Original subtitles

Good morning, young ladies and gentlemen.

- Morning. - Morning.

And visitors.

For our science lesson today, we shall continue our discussions

of dannin's theory on the descent of man.

As I told you yesterday,

dannin's theory tells us that we evolve from a lower order of animals,

from the first wriggling protozoa in the sea,

to the ape and finally to man.

Bertram t. Cates?

Come off it, Sam, you've known me all my life.

“Bertram cates, you are charged with violation of public act 31428,

"volume 37 in the state code,"

"which makes it unlawful for any teacher of the public schools"

“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 t. Cates, I hereby place you under arrest.

An American martyr was born this morning

at precisely 8:00 am. Eastern standstill time.

His name is Bertram cates.

Where?

Heavenly hillsboro, if you please.

And the almanac says the population is 2,164,

elevation 702 feet,

intellectual quotient zero,

will become the news capital for the entire uncivilized world.

But that won't be the sound of crickets the blockheads of hillsboro hear,

but the machine gunnery of telegraph keys beating out the trial of the century.

It's dan/vin versus jehovah, and the devil take the hindmost.

Now, get me a ticket on the next train out.

Everybody just calm down.

Now listen to this, “monkey shines in hillsboro."

"The monkey trial.“

I'm telling you, the whole world is laughing at us.

Look, here's another one, this one's from Chicago.

“Heavenly hillsboro, does it have a hole in its head, “

"or is its head in a hole?"

- Now, I'm telling you, we've gone too far. - Let 'em laugh.

I'm telling you, we are fighting the lord's battle here.

I'd sight rather have some heathen laugh at me

than have my sons laugh at my Bible.

They mocked the lord, too, didn't they?

And they spat upon him and he turned to them his other cheek.

Look, reverend, we don't want to smite 'em back,

we just want to make them stop.

Tom, you're the prosecuting attorney, isn't there something we can do?

In view of my position, I hardly think it ethical to express my opinion.

Maybe you ought to go back to law school then.

I mean, what do we care what a bunch of city fellows and foreigners think?

You ever had a frenchman stay in your hotel?

And what about you, Joe?

When was the last time you sold a pound of grits

to some fancy man from New York City?

- Now, hold on. - Friends...

As you know, I deal in figures, counts, checks, balances.

My bank operates on a principle of practical reality, and so do I.

Are you aware, my friends, that the great universities will consider

applicant students from our state ineligible because of this law?

Now, I don't know whose idea it was to hang a shingle on hillsboro

spelling "horse and buggy,"

but as for me, I won't invest in antiquity.

I want my banks holding credit in New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois,

and I may want my son to go to Yale.

Now, I believe as much as anyone in this room

in a basic, fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible,

- but we can't close our eyes to all... - Wait a minute.

"Brady volunteers to prosecute in monkey trial."

Matthew Harrison Brady. God has sent us his right hand.

Matt Brady. Looks like I'll be working with him.

They'll come pouring out of the hills.

Town'll fill up like a rain barrel in a flood.

It will be bigger than the state fair.

Aren't they gonna need places to sleep?

All those people, they got to eat.

This will put hillsboro on the map of this country.

We must give thanks onto the lord. Let us pray.

You better start praying, son.

Imagine, Matthew Harrison Brady coming here.

I voted for him for president, twice.

In 1900, and again in '08.

I wasn't old enough to vote for him first time he ran, but my pa did.

Seen him once in chautauqua meeting in chattanooga.

When he spoke, the tent Poles shook.

Who's your lawyer gonna be, son?

I don't know yet. Some organization in New York

is supposed to be sending somebody.

Yeah? He better be loud.

Now, who can that be?

Bert, you don't mind, do you?

Just for the looks of it.

Can't tell who it might be.

Supposed to be in jail, I better be in jail.

I'm coming. I'm coming.

Who is it?

Mr. Meeker?

Well, hello, Rachel, come on in.

Got a present for Bert?

Mr. Meeker, please don't tell my father I came here.

The reverend don't tell me his business.

Don't know why I should tell him mine.

- Is Bert all right? - Don't know why he shouldn't be.

You know, I always figured the safest place in the world is a jail.

As long as I've been bailiff here,

we never had nothing but drunks, vagrants, couple chicken thieves.

Seems kind of queer to have a schoolteacher in a jail.

Might improve the writing on the walls.

You wait here, I'll bring him up.

Don't run off, Bert.

Bert, tell 'em you're sorry, that it was all a mistake. Please.

Sure, tell them that 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 same.

- But it would be... - Rach...

Remember those long walks on those warm, dark nights along the river bank?

Wondering what the stars were for. What was on the other side of the moon.

There'd be no more of that.

- We could still have that. - No, no, Rachel.

We couldn't.

You got another visitor, Bert.

So, this is where the fate of learning will be decided for the next 10,000 years.

Can it be that both beauty and biology are on our side?

- Who are you? - Hornbeck's the name. E.K. Hornbeck.

Baltimore herald.

Yes, I've heard of you.

And my typewriter's been singing a sweet, sad song

about the hillsboro heretic, b. Cates.

Modern day Dreyfus, Romeo with a biology book.

And you must be Juliet.

My name is Rachel brown.

You make me sound like a martyr.

You could be.

But you haven't won your halo yet.

That comes after you've been tossed into the arena with the lion.

- You mean Brady? - Bullseye.

I don't want Bert to be a martyr.

- What are you trying to prove anyway? - Good question.

All I want to do is teach my students that man wasn't stuck here

like a geranium in a flower pot.

That life comes from a long miracle, it didn't just happen in seven days.

Couldn't have said it better.

But it's against the law. A schoolteacher is a public servant.

He should do what the law and the school board tell him to do.

I don't see anything funny in all this, Mr. Hornbeck.

Objection sustained.

Neither do I.

Then why don't you leave us alone?

You newspaper people have already 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.

Don't worry, Juliet.

I may be rancid butter, but I'm on your side of the bread.

I'm afraid, Bert.

I'm afraid, too.

Friends of hillsboro,

Mrs. Brady and I are delighted to be among you.

We all voted for you three times.

I sincerely hope it was in three separate elections.

I can only wish for one thing, that you had not given us quite

so warm a welcome.

- Here you are, Mr. Brady. - Bless you. No, thank you.

Mr. Matthew Harrison Brady,

as mayor of hillsboro, may I say,

this municipality is proud to have within its city limits

a lawyer who has always fought for us ordinary people.

Why, the lady folks of this town wouldn't have the vote

if it wasn't for you fighting to give them all that suffrage.

Yeah.

Mr. President Wilson would never have gotten to the white house

and won the war if it wasn't for you supporting him

and being his secretary of state.

In conclusion...

Fan, mister?

Compliments Mason's funeral parlor, just 5 cents.

I'd rather die first.

To confer upon you a commission as honorary colonel in the state militia.

Colonel Brady. I like the sound of that.

Who, may I ask, is the spiritual leader of this community?

The reverend Jeremiah brown.

How do you do, sir?

Would you step right in and stand on my right?

- My pleasure, sir. - Thank you.

Friends of hillsboro, you know why I've come here.

Not merely to prosecute a lawbreaker,

I have come because something has happened in a schoolroom in your town

that has unloosed a wicked attack from the big cities of the north.

We did not seek this struggle.

We are simple people who ask only to live in brotherhood and in peace,

and Cherish our loved ones,

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?

They would have them measure the distance between the stars

and forget him who holds the stars in his hand.

They would Rob them

of their creator in the beginning and their hope of heaven in the end.

And for the morality of brotherly love,

they would substitute the immorality of self-love.

They are lost, my friends, for I tell you,

the man believes he is descended from the beast.

He must remain a beast!

And as the young wolf turns on the old, so these innocent ones,

corrupted and despairing of salvation, will turn upon their fathers.

We will have a land of sodom and gomorrah, pestilence, fire, hatred and death.

It is for this crime,

this crime against man and god,

that we must make an example of that teacher who would sow the seeds

of frustration and despair in the minds of our young ones here.

The whole world must see

- how this criminal... - No!

It isn't true.

Bert cates isn't a criminal.

What is your name, young lady?

Rachel brown.

She's my daughter, colonel Brady.

Your daughter, reverend? A lovely young woman she is, too.

- You're a schoolteacher, too, I see. - Yes.

I'm sure that you teach according to the precepts of the lord.

Yes, I try.

Has this Mr. Gates ever tried to pollute your mind

with any of his heathen dogma?

Bert isn't a heathen, Mr. Brady.

- He was only... - Rachel.

No, my friends.

This young woman's inability to recognize the face of evil

testifies to her own innocence.

My dear, I understand the feeling of loyalty,

of Christian charity, if you will,

that moves you to defend a colleague fallen from grace,

and I have no personal malice toward this misguided young man,

but he is condemned by his own acts.

And no one on earth can defend him from the just punishment that awaits him.

You taking questions, colonel Brady?

By all means. Do I know you, sir?

Working press, e. K. Hornbeck of the Baltimore herald.

I've often taken issue with the mocking tone

of Mr. Hornbeck's columns,

but I will entertain his query nonetheless.

I wonder if you have any reaction

to who your adversary is going to be in this case.

Well, I've not yet been informed who my adversary is,

but given the belief in the righteousness of our cause,

it hardly makes any difference.

It's Henry drummond, colonel.

Does that make any difference?

Who's Henry drummond?

Henry drummond, the atheist.

He's a vicious, godless man, a creature of darkness,

an agent of the devil!

- Don't let him in town! - Keep him out!

Keep him out! Keep him out! Keep him out!

Keep him out! Keep him out! Keep him out!

- Keep him out! Keep him out! - Dear friends, please, please.

I believe that 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 Henry drummond.

If Saint George had killed a dragonfly instead of a dragon,

who would remember him?

We here in hillsboro have an opportunity to slay

not only the devil's disciple,

but the devil himself.

Rachel.

I waited supper for you.

It's on the table.

Peace will come, my daughter.

We must thank god the sinner stands naked and exposed.

Stop preaching, pa.

You're upset, my darling.

- I have something to tell you. - Let's eat something.

- No. - We'll talk after.

Right now.

I'm not leaving Bert.

I don't understand.

You heard what Mr. Brady said.

I love him, pa. I love him.

It's a love of Judas.

Rachel, this man has nothing to offer you but sin.

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's he doing with Henry drummond?

Why is he bringing Henry drummond down here to spew his atheistic filth

into the ears of our people?

Rachel, Rachel, you're a schoolteacher.

You know how easy it is to mold minds for good

or twist 'em for evil.

Bert didn't twist any minds.

You are infected with the poison of his agnosticism!

Rachel, Rachel, get down on your knees.

- Beg for forgiveness. - Forgiveness for what?

Because you betrayed me.

You have betrayed your faith.

I haven't betrayed anybody.

I'm glad your mother's not alive to hear this.

- Pa, listen to me. - But if she is watching down from heaven,

I ask her to forgive you, to forgive me. Forgive her, mother.

- Oh, dear god, forgive me... - Ever since I was a little girl,

- I'd wake up at night afraid of the dark. - For I have sinned.

- Like the whole house was upside-down. - Forgive me. Dear god...

And if I didn't hang on to the mattress, I'd fall out into the sky.

I wanted to run to you and have you tell me that I was safe.

For I have tried to be both mother and father to our child!

I was always more afraid of you than of falling.

- It's the same way now! - I have failed! I have failed!

- Pa! - I have failed!

Tell me what to do!

Guide my faltering steps.

I love my daughter.

- How can I save her? Tell me what to do. - Pa, get up.

Get up. Please get up.

And I shall sprinkle clean water upon you.

- Get up. - And you shall be clean.

- And a new heart also will I give you. - Get up.

And a new spirit will I put within you.

No.

Hillsboro!

- Thank you. - Thank you, sir.

Hello, devil. Welcome to hell.

Hello, hornbeck.

Hey, you know where the mansion house is?

That's where I'm staying, follow me.

Hillsboro, the heavenly hillsboro, the buckle on the Bible belt.

- Popcorn. - Popcorn!

Cotton candy!

Cotton candy!

- Want some? - No.

Quite a circus, huh?

Look at this.

Grandpa!

Welcome to hillsboro!

Did you come to testify for the prosecution or the defense?

Popcorn?

You're on the jury, kid.

Hey, you Henry drummond?

- Yes, I am. - I'm Royce McHenry, farmer hereabouts.

Nice to know you, Mr. McHenry.

I want to tell you, we just plain folk down here.

We don't need no outsiders telling us how or what to think.

Well, that's not my mission, Mr. McHenry.

Well, why don't you go back where you came from?

They get a little riled up, don't they?

Their Messiah arrived yesterday.

Might as well give your ulcers a break, drummond.

Go home. You'll win no victories here.

Listen, I've been a lawyer long enough

to know you don't win any total victories anywhere.

Total victories?

There's only one man in this town who knows how to think, and he's in jail.

Well, that's why I'm here.

Local greeting committee.

Mr. Drummond, we're members of Mr. Cates' homeroom and biology class.

We like Mr. Cates.

We hope you do right by him.

I do, too, son. I do, too.

Thank you.

Then we would carry the fight to the people of each sovereign state.

Sarah, you're looking as lovely as always.

- It's so good to see you, Henry. - Excuse me, gentlemen.

I only wish it weren't under these circumstances.

Henry drummond!

- How are you, Henry? - Hello, Matt.

Well, I see that you've already made friends

with some of the younger set.

Well, youth appeals to me these days.

We're not getting any younger, Henry.

You're not eating again. Matt...

You know what the doctor said about overeating in this heat.

Don't worry, mother, we need strength for the fight ahead!

Here's your room key.

It's you again, Mr. Hornbeck.

I read your article yesterday. Very biased reporting, I must say.

It is a newspaper's duty to comfort the afflicted

and afflict the comfortable.

See you in court, counselor.

I don't like that fellow.

Come on, Henry, let me introduce you to some of the good people

of hillsboro.

This is Mr. Carter, the mayor.

Welcome to hillsboro, Mr. Drummond.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

The prosecuting attorney for this district, Mr. Davenport.

We'll be working together.

Mr. Drummond, sir, I want to assure you

that while we may not agree with your ideas,

we certainly respect your right to voice them.

Good boy.

Mr. Drummond and I have fought side by side

in a good many battles for the rights of the common people of this country.

Twice he campaigned for me when I ran for president.

- Isn't that right, Henry? - That's right, Matt.

Now, after all these years,

we find ourselves on the opposite side of an issue.

Well, that's evolution for you.

Good afternoon, gentlemen, thank you.

You may take a seat in the jury box, Mr. Jenkins.

Mr. Meeker, call a venireman to fill the 12th seat on the jury.

Jesse h. Dunlap. You're next, Jesse.

There'll be no more of that picture-taking, I warned you.

And I will tolerate no disturbance or demonstrations in this courtroom.

This is a trial, not a dog and pony show.

Stuffing his face with fried chicken

and belching platitudes.

You reporters, keep your voices down or I'll ban you from the court.

I just got the hook. I'll call you later.

I wonder, before we continue, if the court will entertain a motion

on a matter of procedure.

Will the learned prosecutor state the motion?

It's been called to my attention that the temperature in this room

is now 97 degrees fahrenheit.

And it may get hotter.

I don't think the dignity of the court will suffer

should we dispose of a few superfluous outer garments.

Does the defense have any objection to colonel Brady's motion?

No, but I just wonder if the dignity of the court

can be upheld with these gallouses I got on.

We'll take that chance, Mr. Drummond.

Those who wish to remove their coats may do so.

Is the council for the defense showing us the latest fashions

from the great metropolitan city of Chicago?

I'm glad you asked that.

You see, I brought these along special.

Just so happens, I purchased 'em

at the general store in your hometown, Mr. Brady,

weeping water, Nebraska.

Let us proceed with the selection of the final juror.

State your name and occupation.

Jesse h. Dunlap, farming implements. We sell tractors...

Sit down, Jesse.

Do you believe in the Bible, Mr. Dunlap?

I believe in the holy word of god and Matthew Harrison Brady.

Amen!

Well...

I believe this man is acceptable to the prosecution, thank you.

Mr. Drummond?

No questions, not acceptable.

Does Mr. Drummond refuse this man a place on the jury

simply because he believes in the Bible?

If you can find an evolutionist in this town, you can refuse him.

I object to the counsel for the defense rejecting

a worthy citizen without so much as asking him a question.

All right, Mr. Brady, I'll ask him a question.

- How are you? - Kind of hot.

So am I. Excused.

You are excused from jury duty, Mr. Dunlap.

- You may step down. - And I object to the note of levity.

Counsel for the defense is introducing into these proceedings.

The bench agrees with you in spirit, colonel Brady.

Really? Well, I object to this damn "colonel" business.

Apparently, I'm not aware of the military record of Mr. Brady.

Well, he was made honorary colonel in our state militia

the day he arrived in hillsboro.

Well, that title automatically prejudices my client's case.

It conjures up some image of the prosecutor astride a white horse

decked out in full regalia of a militia colonel,

with all the forces of right and righteousness amassed behind him.

Well, we certainly 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, counselor?

Break him. Make him a private.

I have no serious objection to the honorary title of private Brady.

Your honor...

You know our mayor, Mr. Drummond?

He has a suggestion to make.

By the authority of...

Well, I'm sure the governor won't have any objection.

I hereby appoint you, Mr. Drummond,

a temporary honorary colonel in the state militia.

Well...

What can I say?

It is not every day, sir,

that one attains the exalted rank

- of temporary honorary colonel. - Colonel.

Well...

Thank you, sir.

They ought to get him a uniform of tar and feathers.

- That'd teach him some respect. - Colonel Brady,

colonel drummond,

you will examine the next venireman.

George sillers, come to the stand.

State your name and occupation.

- George sillers. I work at the feed store. - Be seated, George.

Tell me, sir, would you call yourself a religious man?

Well, I guess I'm as religious as the next man.

In hillsboro, sir, that means a great deal.

Mr. Sillers, do you have any children?

Not as I know of.

If you had a son or a daughter, what would you think

if that sweet child came home from school one day,

and told you that a godless teacher...

Objection! We're supposed to be selecting jurymen.

Prosecution is already denouncing my client

before the trial has even started.

Objection sustained.

Mr. Sillers, do you have any opinions in regard to the defendant

that might prejudice you on his behalf?

Cates?

I don't hardly know him.

Come in and bought some peat moss once.

Paid his bill on time.

Mr. Sillers impresses me as an honest, god-fearing man. I accept him.

Thank you, colonel Brady. Colonel drummond?

Mr. Sillers,

now, you said that you are a religious man.

Now, tell me, you work at it very hard?

Well, I'm pretty busy down there at the feed store,

so my wife tends to the religion for the both of us.

I see. You take care of this life, she takes care of the next one?

That is objected to as immaterial and argumentative.

Objection sustained.

While your wife is tending to the religion,

did you ever bump into a fella named Charles Darwin?

Not till just recent.

Well, from what you've heard about this Mr. Dan/vin,

do you think he's someone your wife would have over for Sunday dinner?

Your honor, my worthy opponent from Chicago is cluttering up the issue

with hypothetical questions.

I have already established

that Mr. Sillers is not working very hard at religion.

Now, for your sake, I'm trying to find out if he's working hard at evolution.

I'm just working at the feed store.

Mr. Sillers, do you think that you can render an impartial decision...

Out of order. Prosecution has already accepted this man.

- 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 and patterns of society...

Oh, conform, conform! What do you wanna do,

run the entire jury through a meat grinder so they'll all come out the same?

Take a box seat, Mr. Sillers.

- Your honor... - Gentlemen, you are both out of order.

The bench rules that the jury has been selected.

Due to the excessive heat,

the court will adjourn until tomorrow morning at 10:00.

Reverend brown wanted you to read this.

One moment, one moment.

The reverend brown has asked me to read this announcement.

"There will be a prayer meeting tonight in the town square"

"to pray forjustice and guidance. All are invited."

I object to this commercial announcement.

Commercial announcement?

Yes, for reverend brown's product.

Why don't you announce a meeting for evolution?

I have no knowledge of such a meeting.

Well, that's understandable.

Your honor, it's bad enough that everybody coming into this courtroom

has to walk in under a banner that says, "read your Bible."

I want that banner taken down.

Or else another one put up that's just as big,

and with letters just as big, that says, "read your Darwin."

- That's preposterous! - It certainly is.

Order! Order!

Ladies and gentlemen, friends, order, now.

We want the learned counsel from the north

to receive every fairness and consideration in this trial.

We must not forget that he is our guest.

Guest? Hell! I'm a lawyer in a courtroom!

- Well, then behave like a lawyer. - You're both out of order.

Stop using this courtroom as a sounding board for your obscene ideas,

dirtying the minds of our young people here.

You're both out of order. Court stands adjourned.

My conduct as a lawyer is not in question in this courtroom,

- least of all by you. - Well, your language is.

Look, I don't swear just for the hell of it.

Language is a poor enough form of communication.

We need every damn word that we've got.

And there's damn few of those words that everybody understands.

I'll fix you, Bert cates. Atheist!

All right, folks, that's about enough.

All right, folks, let's clear the courtroom, now. Everybody go home.

Just remember the Baltimore herald is with you,

right up to the lynching.

Bert, you gotta call the whole thing off. Now. Right now.

Excuse me, who are you, young lady?

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 anymore.

You're helping something bad.

It's not quite that simple, young lady, you know.

Good or bad, black or white, night or day.

Did you know at the top of the world, that the 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.

And why do you have to come here and make it different?

I didn't come here to make hillsboro different.

I came here to fight for his right to be different.

That's the point. Now, what do you say, boy?

I don't know what the point is anymore. I tried to teach their kids.

I tried to open the minds of their kids. Their kids.

I tried to give them knowledge that they could use.

And they're using it as a stranglehold on me.

You're learning, cates.

Disillusionment is what little heroes are made of.

You're off to a good start.

Well, where do I finish? Dead?

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, and to you, I'm a cause.

And to yourself?

You chose to get into this, not for his headline or for my cause,

maybe not even for their kids.

Every Saint is self-employed.

You did it for yourself because you found something to believe in.

I didn't believe that it would happen this way.

These people look at me as if I were a murderer.

Well, you are, in a way.

You tear down one of their little fairy tales,

they'll come down on you

with the wrath of god, Brady, and the state legislature every damn time.

Anyway, it's up to you, cates.

I can change your plea.

We'll just forget about the whole business, on one condition.

You tell me you really think the law is right

and you are wrong.

I'll pack my grip, go back to Chicago,

where it's a cool 100 in the shade.

Bert, I've gone to my father's church every Sunday

for as long as I can remember.

This is where I live. This is where my children will be born.

But what kind of life could we have if I give up now?

Your father's kind?

Hallelujah and ignorance, here we come? I can't live that way.

Sorry, Bert. I got to take you back now.

You ever been in love, hornbeck?

Only with the sound of my own words, thank god.

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.

Got any idea how long the trial will last?

Month, maybe longer. It depends whether they let us call witnesses.

Single state in this union where the evolutionists have a majority.

I'll congratulate them as soon as I finish this soup.

Mr. Brady, how do you account for the unfavorable comment...

Excuse me, gentlemen.

Sarah, why don't you sit with me?

- He's gonna be a while. - Lovely.

Thank you.

- Could I order you something? - No, thank you.

Now, whatever happened to the hat with the blue feather?

Blue feather?

You used to wear it to all the conventions,

and it was much too becoming.

Henry...

Whatever happened to that skinny black tie you used to wear?

Not very attractive. Like an old shoelace.

Yeah, it went back in the shoe.

Now, how are you?

- How are you, Sarah? - A little grayer.

- And you? - A little grimmer.

I don't believe it. I watched you in court today.

You seemed to be enjoying yourself as much as ever.

Well, that's Matt. He brings out the worst in me.

We've missed you, Henry.

You don't make many good friends in this lifetime.

I never dreamed our ideas could separate us.

I have been to their cities,

the altars upon which they sacrifice the futures of their children

to the gods of science.

- He still has a loud voice. - Confusion, self-destruction,

new ways to kill each other in wars.

I tell you, the way of scientism, is the way of darkness.

He still has something to say.

You know, looking back, I don't think that Matt would have made a great president.

But I would have voted for him for king

if I knew I was gonna get you as queen.

And what would you be?

Your majesty's loyal opposition.

That'll be all for this evening, gentlemen.

Henry, you must understand. There's nothing personal in all of this.

Of course, Sarah.

It's almost time, dear.

Henry, I do hope that you'll attend reverend brown's prayer meeting.

It may bring you some enlightenment.

Yes, Henry. Do come along. The air will do you good.

Harken to the word!

The word tells us the world was created in six days.

In five days,

he created the earth and the stars,

and the continents, and the seas, and all the creatures therein,

the beasts and the fishes.

- Hallelujah! - Hallelujah!

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?

- Tell us! - He looked about him, did the lord,

at all his handiwork bowed down before him,

and he said, "it is not good."

"It is not finished!"

"I shall make me a man!"

Yes! Yes!

- And the lord made man... - Whatever happened to silent prayer?

- Do we believe? - Yes!

- Do we believe the word? - Yes!

- Do we believe the truth of the word? - Yes! Yes!

Do we curse the man who denies the word?

Yes!

Do we call down hellfire on the man

- who has sinned against the word? - Yes!

O lord of the tempest and the thunder,

o lord of righteousness and wrath,

we pray that thou wilt make us a sign!

Hallelujah.

Strike down this sinner

as thou didst thy enemies of old in the days of the pharaoh.

Yes!

Let him feel

the terror of thy sword.

For all eternity,

let his soul

writhe in anguish

- and damnation! - Yes!

No! Don't pray to destroy Bert!

Get away!

Lord!

Lord, we call down the same curse on those who would ask grace for the sinner.

Though they be blood of my blood, flesh of my flesh...

Reverend brown!

Brown, I know that it is

the great zeal of your faith that makes you utter this prayer,

but sometimes it's possible to be overzealous,

so we destroy that which we hope to save

and leave nothing 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 god's children, should forgive each other.

My dear friends, return to your homes, go home.

May the blessings of the lord be with you all.

If I have sinned, I am punished.

- We'll take you home, my dear. - I can't go home. He hates me.

No, he doesn't hate you.

But he damned me. My own father damned me to hell.

No man has the power to damn.

But he's always done it.

He did it to Bert, and he did it to the little stebbins boy.

- The stebbins boy? - That's how the whole thing started.

That's why Bert left the church.

Mrs. Stebbins' boy was just an innocent child.

God has no wrath for the innocent, my dear.

That's what Bert said.

If I can only explain it clearly, they'd understand, Mr. Brady.

We're going to help you in any way we possibly can.

- Come along, let's go home now. - Come on, clear.

Thank you.

- Hello, Henry. - Sarah.

- I'll be right up, dear. - All right.

- Good night, Henry. - Good night, Sarah.

- You're up late. - Too hot to sleep.

No use kidding ourselves, Henry. We are not the men we used to be.

Well, from the size of that meal I saw you eat tonight,

I think you haven't changed in 40 years.

That's funny.

Two people can start from the same place and just drift apart.

I think it's the life process.

There used to be

a mutuality of understanding and admiration between us, Henry.

Tell me, my old friend, why have you moved so far away from me?

Well, all motion is relative, Matt.

Maybe it's you who have moved away, by standing still.

If progress means abandoning god, abandoning the faith of our fathers...

I saw an example of that faith tonight.

That's a pretty deadly instrument if you ask me.

What you saw was a reflection of the violence

and hatred in the world around them, Henry. Your world.

But they were driven to it because their faith was challenged.

These are simple people, poor people. They work hard.

They need something to believe in, 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, Henry?

It's all they have.

It's like a golden chalice of hope.

- Like my golden dancer. - Your what?

Golden dancer, she was in the big side window

of the general store in wakeman, Ohio.

I used to stand on the street and look in

and say, "if I could just have the golden dancer",

"I'd have everything in this world that I want."

The golden dancer. I was seven years old. I was a very good judge of rocking horses.

Big red mane, blue eyes, gold all over with purple spots.

Oh, boy, and when the sun hit her stirrups,

she was a dazzling sight to see.

But she was a week's wages to my father,

so there was always a plate glass window

between me and the golden dancer.

Till one morning... Couldn't have been Christmas.

Must've been my birthday.

Anyway, I woke up, and there at the foot of my bed was the golden dancer.

My mother had skimped on the groceries, my father had worked nights for a month.

Well, ijumped into the saddle and I started to rock.

And it broke in two.

Wood was rotten. The thing was put together with spit and sealing wax.

All shine and no substance.

So, Matt, whenever I find anything nice and shiny and bright and seemingly perfect

and painted all gold with purple spots, I look behind the paint.

If what I find is a lie, I show it up for what it really is.

You say you're giving the people hope?

I say you're stealing hope from the people.

And as long as the prerequisite for your shining paradise is ignorance

and all that ignorance breeds,

poverty, bigotry and hate,

I say the hell with it.

Now, Howard, tell them what else Mr. Cates said to you in the classroom.

Well, he said at first the earth was too hot for any life.

And then it cooled down a mite

and cells and things begun to live.

- Cells? - Little bugs like, in the water.

And after that, the little bugs got to be bigger bugs and they sprouted legs

and crawled up on the land.

And how long did this take, according to Mr. Gates?

Couple million years, maybe longer.

Right there, gentlemen.

Then come the fishes and the reptiles and the mammals.

- Man's a mammal. - Along with the dogs

and the cattle in the fields, did he say that?

Yes, sir.

Now, Howard, how did man come out of this slimy mess of bugs and serpents,

according to your professor?

Man was sort of evoluted from the old world monkeys.

Did you hear that, my friends? Old world monkeys.

According to Mr. Cates, you and I are not even descended from good American monkeys.

Howard, listen carefully now.

All this talk of bugs and evolution, of slime and ooze...

Did Mr. Cates ever make any reference to god?

Not as I remember.

And the miracle he achieved in seven days

as described in the beautiful book of Genesis?

No, sir.

- Ladies and gentlemen, I... - Objection!

I ask that the court please advise the learned counsel

that this is not a chautauqua tent.

He is supposed to be submitting evidence to a jury,

and there are no ladies on the jury.

Your honor, 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

has been moved by his tragic confusion.

He's been taught that he wriggled up

like an animal out of the filth and the muck below.

I tell you, these Bible haters,

these evolutionists are brewers of poison.

And the legislature of this sovereign state has had the wisdom to demand

that the peddlers of poison, be it in bottles or in books,

clearly label the product they attempt to sell.

If this law is not upheld, this boy will find himself 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 all over the world, who are watching us

and listening to our every word,

will rise up and call this courtroom blessed.

Amen!

Boy, I am glad that colonel Brady didn't make a speech.

Now, Howard, I heard you say the world used to be pretty hot?

That's what Mr. Cates said.

You think it could've been any hotter than it is now?

Must've been.

Mr. Cates read it to us from a book.

Is this the book, Charles Darwin's origin of species?

Yes, sir.

Now, Howard...

Do you think there was anything wrong with that?

- Well, I don't know... - Objection!

Your honor, the defense is asking that a high school boy hand down an opinion

on a question of morality.

I am trying to establish, sir, that Howard, or colonel Brady,

Charles Darwin, anyone in this courtroom, or you, sir, has the right to think.

Mr. Drummond, the right to think is not on trial here.

With all respect to the bench, sir,

I say that the right to think is very much on trial.

It is fearfully in danger in the proceedings of this court.

- A man is on trial. - A thinking man.

And he is threatened with fine and imprisonment for choosing

to speak what he thinks.

Mr. Drummond, will you please rephrase your question?

All right, Howard, let's put it this way.

All this fuss and feathers about evolution, do you think it hurt you?

Sir?

Harm you in any way. I mean, you seem reasonably fit, you know.

Did what Mr. Gates told you affect your ball game at all?

- Or did it injure your pitching arm? - No, sir. I'm a leftie.

You're southpaw. Well...

And you still honor your father and mother?

Sure.

- Haven't murdered anybody since breakfast? - Objection! That is an absurd

- piece of jactitation. - Of what?

Would you rephrase your objection, Mr. Davenport?

Jactitation, a false claim, 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 valuable help, colonel Brady, you can rest assured

- I shall humbly ask for it. - Any time, colonel drummond. Any time.

He's the only man I've ever known who can strut sitting down.

Do you believe everything that Mr. Gates told you?

- I'm not sure. I gotta think it over. - Good for you.

- Your father's a farmer, isn't he? - Yes, sir.

- You got a tractor? - Brand new one.

You figure a tractor is sinful because it's not mentioned in the Bible?

You know, Moses never made a phone call.

Does that make the telephone an instrument of the devil?

- I never thought of it that way. - Neither did anybody else

- according to Brady. - Your honor,

the defense makes the same old error of all godless men.

They confuse material things

with the great spiritual realities of the revealed word.

Why do you bewilder this boy?

Does right have no meaning to you, sir?

At the risk of prejudicing the case of my client,

I must tell you that right has absolutely no meaning to me whatsoever.

Truth has meaning, as a direction, gentlemen.

But one of the peculiar imbecilities of our time is the grid of morality

we have placed on human behavior,

so that every act of man must be measured against an arbitrary

latitude of right and a longitude of wrong,

in exact minutes, seconds and degrees.

You understand what I'm talking about, Howard?

No, sir.

Well, maybe someday you will. You're excused, son.

This boy may not understand, but I do.

I've seen what you can do to a jury, twisting and tangling them.

No one's forgotten the endicott publishing case,

where you made the jury believe that the obscenity was in their own minds.

It was immoral what you did to thatjury.

Tricking them, judgment of confusion.

You think you can get away with that here?

I'm not trying to get away with anything, counselor.

All I want to do is prevent the clock-stoppers

from dumping a lot of medieval garbage into the United States constitution.

This is not a federal court.

Well, damn it, you got to stop them somewhere.

Your honor, it's obvious what he's trying to do.

He's trying to make us forget the lawbreaker, and put the law on trial.

Well, we have the answer for you, sir, in our next witness.

Will you please call miss Rachel brown to the stand?

Did you know about this?

Miss Rachel brown! Will miss Rachel brown come to the witness stand?

My dear, just repeat some of the things you told me last night.

- Rachel, what did you tell him? - Take it easy.

Raise your right hand, Rachel.

You swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,

- so help you god? - Yes.

Be seated.

Miss brown, you're an old friend of the defendant, Bertram cates?

Yes.

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 that you and he once attended together?

- Yes. _ why?

Because of what happened to the stebbins boy.

The stebbins boy. Would you tell us about that, please?

It was two summers ago.

The little stebbins boy was just 13 years old.

He was one of Bert's students.

He used to come over to look through Bert's microscope.

Bert said he had a quick mind,

and he might even be a scientist when he grew up.

Yes?

One day, he went swimming in the river with the other boys.

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 baptized.

Why don't you tell them what your father really said.

That Tommy's soul was damned, writhing in hellfire.

Religion is supposed to comfort people, isn't it?

It's not supposed to frighten them to death.

We will have order, please.

Don't you see? He felt it wasn't fair that a child could not go to heaven.

It wasn't god he abandoned, it was only the church.

It is true, then, that because of what happened to the stebbins boy,

Bertram cates left the church.

You've said nothing wrong.

We are merely beginning to get some insight into the experiences

that sometimes can lead a young man astray.

I object. Whether or not my client went astray is a matter of interpretation.

- Strike it from the record. - Objection sustained.

The jury is directed to disregard the remarks of counsel.

Miss brown, will you tell the jury some more of Mr. Cates' opinions

on the subject of religion?

Objection! Objection! Hearsay testimony is not admissible.

The court has no objection to this line of questioning. Proceed, colonel Brady.

Just repeat, in your own words, some of the conversations

you've had with the defendant.

- Rachel, you can't. - Order!

The things that I said to you were questions.

Questions that you ask your own heart.

If you say those things out loud, he'll make them sound like answers...

- Order! Order! - Crucify me.

You won't hurt him, Rachel. This is for his good.

- Speak up. - Mr. Brady...

- Please, I confided in you... - Rachel, we are here to serve the truth.

I can't remember.

May I remind you, miss brown, that you are testifying under oath,

and it's unlawful to withhold pertinent information.

Just tell the court your innermost feelings

when Bertram cates said to you,

"god did not create man. Man created god.“

Bert didn't say that. Please! He was just bitter because of the stebbins boy.

He said man created a vengeful god out of his own bigotry,

and the devil out of his own hell.

And when he was wondering what was on the other side of the moon,

did he ever once mention the possibility of heaven? Did he ever mention that?

Or did he say that there was nothing except a world

of stars and moons and galaxies and universal dust?

Tell us, what did he say about the holy state of matrimony?

Did he compare it with the breeding of animals?

- Objection! Objection! - Order! Order!

Don't you want the good people of this town to understand what happened

to his mind so that they can bring him back to his senses? Don't you?

Come on, tell it. Tell it! Tell it all!

- Order! Order! - Matt...

Order!

Under the circumstances, I believe the witness should be excused.

And will the defense have no chance

to challenge the statements that the prosecutor has put into the mouth

- of the witness? - Let her go.

- You've got to. - I've got to what? Let you go to jail?

Now, stop tying my hands.

Let her go or I'll change my plea to guilty.

No questions.

For the time being, the witness is excused.

Does the prosecution wish to call any further witnesses?

Not at the present time, your honor. The prosecution rests.

We shall proceed with the case for the defense. Colonel drummond.

Yes, the defense wishes to call Dr. Amos d. Keller,

head of the department of zoology at the university of Chicago.

- Objection. - On what grounds?

I fail to see what relevance

the testimony of a zoology professor could have

- on this trial. - It has every relevance.

My client's on trial for teaching evolution.

Any testimony related to the alleged infringement of the law

- must be admitted. - Irrelevant, immaterial, inadmissible!

Why? If Bertram cates were accused of murder,

would it be irrelevant to call for expert witnesses to examine the weapon?

Your honor, the defense wishes to place Dr. Keller on the stand

so that he may explain to the gentlemen of the jury

just exactly what the evolutionary theory is.

They don't need to have it explained, the people of this state have made it

very clear that they do not want this zoological hogwash

slobbered all over the school rooms,

and I refuse to allow these agnostic scientists to use this courtroom

as a platform from which they can shout their heresies

into the headlines.

Colonel drummond, the court rules that zoology is irrelevant to the case.

Very well.

I call Dr. Allen page, Deacon of the congregational church

and professor of geology and archeology at oberlin college.

- Objection. - Objection sustained.

In one breath, does the court deny the existence of zoology,

geology and archeology?

We do not deny the existence of these sciences,

but they do not relate to this point of law.

I call Walter aaronson, philosopher, anthropologist, author

and one of the most brilliant minds in the world today.

- Any objections, Mr. Brady? - Objection.

All right. Your honor, the defense has brought

to hillsboro, at great inconvenience and great expense,

five noted scientists, and their testimony is essential.

It will show that what Bert cates spoke one quiet spring morning

in hillsboro high school is no crime.

It's as incontrovertible as geometry is to every enlightened community of minds.

In this community, colonel drummond, 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

that is already on the books.

In that case, let's stop wasting our time and build the gallows to hang him from.

That remark, sir, is an insult to this entire community.

This entire community is an insult to the civilized world.

- We're not going to stand for that. - Your honor, I request permission

- to withdraw from this case. - Order.

- Colonel drummond, you can't quit now. - Why not?

You were ready to quit five minutes ago.

Mr. Drummond. Mr. Drummond, what reasons can you possibly have?

There's a hundred of them, right there! And if that's not enough,

I have one more. I think my client has already been found guilty.

Is Mr. Drummond saying that this honest expression

of emotion will in any way affect the court's impartial

administration of the law?

I say you cannot administer impartially a wicked law.

You can only punish, only destroy.

And I warn you, a wicked law, like cholera,

will destroy everyone it touches.

- Mr. Drummond? - Can't you understand

that if you can take something like evolution and make it a crime

to teach it in a public school, then tomorrow

you can make it a crime to teach it in a private school.

And next year, you can make it a crime to read about it.

And then, maybe you can start banning books and newspapers.

And soon, you may set catholic against protestant,

protestant against protestant,

and try to foist your own brand of religion upon the mind of man.

If you can do one, you can do the other,

because ignorance and fanaticism is forever busy.

It needs feeding.

And soon, your honor, with banners waving and drums beating,

we are marching backwards to the glorious 16th century,

when bigots condemned Galileo

for daring to bring intelligence and enlightenment to the human mind.

I hope counsel does not mean to imply this court is bigoted?

Your honor 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.

Colonel drummond, I order you to show cause tomorrow morning at 10:00

why you should not be held in contempt of this court.

And 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 four?

I do make it four.

Your honor, my paper will post the bond.

Can you prove legal authorization to make such a commitment for your employer?

- I'll wire my paper immediately. - Fine.

Until then, colonel drummond can always avail himself

of our municipal accommodations.

Your honor, sir, I'll put up my farm for Mr. Drummond.

It's worth at least that much.

We have no way of ascertaining the value of your farm, sir.

The law demands that bond be posted in cash.

Your honor. Your honor, my bank will honor the offer on security of this farm.

He has considerably more equity in it than that.

Very well.

Make arrangements with the court clerk.

Excuse me, who are you?

My name is John stebbins.

Court is adjourned and will reconvene tomorrow morning at 10:00 am.

It'll be a hot time in the old town tonight.

Yeah. All right.

- Hooligans of the world unite! - Good god.

You've got nothing to burn but your intellectuals.

These are the boobs who make our laws.

It's the Democratic process.

Looks like you're going out in a Blaze of glory, counselor.

Hey, why don't you just shut up?

"And after a while, your honor, you'll be setting man against man,

"and creed against creed.“ Unquote.

Wake up, Henry. Dan/vin was wrong.

Man is still an ape, and his creed is still a totem pole.

The minute he achieved the upright position,

he took a look at the stars and thought they were something to eat.

And when he couldn't reach them,

he decided they were groceries belonging to a bigger animal,

and that's how jehovah was born.

God, I wish I had your worm's-eye view of history.

It would make things a lot easier.

Not for you.

You'd still be trying to make sense

out of what is laughingly referred to as the human race.

Take your blinders off.

I'll tell you, the future is already obsolete.

You think man still has a noble destiny.

I tell you, he's already started on his backward march

to the salt and stupid sea from which he came.

- What about a man like Bert cates? - Cates?

The monkey who tried to fly.

He climbed to the top of the totem pole, and then he jumped.

And there was nobody there to catch him.

Not even you.

Me? Now, what do you want me to do? You saw what they did to my witnesses.

What you need is a drink.

What I need is a miracle.

Well, here is a whole bag full.

Courtesy Matthew Harrison Brady.

Your honor.

I feel I owe you an apology, sir.

Whatever remarks that were made that led to the contempt citation, I regret.

I know your honor was trying to be fair.

I apologize for those remarks that were made in the heat of the moment.

My friends and colonel drummond,

the man that I believe came into the world to save mankind from sin

taught that to forgive is godly.

I believe in his principles.

I accept colonel drummond's apology,

and I withdraw the contempt citation.

Thank you, your honor.

Your honor, I should also like to add in the spirit of forgiveness,

I have no animosity toward the learned counsel from Chicago.

He has been known to ride hobbyhorses before.

Perhaps he will return to his home having learned a lesson.

And we here commend him to learn in his heart

the words of he who said, "if you thirst, come unto me,"

"and I will give you life."

Perhaps there is much to learn from the learned counsel for the prosecution.

Your honor, there is one other remark I made yesterday

that I would like to withdraw.

If the court pleases, I would like to withdraw my withdrawal

and continue as counsel for Bertram cates.

I see no reason why colonel drummond should not be permitted

to continue as counsel for the defense.

- Proceed, colonel drummond. - Very well.

Since the court has ruled out testimony on science or darwinian theory,

would the court be willing to admit

expert testimony regarding a book known as the holy Bible?

Colonel Brady, you have any objections?

If counsel can advance the case of the defendant

by use of the holy scriptures, the prosecution takes no exception.

Good.

I would like to call to the stand one of the world's foremost experts

on the Bible and its teachings.

Matthew Harrison Brady.

Your honor, this is preposterous.

Brother, let us pray.

It's highly unorthodox.

I've never known an instance where

the defense called the prosecuting attorney as a witness.

Your honor, this entire trial is unorthodox.

But if the interests of truth and justice will be served, I will take the stand.

The court will support you if you wish to decline to testify

as a witness against your own case.

Your honor, I shall not testify against anything.

But I will speak out, as I have all of my life,

on behalf of the living truth of the holy scriptures.

Mr. Meeker, you better swear in the witness, please.

It won't be necessary to swear him in.

I can make affirmation. I've no objection to swearing to god.

I trust you will tell the truth.

Am I correct, sir,

in calling on you as an authority on the Bible?

I do not think it is boastful to say

that I have studied the Bible as much as any layman,

and have tried to live according to its precepts.

Bully for you.

And I suppose you can quote me chapter and verse

right straight through the king James version, can't you?

There are many portions of the holy Bible I have committed to memory.

I don't suppose you have memorized many passages

from the origin of species.

I have not the least interest in the pagan hypotheses of that book.

- You mean you never read it? - And I never will.

Then where in perdition do you get the gall

to whoop up this holy war against something you know nothing about?

How can you be so cocksure that the body of scientific knowledge

systematized in Charles dannin's writings is in any way

irreconcilable with the spirit of the book of Genesis?

Would you state that question again, please?

All right, let's put it this way.

On page... I think 19... yes.

I object to this, your honor.

Colonel Brady has been called as an authority on the Bible.

Now, the gentleman from Chicago is using this opportunity

to read into the record scientific testimony,

which you, your honor, have previously ruled is irrelevant.

If he is gonna examine 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.

Let's get this straight, this is the book that you are an expert on?

That is correct.

Now, tell me,

do you feel that every word written in this book should be taken literally?

Everything in the Bible should be accepted exactly as it is given there.

How about this spot here where the whale swallows Jonah?

You think that actually happened?

The Bible does not say a whale. It says a big fish.

Is that it?

Matter of fact, it says "a great fish." Well...

How do you feel about it?

I believe in a god who can make a whale and a man,

and make them both do as he pleases.

God bless you, Matthew Harrison Brady.

We're with you, colonel Brady.

Order! Order!

He's right, he's right.

Now, colonel, I recollect a story in which Joshua made the sun stand still.

As an expert, do you tell me that that's as true as the Jonah business?

Yeah? That's a pretty neat trick.

I do not question or scoff at the miracles of the lord, as do ye of little faith.

Well, have you pondered what would naturally happen to the earth

if the sun stood still?

You can testify to that if I get you on the stand.

If they say the sun stood still, they must have had some kind of notion

that the sun moves around the earth.

Do you think that's really the way of things,

or do you actually think that the earth moves around the sun?

I have faith in the Bible.

Well, you sure don't have much faith in the solar system.

- The sun stopped. - Good.

Because if what you say actually happened,

if Joshua stopped that sun in the sky,

then the earth stopped spinning on its axis,

the continents toppled all over one another,

mountains flew into space,

the earth shriveled to a cinder and crashed into the sun.

Now, how come we missed that little tidbit of news?

You missed it because it didn't happen.

It had to happen, colonel, according to natural law.

Or don't you believe in natural law?

Would you ban copernicus from the classroom along with Charles dan/vin?

Or pass a law that erases all scientific developments since Joshua?

Revelations, period?

Natural law was born in the mind of the heavenly father.

He can change it, cancel it, do with it as he pleases.

It constantly amazes me that you apostles of science,

with all of your supposed wisdom, fail to grasp that simple fact.

Can I have the Bible?

All right, colonel.

Genesis 4:16.

"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."

- Where the hell did she come from? - Who?

Mrs. Cain. Cain's wife.

I mean, if in the beginning there was just Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel,

then where did this extra woman spring from?

Did you ever figure that out?

No, sir. I leave the agnostics to hunt for her.

- It never bothers you? - Never bothered me.

- You never bothered to find out? - No.

Just thought that maybe they pulled off another miracle in the next county, huh?

The Bible satisfies me. It is enough.

You know, it frightens me to think of the state of learning in this world

if everybody had your driving curiosity.

This book now goes into a lot of begats.

"And arphaxad begat salah, and salah begat eber."

And so on and so... Are these pretty important folks?

They are the generations of the holy men and women of the Bible.

How did they go about all that begatting?

What do you mean?

Well, I mean did they begat then about the same

as people get themselves begat today?

I believe the process is about the same.

I don't think that your scientists have improved on it any.

In other words, these folk were conceived and brought forth

through the normal biological function known as sex?

What do you think of sex, colonel?

In what spirit is this question asked?

Well, I'm certainly not gonna ask you what you think of sex as a husband

or a father or a presidential candidate.

You're here as an expert on the Bible.

What is the biblical evaluation of sex?

It is considered original sin.

Those holy people were all begat through original sin?

Well, all that sinning make them any less holy?

Your honor, what does this have to do with the state v. Bertram cates?

Colonel drummond, the court must be satisfied

that this line of questioning has some bearing on the case.

You ruled out all my witnesses.

You must allow me to examine the one witness you've left me

my own way, your honor.

Your honor, I'm willing to sit here and endure Mr. Drummond's sneering

and disrespect because he is pleading the case of the prosecution

by his contempt for all that is holy.

- I object, I object, I object! - On what grounds?

Is it possible there is something 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 of your shouted amens,

holy holies and hosannas.

An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral.

And the advance of man's knowledge is more of a miracle

than any sticks turned into snakes or the parting of waters.

And are we to stop the march of progress

because Mr. Brady 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.

He says, "all right, I'll give you a telephone,"

"but you lose your right to privacy, the charm of distance."

"Madam, you may vote, but at a price."

"You lose your right to retreat behind a powder puff or a petticoat."

"Mister, you may conquer the air,"

"but the birds will lose their wonder"

"and the clouds will smell like gasoline."

Dan/vin led us to a hilltop,

from where we could look back upon the way from which we came.

But for that view,

that insight,

that 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 that lifts man

above all other creatures on earth,

the power of his brain to reason?

What other merit have we got?

The elephant is larger. The horse is swifter and stronger.

The butterfly more beautiful. The mosquito more prolific.

Even the common sponge is more durable.

Or does a sponge think?

I don't know. I'm a man, not a sponge.

Do you think a sponge thinks?

If the lord wishes a sponge to think, it thinks.

Does a man have the same privileges as a sponge?

Of course.

This man wishes to be accorded the same privilege as a sponge.

He wishes to think.

But your client is wrong. He is deluded. He has lost his way.

It is sad that we are not all gifted with your positive knowledge

of right and wrong, Mr. Brady.

Thank you.

Rock.

How old do you think this rock is?

I am more interested in the rock of ages than the age of rocks.

Dr. Page of oberlin college tells me

that this rock is over 10 million years old.

Well, well, Mr. Drummond, you finally managed to sneak in

some of that scientific testimony after all.

Now, look at this, Mr. Brady.

These are the fossil remains of a prehistoric marine creature

that lived here millions of years ago

when these very mountain ranges were still submerged in water.

I know, the Bible gives a very fine account of the flood.

But your professor's a little mixed up on his dates.

That rock is no more than 6,000 years old.

How do you know?

I know because a fine biblical scholar, bishop ussher, has determined for us

the exact date and hour of the creation.

It occurred in 4004 bc.

Yeah, well, that's bishop ussher's opinion.

It's not an opinion. It's a literal fact...

- Thank you. - Which the good bishop arrived at

by the careful computation of the ages of the prophets

as set down in the old testament.

As a matter of fact, he's determined that the lord began the creation

on October 23rd, 4004 bc, at 9:00 am.

Eastern standard time,

or rocky mountain time?

It wasn't daylight savings time, was it?

Because the lord didn't make the sun until the fourth day.

That is correct.

Now, that first day, was that a 24-hour day?

The Bible says it was a day.

Yeah, but there was no sun. How could you tell?

The Bible says it was a day.

Yeah, but a literal day, a normal day, a 24-hour day?

- I don't know. - Well, what do you think?

I do not think about things I do not think about!

Well, you ever think about the things you do think about?

Isn't it possible that that first day could have been 25 hours long?

There was no way to measure it, no way to tell.

Could it have been 25 hours?

It is possible.

So, you interpret that the first day, recorded in the book of Genesis,

could be of undetermined length?

I merely wish to state that the day referred to

is not necessarily a 24-hour day.

It could have been 25. It could have been 30 hours.

It could've been a month.

Or a year.

Or a hundred years.

Or 10 million years.

I protest!

This is not only irrelevant and immaterial, but it is illegal.

I demand to know the purpose of Mr. Drummond's examination.

What is he trying to do here?

I'll tell you what he's trying to do.

He's trying to destroy everybody's belief in the Bible and in god.

The Bible is a book.

It's a good book. But it's not the only book.

It the revealed word of the almighty god, as spake to the men who wrote the Bible.

How do you know that god didn't spake to Charles dan/vin?

Because god tells me to oppose the evil teachings of that man.

- God speaks to you? - Yes.

- He tells you what's right and wrong? - Yes.

- And you act accordingly? - Yes!

Then you, Matthew Harrison Brady,

through oratory, legislation or whatever,

pass along the word of god to the rest of the world!

Well, meet the prophet from Nebraska!

Please...

Is this really the way of things?

That god tells you what is good,

and to be against Brady is to be against god?

No, no, every man is a free agent.

Then what is Bertram cates doing in a hillsboro jail?

Order!

What if Mr. Gates had enough influence and lung power

to railroad through the state legislature

a law that only Darwin can be taught in the schools?

Ridiculous! There is only one great truth in the world.

Of course, the truth according to Brady!

God speaks to Brady, Brady tells the world!

Brady, Brady, Brady almighty!

The lord is my strength!

What if a lesser human being,

a cates or a Darwin, were to have the audacity

to think that god might whisper to them,

that an UN-Brady thought might be holy?

Must a man go to jail because he's at odds with the self-appointed prophet?

Let's extend the testaments. We'll have a book of Brady.

We'll slip you in neatly between numbers and deuteronomy.

My friend, your honor...

- Ladies and gentlemen... - The witness is excused!

You know what I stand for, what I believe in.

I believe in the truth of the book of Genesis...

- Your honor, this completes the testimony. - Exodus, leviticus, numbers, deuteronomy.

- Joshua, judges, Ruth, first Samuel... - The witness is excused.

- Second Samuel, first kings, second kings. - You are excused, colonel Brady.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, lamentations,

Ezekiel!

Court is adjourned until tomorrow morning at 10:00.

Well done, Henry, well done.

Matt, let's go home.

- Home? - Back to the hotel.

You were always a good man.

That's what I loved most in you.

Even from the very beginning.

People said you made mistakes, wrong decisions.

You could have been president three times over.

Sarah.

I never doubted you,

because your decisions were always honest and unselfish.

You never compromised your principles just to win.

Sarah.

A victory here would be a monument to god that would last 1,000 years.

Matt, they turned away from you this afternoon.

They didn't understand.

They have to understand.

I'll make them understand.

My speech.

Where is my speech?

I've got to find my speech.

I've got to make them listen. They're gonna have to listen!

They will listen!

Here it is. Here it is. I've got it all here down on paper.

Sarah, it isn'tjust this case.

It's god himself who's on trial.

They'll listen to you, dear.

Mother?

They laughed at me.

I love you, baby.

I can't stand it when they laugh at me.

It's all right, baby.

It's all right.

Come in.

Mr. Mayor.

I've been on the phone with the lieutenant governor all morning, merle.

Newspapers haven't been very kind to us.

Boys at the capitol seem to think it wouldn't do any harm

to just let the whole business kind of simmer down.

Just a minute, mayor.

I have an obligation to the law.

Of course you have, merle.

You got to follow the law regardless of the fact

that we're both up for re-election in November.

No, sir.

That can't be a factor.

Hello, miss brown.

I left my father, Bert.

I messed things up for us pretty badly, didn't I?

It's not your fault, rach.

Brady can twist things.

It wasn't him.

I should've done this in the beginning.

- I should've... - You don't have to say anything.

I'm just glad you're here.

Come sit with us.

Well, welcome back to our side.

Hello. Hello. Testing. Testing.

One, two, three, four, testing.

Testing, one, two, three, four.

Hello. Hello.

Hello, what is that?

An annunciator.

- You're gonna broadcast? - We have a direct wire to wgn in Chicago.

Whole country's gonna hear this.

When the jury gets back in, we'll announce the verdict.

My god, you're really gonna knock some walls down. Radio.

You're not supposed to say “god" on the radio.

Why the hell not?

You're not supposed to say "hell" either.

Well, this is going to be a barren source of amusement.

Looks like they've reached a verdict, son.

Jury's coming back in.

What do you think? Can you tell from their faces?

No.

Everybody rise!

Hear ye! Hear ye!

Court will reconvene in the case of the state v. Bertram cates!

Be seated!

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Harry easterbrook,

speaking to the vast audience across america

from the courthouse in hillsboro,

where the jury is just returning to the courtroom

to render its verdict in the famous hillsboro monkey trial case.

The judge has just taken the bench,

and in the next few minutes we shall learn

whether Bertram cates will be found innocent or guilty.

Gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a decision?

Yes, sir, your honor, we have.

The jury's decision is unanimous.

Bertram cates is found guilty as charged.

Quiet, please!

- Order! This court is still in session. - Operator?

The prisoner will rise to hear the sentence of the court.

Mr. Cates, do you wish to make any statement before sentence is passed?

Your honor, I'm not a public speaker.

I don't have the eloquence of some of the people

that you've heard in the last few days.

I'm just a schoolteacher.

But I feel I'm...

I've been convicted of violating an unjust law.

And I will continue in the future to oppose this law

in any way that I can.

Bertram cates, you have been found guilty of violating public act volume 37,

statute number 31427, 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 in passing sentence.

The court deems it proper to sentence Bertram cates

to pay a fine of

$100.

Order! Order!

- Did your honor say $100? - That is correct.

That seems to conclude the business of this trial.

Your honor, the prosecution takes exception.

When the issues are so Titanic, a more drastic punishment...

- I object. - Must be meted out.

To make an example of this transgressor. To show the world...

The amount of this fine is of no interest to me.

Bertram cates has no intention whatsoever of paying this or any other fine.

He wouldn't pay it if it was a single dollar.

We will appeal the case to the supreme court of this state.

Will this court please Grant us 30 days to prepare the appeal?

Granted. Court fixes bond at $200.

I believe this concludes the business of this trial.

Therefore, I declare this court is adjourned.

Your honor!

If the court please, I should like to read into the record

a few short remarks that I have prepared.

Mr. Brady can read all the remarks that he wishes

in a chautauqua tent or in a political campaign,

but our business in hillsboro is concluded.

The defense asks that the court be adjourned.

I have a few remarks.

And we are all anxious to hear them, sir.

But colonel drummond's point of procedure here is well taken.

I'm sure everyone here will wish to remain

after court is adjourned to hear your address.

I hereby declare this court is adjourned sine die.

- My friends! - Lemonade!

- Get your nice, cold, lemonade. - Your attention, please!

My friends, fellow citizens.

- Friends of the unseen audience... - That's disconnected, sir. It's not on.

From the hallowed hills of sacred sinai,

from the days of remote antiquity

came the law which has been our bulwark and our shield.

It's all over but the shouting.

Age upon age, men have looked to the law as they would to the mountains

whence cometh our strength.

Here...

Here in this courtroom, we have been vindicated.

We have been vindicated.

And...

From the hallowed hills of sacred...

Matt!

Mr. Chief justice,

citizens of these United States,

in my terms in the white house,

I pledge to carry out my programs

for the betterment of the common people

of this country.

As your new president,

I say what I have said

all of my life!

Matt!

Matt!

Dear god in heaven.

Matt!

Matt!

See you next time.

He's dead.

Matt Brady had a beautiful soul.

Yes, Sarah.

He was ill.

I tried to get him to stop, but he couldn't.

I'm telling you this because I don't want you to think

- that you had anything to do... - No.

I'm just so sorry.

Yes.

Can't imagine this world without Matthew Harrison Brady.

Mr. Drummond?

I don't understand. Did we win or lose?

You won.

- But the jury found... - The jury? What jury? That 12 men.

Millions of people will say that you won.

They'll read their paper tonight, see that you smashed a bad law.

You made a joke of it.

Yeah, but the laugh's on me.

No job, they probably won't let me back into the boarding house in this town.

You can pick up and go from one cause to another,

but we have to live our lives out here.

Is that what you believe, miss brown?

I believe in Bert.

You're a lucky man, Bert.

Mr. Drummond, thanks.

For what it's worth, you're welcome.

Look at them.

He loves she, she loves he.

Now they'll begat a family.

It's a merry-go-round, counselor.

The life cycle of the gnat,

a louse, and a maggot, and a human.

What did he die of? Did they say?

He died of a busted belly.

There was much greatness in that man.

Can I quote you in the obituary?

You can write any damn thing you please.

How do you write an obituary for a man who's been dead 30 years?

What did he say to reverend brown?

It fits. He delivered his own obituary.

Where did you put it, huh?

Here it is.

His book.

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."

Well, colonel drummond,

we're growing an odd crop of agnostics this year.

You know, I'm really getting damn sick and tired of you, hornbeck.

Why?

Because you never pushed a noun against a verb except to blow something up.

That's a typical lawyer's trick, accusing the accuser.

- What am I accused of? - Contempt of conscience.

Sentimentality in the first degree.

Because I won't erase an entire lifetime?

No. Because 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?

He cried enough for himself.

The national tear duct from weeping water, Nebraska.

He flooded the nation like a one-man Mississippi.

You know what he was,

a Bible-beating bunko artist.

A giant once lived in that body. But he got lost.

Because Matt Brady was looking for his 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.

Don't you understand the meaning of what happened here today?

What happened here today has no meaning.

You have no meaning.

Your whole life has no meaning.

You're like a ghost pointing an empty sleeve,

and smirking at everything that people feel and need

and struggle for.

I pity you.

- You pity me? - Isn't there something?

What touches you, warms you?

Every man has a dream. What do you dream about?

What do you need?

You don't need anything, do you?

Love, an idea maybe, just to hold on to?

You poor slob. You have nothing, you believe in nothing.

You're alone. And when you go to the grave,

there will be nobody to pull the grass up over you.

Nobody to mourn you.

Nobody to give one damn.

You will be what you've always been.

Alone.

You're wrong, Henry.

You'll be there.

You're the type.

Who else would defend my right to be lonely?