
Sometimes I think there's a man behind a counter who says:
"You can have a telephone but you lose privacy and the charm of distance."
"Madam, you may vote, but at a price."
"You lose the right to retreat behind the powder puff or your petticoat."
"Mister, you may conquer the air,
but the birds will lose their wonder and the clouds will smell of gasoline."
Darwin took us forward to a hilltop,
from where we could see the way from which we came.
But for this insight and for this knowledge,
we must abandon our faith in the pleasant poetry of Genesis.
We must not abandon faith! Faith is the most important thing!
Then why did God plague us with the power to think?
Mr Brady, why do you deny the one faculty of man
that raises him above the other creatures of the earth?
The power of his brain to reason. What other merit have we?
The elephant is larger. The horse is swifter and stronger.
The butterfly is far more beautiful. The mosquito is more prolific.
Even the simple sponge is more durable. Or does a sponge think?
I don't know. I am a man, not a sponge.
(laughter)
Do you think a sponge thinks?
If the Lord wishes a sponge to think, it thinks.
Do you think a man should have the same privilege as a sponge?
Of course.
This man wishes to be accorded the same privilege as a sponge.
He wishes to think.
(gavel)
But your client is wrong. He is deluded. He has lost his way.
It's sad we don't all have your positive knowledge of what is right and wrong.
How old do you think this rock is?
I am more interested in the rock of ages than I am in the age of rocks.
Dr Page tells me this rock is at least ten million years old.
Well, well. Colonel Drummond,
you managed to sneak in some of that scientific testimony after all.
Look, Mr Brady.
These are the fossil remains of a marine prehistoric creature found in this county,
and which lived here millions of years ago when these mountain were underwater.
I know. The Bible gives a fine account of the Flood.
But your professor's mixed up on his dates.
That rock is not more than 6,000 years old.
How do you know?
A fine biblical scholar, Bishop Ussher,
has determined for us the exact date and hour of the Creation.
It occurred in the year 4004 BC.
Well, that's Bishop Ussher's opinion.
It's not an opinion. It's a fact, which the bishop arrived at through computation
of the ages of the prophets as set down in the Old Testament.
In fact, he determined that the Lord began the Creation on 23rd October, 4004 BC,
at 9am.
Is that Eastern Standard Time?
Or Rocky Mountain Time?
It wasn't Daylight Saving Time, the Lord didn't make the sun until the fourth day.
That is correct.
That first day, what do you think it was? 24 hours long?
- The Bible says it was a day. - There was no sun.
How do you know how long it was?
- The Bible says it was a day. - A normal day, a literal day, 24-hour day?
- I don't know. - What do you think?
I do not think about things I do not think about.
Do you ever think about things that you do think about?
Isn't it possible that it could have been 25 hours?
There's no way to measure it, no way to tell.
- Could it have been 25 hours? - It's possible.
Then you interpret that the first day,
as recorded in the Book of Genesis, could have been a day of indeterminate length?
I mean to state that it is not necessarily a 24-hour day.
It could have been 3O hours. Could have been a week.
Could have been a month. Could have been a year, 100 years.
Or it could have been ten million years.
I protest! This is not only irrelevant, immaterial, it is illegal!
I demand to know the purpose of Mr Drummond's examination.
He wants to destroy everybody's belief in the Bible and in God.
That's not true and you know it.
The Bible is a book. It's a good book.
But it is not the only book.
It the revealed word of the Almighty God, spake to the men who wrote the Bible.
How do you know God didn't spake to Charles Darwin?
I know because God tells me to oppose the evil teachings of that man.
God speaks to you? He tells you what is right and wrong? You act accordingly?
So you, Matthew Harrison Brady, through oratory or legislature or whatever,
you pass on God's orders to the rest of the world!
Well, meet the prophet from Nebraska!
- I... Please! - Is that the way of things?
God tells Brady what is good.
To be against Brady is to be against God.
No! Each man is a free agent.
Then what is Bertram Cates doing in the Hillsboro jail?
Supposing Mr Cates had the influence and the lung power
to railroad through the state legislature
a law saying only Darwin could be taught in school.
Ridiculous. Ridiculous. There is only one great truth in the world.
The Gospel. The Gospel according to Brady!
God speaks to Brady and Brady tells the world!
- Brady, Brady, Brady Almighty! - The Lord is my strength!
Suppose that a lesser human being, suppose a Cates or a Darwin,
had the audacity to think that God might whisper to him,
that an un-Brady thought might still be holy.
Must a man go to prison because he differs with the self-appointed prophet?
Extend the testaments. Let us have a Book of Brady.
We shall hex the Pentateuch and slip you in between Numbers and Deuteronomy.
- My friends, Your Honour... - The witness is excused!
All of you know what I stand for, what I believe.
I believe in the truth of the Book of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth,
First Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, Second Kings,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel...
Court is adjourned until ten o'clock tomorrow morning.
Matt. Matt, dear.
Let's go home.
- Home? - Back to the hotel.
(knocking)
Who is it?
- Where is he? I've got to talk to him. - Not now. He isn't feeling well.
- Now. He must tell Bert it wasn't my fault. - Please be quiet. He's sleeping.
Why should I be quiet? I want the world to know Matthew Harrison Brady is a fake.
Rachel!
I'm sorry.
I found myself in bed today, in the middle of the day.
I was dreaming I was in the witness chair, chained to it.
I kept begging him to let me go.
Rachel, it's been a nightmare for us all.
But mine was real. I turned to your husband for help.
He encouraged me to open up my heart to him and then he twisted my words.
He tricked me. Why? Why did he do it?
I don't know. I don't know why he did it.
Maybe it meant too much to him. Maybe he was tired or afraid.
I taught my pupils that Matthew Harrison Brady was a great man.
Next to God, almost. What do you want me to teach them now?
- He's still the same man. - No.
If he could do such an evil thing, then he must be an evil man.
- And all he stands for must be evil too. - Oh, stop it! Stop it!
Youth can be so pure. What do you know of good or evil?
What do you understand of the sum of a man's life?
- He betrayed me. - You betrayed yourself.
You see my husband as a saint,
and so he must be right in everything he says and does.
Then you see him as a devil,
and everything he says and does must be wrong.
Well, my husband's neither a saint nor a devil.
He's just a human being and he makes mistakes.
- How can you defend him? - It's not he I'm defending.
I'm defending the 40 years I've lived with this man
and watched him carry the burdens of people like you.
If he's been wrong, at least he stood for something. What do you stand for?
Do you believe in Bertram Cates?
I believe in my husband. What do you believe in?
Matt.
I was asleep, but...
What can I do for you, child?
I'm not your child any longer, Mr Brady.
Yours... or anyone else's.
What...
What did she want, Sarah?
She's been hurt, Matt.
You hurt her.
Oh, Matt, you were always a good man.
That's why I loved you, even from the very beginning.
People have said you made mistakes, wrong decisions.
You could have been president three times over.
But I never doubted you, Matt.
Because your decisions were honest. You never sacrificed your principles to win.
I didn't mean to hurt her.
Sarah,
a victory here would be a monument to God that would last 1,000 years.
But, Matt, every man has to build his own monument.
You can't do it for them.
If you do, it becomes your monument, not theirs.
And they'll topple it the minute they find a flaw in it.
You mean a flaw in me, don't you, Sarah?
They turned away from you this afternoon.
Oh, they didn't understand. But I'll make them understand.
They'll have to understand. My speech. Where's my speech?
Matt.
I'll make them listen. Where's my speech? I'll make them understand.
- Please don't get excited. - Here it is. I have it all down on paper.
Sarah, it isn't just this case. It's God himself that's on trial.
They'll have to listen to me.
They will listen to me.
They'll listen, dear.
- Mother, they laughed at me. - Shh, baby.
I can't stand it when they laugh at me.
It's all right, baby. It's all right.
- They laughed. - Baby.
Baby.
(clears throat)
Testing, testing. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four.
Testing. Testing. One, two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
You've brought me some more clean shirts?
Bert,
I left my father.
I messed things up pretty badly for us, didn't I?
It wasn't your fault. Brady can twist things...
It wasn't his fault.
I should have done this in the beginning. I want...
Rach.
You don't have to say it.
I'm just glad you're here.
Come on, you sit down.
Well. Welcome back to our side, Miss Brown.
- What's that? - Enunciator.
- Do you want to broadcast? - We got a direct wire to WGN Chicago.
As soon as the jury returns, we'll broadcast the verdict.
Radio. God, that's gonna break down a lot of walls.
- You're not supposed to say "God". - Why the hell not?
You're not supposed to say "hell".
This is going to be a barren source of amusement.
Hello, Colonel.
There's a little toy you'll never have any use for. Not with your lungs.
- What? - The radio.
You whisper into it and it shouts at a million people through loudspeakers.
Get rid of this.
What do you think? Can you tell from their faces?
Everybody rise. Hear ye, hear ye!
Court will reconvene in the case of the State versus Bertram Cates.
All right. Go ahead.
This is Harry Esterbrook, speaking to you from the courthouse in Hillsboro,
where the jury has just returned in the historic Hillsboro Monkey Trial case.
The judge has taken the bench.
Soon we will know whether Cates will be found innocent or guilty.
I wish I could describe the tension in this courtroom today.
- One moment, please. - Please stand by.
I've been on the phone with the lieutenant governor all morning.
The newspapers haven't been very kind to us.
The boys at the Capitol think it wouldn't do any harm if you let this simmer down.
Wait, Jason. I have an obligation to the law.
Of course you have, Merle, but don't forget... November's not too far off.
(clears throat)
Gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict?
Yes, sir... Uh, Your Honour, we have.
The verdict of the jury is unanimous.
Bertram Cates is found guilty as charged.
You have heard the verdict of the jury as read by presiding Judge Coffey.
Bertram Cates, defendant in one of the greatest ethical contests known to us,
Bertram Cates has been found guilty. The law has been satisfied.
But what repercussions of what happened will be known only to the future.
- Quiet, please. Order. - Stand by, please.
This court is still in session.
You remove that now, please.
The prisoner will rise to hear the sentence of this court.
Bert, do you wish to make any statement before sentence is passed?
Your Honour, I'm not a public speaker.
I do not have the eloquence of some of the men you've heard in the last few days.
- I'm just a schoolteacher. - Not any more, you ain't!
(booing followed by gavel)
I was a schoolteacher.
I feel that...
I've been convicted of violating an unjust law.
I will continue in the future, as I have in the past,
to oppose this law in any way I can.
Bertram Cates, this court has found you guilty of violating public act volume 37,
statute 31428, as charged.
This violation is punishable by fine and/or imprisonment.
But, since there has been no previous violation of this statute,
there's no precedent to guide the bench passing sentence.
The court deems it proper...
to sentence Bertram Cates to pay a fine of... (clears throat)
one hundred dollars.
(shouting and applause)
But, uh... Uh, did, uh...
Did Your Honour say one hundred dollars?
That is correct. That seems to conclude the trial.
But the prosecution takes exception.
Where the issues are so titanic, the court must mete out more drastic punishment.
- I object. - To make an example of the transgressor.
- To show the world... - Just a minute.
The amount of the fine is of no concern to me.
Bertram Cates has no intention of paying this or any other fine.
If it were one single dollar he would not pay it.
We are going to appeal this decision to the state supreme court.
Will the court grant us 3O days in which to prepare the appeal?
Granted. Court fixes bond at $200.
I believe that concludes the business of this trial. I declare this court adjourn...
Your Honour! With the court's permission,
I should like to read into the record a few short remarks.
I object to that.
Mr Brady is free to read any remarks in a chautauqua or political campaign,
but our business in Hillsboro is completed.
- The defence moves that we adjourn. - But I have a few remarks.
(judge) And we are all anxious to hear them, sir.
But Colonel Drummond's point of procedure is well taken.
I'm sure everyone will wish to remain after we adjourn to hear your address.
I hereby declare this court is adjourned sine die.
My friends! My dear friends!
Your attention, please!
Fellow citizens and friends of the unseen audience,
from the hallowed hills of sacred Sinai in the days of antiquity came a law
which has been our bulwark and our shield.
Age upon age, men have looked to the law as they would to the mountains.
And here, here in this courtroom...
Here in this courtroom. Oh, no. No.
...as they would look to the mountains whence cometh our strength.
From time remembered, wherever man's body has known hunger and oppression,
lost in darkness and despair, and here, here in this courtroom living still,
in spite of dungeon, fire and sword...
Eskimo pies! Five cents, Eskimo pies.
When he set fire...
Eskimo pies, sweet as honey. Here's where you bring your money.
Eskimo pies.
...lighting his way to everlasting salvation.
He would rob them of their creator and their hope of heaven.
From the hallowed hills of sacred Sinai in the days of antiquity came the law
which has been our bulwark and shield.
And here, here in this courtroom,
we have seen vindicated the faith of our fathers,
living still in spite of dungeon, fire and sword.
Our hearts beat high with joy whenever we hear that glorious word.
Faith of our fathers, holy faith, we will be true to thee...
till death.
(breathes heavily)
Matt! Matt!
- Oh, dear God in heaven! Matt! - Get back.
O Lord, pass us a miracle and save our holy prophet!
(man) Get a doctor!
(Drummond) I cannot imagine the world without Matthew Harrison Brady.
Get me the Baltimore Herald.
- What did he die of? Did they say? - He died of a busted belly.
There was much greatness in the man.
Can I quote you in the obituary?
Write anything you dare. Write anything you please.
How do you write an obituary for a man who's been dead 3O years?
Operator?
Say, what did he say to the minister?
You know, that fits. He delivered his own obituary.
Where did you put that...
Ah, here it is.
His book.
It was Proverbs, wasn't it?
"He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind."
"And the fool shall be servant to the wise in heart."
Wow!
Well, Colonel Drummond, we're growing an odd crop of agnostics this year.
You know, Hornbeck, I'm getting damned sick of you.
Why?
You never pushed a noun against a verb except to blow up something.
You know, that's a typical lawyer's trick, accusing the accuser.
- What am I accused of? - Contempt of conscience.
Sentimentality in the first degree.
Why? Because I refuse to erase a man's lifetime?
No. You know what I thought of him and I know what you thought,
so let's leave the lamentations to the illiterate.
What is this? Be Kind To Bigots Week?
Why should we weep for him? Because he's dead? Oh, no.
He cried enough for himself during his lifetime.
The national tear duct from Weeping Water, Nebraska.
He flooded the nation like a one-man Mississippi.
You know what he was, that Bible-beating bunko artist.
A giant once lived in that body.
But Matt Brady got lost because he looked for God too high up and too far away.
Why, you hypocrite! You fraud!
The atheist who believes in God.
You're just as religious as he was.
Everything is grist for your mill, isn't it?
Well, go ahead, grind it up - Brady's past, Cates' future.
My God! Don't you understand the meaning of what happened here today?
- It has no meaning. - You have no meaning.
You're like a ghost pointing an empty sleeve,
smirking at everything that people feel or want or struggle for.
- I Pity you. - You Pity me?
Isn't there anything? What touches you? What warms you?
Every man has a dream. What do you dream about?
What do you need?
You don't need anything, do you?
People, love, an idea just to cling to?
You poor slob.
You're all alone.
When you go to your grave there won't be anybody to pull the grass over your head.
Nobody to mourn you, nobody to give a damn.
You're all alone.
You're wrong, Henry.
You'll be there.
You're the type.
Who else would defend my right to be lonely?
(sighs)
♪ My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
♪ He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored
♪ He has loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword
♪ His truth is marching on
♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah
♪ His truth is marching on