The 1920's in America...
Jazz music, girls who smoke, and wing walkers.
Like a giant party, only without the booze.
Change was in the air.
Skyscrapers displaced family farms...
And revolutionary ideas...
Challenged time-honored traditions.
Clarence Darrow, legendary defense attorney...
Made headlines defending murderers...
And railing against fundamentalist Christianity.
William Jennings Bryan...
The leader of the Democratic party for 30years...
Fought for the Bible, the working man...
And women's rights.
Covering them both in the pages of the Baltimore Sun...
Was H.L. Mencken...
The most influential and most feared writer in America.
They called them the roaring '20s...
But not every town was roaring.
Take my hometown of Dayton, Tennessee, for instance.
My name's Charles B. Anderson...
And I worked at the Dayton herald...
A small newspaper started by my father, Stewart Anderson.
My dad began his career...
At one of the greatest newspapers in America.
But in Dayton, in 1925, big news for us...
Might have been a win for the last place Dayton miners.
Unfortunately, the first big story of thatyear...
Was the closing of the Cumberland Coal Mine...
The lifeblood of Dayton.
But the second and far bigger story...
Would turn out to save us.
Well save us and ruin us all at the same time.
Come on, miners! Let's go!
Come on, Howard!
Come on, Howard, be smart out there, now! Come on!
The Dayton miners have the bases loaded...
In this season's championship game.
Two outs in the ninth. The stands are jammed.
The entire nation glued to their radios.
Ball one!
Will coach John Scopes be able to lead them to victory?
Come on, boys. Come on. Hit it out of here.
Pitcher's got nothing onyou.
Come on!
Ball two!
What in Sam hill?
Harry, you can't steal with the bases loaded.
What areyou doing?
Coach Scopes gave me the steal sign, didn't he?
Go back! Go back!
Go back to first! Go back to first!
You're out!
Runners are out of order!
Come on, boys. Come on, boys.
We'll get them next time, all right?
Well, there goes this week's lead story.
Let's go.
There's always the pumpkin festival.
You didyour best.
- Hey, there, George. - Hi.
- Hey, George. - Rose.
Charlie.
Hey, what's wrong?
The coal mine's closing.
It's over.
You want to buy 300 acres overlooking Dayton?
Only $10,000.
You get the shaft for free.
Oh, at least something's running.
It's the train.
It's okay. Go.
I'm real sorry.
- We'll talk later. - Okay, Charlie.
Well, another winless season for the Dayton Miners, huh?
Surprise, surprise.
- Morning, Charles. - Morning, Fred!
Now arriving in Dayton!
Next stop, Knoxville!
Dallas tribune. New York times.
Oh.
- Ma'am, may I? - Thereyou go.
Thank you.
Baltimore Sun.
Thank you very much.
- Pardon me. - Hey, Charlie.
Hey, doc. Staying dry?
I'm trying to!
Marco.
Polo.
Oh, good. More papers.
H.L. Mencken. He is the greatest writer ever.
Everyone around here says thatyour father was.
- Yeah? But he makes people laugh, Rose. - Mm-hmm.
- He makes 'em think, too. - Stop. Hold on.
Hold on. Let me do it. Let me do it.
Stop.
Likeyour article about Abigail...
I really love that article.
Rose, if I'm ever gonna make any kind of difference...
I need to leave this town.
How'dyou like to live in Baltimore?
Another Joseph Swartzberger award.
Nothin' to sneeze at.
Here'syour prize money.
Yeah, well, Mencken sure sneezed.
I submitted that winning article...
To the Baltimore Sun over a month ago.
Nothing.
Well, I supposeyou could do a lot of good...
Working for one of the big newspapers.
But you could do a lot of bad, too.
Likeyour dad used to say, "it all depends upon..."
"whomyou're writing for."
I know, I know.
All right, Mr. Big city reporter...
William Jennings Bryan is speaking...
On the anti-evolution law tonight in Chattanooga...
Creation, evolution, politics.
- Tonight? - Tonight.
Oh, and, uh...
Take the best story editor in Tennessee withyou.
Better hurry.
Okay. Wait, wait, wait.
My sister, Charlie. I promised Abigail a visit.
- Well, let's go. - Okay.
I'm a little worried about my sister.
Abigail's a fighter, Rose.
She's had to be her whole life.
I know that.
I just don't think she belongs at the colony...
Not even for a day.
Okay. I'm gonna go inside.
I'll get the bag.
Abigail: "Yet lonely, lonely still...
"Let us prosper as we will.
"Our old hearts seem so empty every way.
"We can only go through a mist...
"See the faces we have kissed
in the orchard where the children used to play."
Good. Yes?
Rosie!
Hey, Abby.
Come here.
Hey, Sally.
Hi, Rose.
Oh.
Mr. Charles.
Miss Abigail.
Wrong.
Wrong again.
Try one more time.
That's wrong again but hereyou go.
- Cheater. - Oh.
You'll be home soon. I promise.
Just a few more weeks, right, uncle Phil?
Just a few tests and some observation.
Okay.
Oh, dear. Oh, no.
Bryan's speech! We're gonna miss it!
Careful!
Come on!
And are you a ware of Darwin's view...
Regarding the intelligence of the sexes?
Are the public schools also to teach...
That men are biologically superior in intelligence...
To women?
Science.
Talk about ignoring the evidence!
Hmm.
Women of Tennessee...
We fought together for your right to vote.
Now let's fight together...
For the dignity of your sons and daughters.
Let's fight together to pass the Butler act.
Now with Abigail...
It just feels like what happened with my mother.
My family's just slipping away.
Charles, your drinks are ready.
Rose, your mother had an illness.
They're just doing a few aptitude tests on Abby, that's all.
Okay?
Okay.
Right.
Thanks, doc. I appreciate it.
Yeah.
Doc, come on over here.
Hey, Mr. Scopes.
Just the man. Thereyou are.
Go findyourself another partner, son.
- Offyou go. - All right.
Thereyou go.
Johnny boy, we got a little plan here
to bring about 20,000 people
into the town for a look-see.
Something to put us back on the map.
The American civil liberties union in New York...
And I know some of 'em for personal...
Says here that they will sponsor a test case...
On the anti-evolution law that Bryan just got passed.
It's not an anti-evolution law.
Well, it ain't a love letter either.
All they need is a teacher...
Willing to be arrested and stand trial.
A math teacher?
Technicality.
Now, the chairman of the school board here...
Sees no problem withyour job at all.
And you did break the law.
I did?
Whenyou substituted...
For Ferguson's biology class.
It's all in the book.
Mr. Attorney General here will prosecute...
All between friends.
Say, doc...
How about putting a "monkey malted" on the menu.
Chocolate with banana mixed in or something?
We need plenty of gimmicks like that for the crowds...
Toys, exhibits, motion-picture stars.
And I'll giveyou the headlines!
No offense, Charlie boy...
But we're thinkin' a little larger here
than the Dayton diddlysquat.
Well, so is Charlie.
Well, yeah, but...
We should get some big-name evolutionists to testify.
Right? And then we'll have ourselves a show.
H.G. Wells, Henry Osborn, Einstein maybe.
John, wouldyou be willing to test the law?
Wouldyou be fool enough to lendyour name?
John Scopes.
S-c-o-p-e-s.
It's a great story, Mr. Mencken...
And I've got inside access to everybody.
This is not news, kid. It's bucolic bunkum.
If you can get any national figure...
To join Dayton's little booster club, call me.
Not before.
National figure.
In this town?
Wait a second.
Operator...
Get me William Jennings Bryan.
You see Rappleyea?
No.
You think he's coming?
Yes, Charles, I think he's coming.
Sorry.
Rapp, any big names for the trialyet?
Well, that's too bad.
Maybeyou should pray more.
Shh!
Sorry.
Is it working?
No. H.G. Wells is a communist.
And Professor Einstein...
Remind me never to send my kids to Princeton.
Not now, not never.
Shh!
Charles, just...
Really?
Well, maybe I can help you get things started.
I've gotyour man.
Hallelujah!
You played that beautifully, Mr. Riley.
- Hey, Rapp? - Uh-huh.
You know, the newspapers say...
That everyone thinks the trial is just a publicity stunt.
Well, it is a publicity stunt.
But they'll show up to watch.
The William Jennings Bryan show?
I'm betting on it.
I bought the 300 acres from the coal mine myself.
10,000 clams.
And after we pull this show off...
I'll sell it for $20,000.
And it isn't just...
The William Jennings Bryan show anymore.
Take a look at that.
Darrow against Bryan?
That'll bring 'em in from Rhodesia.
You sure the crowds are coming?
Have I ever letyou down before, huh?
Except for closing down the coal mine.
Ha ha.
Ooh, "monkey trial."
Who thought of that?
Mencken. Why?
Oh, speak of the devil.
That's got to be him.
What, is he too good for the train?
There was a little chocolate onyou.
It's okay.
Go get him.
Hey.
I'm a monkey!
You're my monkey.
So, you got some writing samples?
Yes, sir. Wouldyou like to see them?
You know, I appreciate the gesture, Charles...
But, uh, got to understand...
Buying me an airplane ticket from Baltimore...
Does not landyou a job with the Sun.
I understand.
So, what have we got here?
Let me see. Patriotic mush.
Puritanical malarkey.
Oh, yes, and a story about a half-breed.
You're a good writer, kid.
A little rigid about the rules, but quite good.
But only 90% of great writing is innate ability.
The other 90% is knowing what to write about.
I don't want to read about...
The pumpkin queen's advice to teenage girls.
Tell me about her secret love child.
Love child?
She doesn't have one.
How doyou know? It's a secret.
Besides, I said "alleged."
Well, that's not...
Onward.
Wo Look at that! William Jennings Bryan!
Speech! Speech!
Speech?
I would have thought after three unsuccessful presidential bids...
You'd heard enough!
Citizens of Dayton and visitors to this, uh...
"Fruitful bowl in the Cumberland Valley..."
My wife and I are so pleased to be here.
My friends, this is no minor squabble we have here in Dayton.
This is a battle royal!
David versus Goliath!
Mr. Bryan!
Is ityour position that the Bible...
Doubles as a scientific textbook?
Oh, no. Not at all.
Science books have to be corrected all the time.
Rose, it's great...
Thatyou got that job in the steno pool...
But if I get this job with the Sun...
We're gonna need somebody at the trial...
To report for the herald.
You're a talented writer, Rose.
It's about high time that I'm not the only one that knows it.
Hmm.
I see...
An amoeba.
I see...
A ticket out of this town...
For Mr. and Mrs. Charles Anderson.
Charlie...
Come on, Rose.
One of these times, you got to sayyes.
Marriage is forever, Charlie.
Forever doesn't live in my world.
That's whyyou need to pack your bags and move into mine.
W-what?
A ring.
Yeah.
Rose...
Your ring. Mm-hmm.
Of course.
I-I pawned it.
What?!
Charlie!
It's just I-I needed the extra money
for Mencken's airplane ticket and...
How was I supposed to know you'd finally sayyes?
And that really hurt.
Give me a second chance.
Look, I'll just win a journalist award for the trial, right?
Then I'll buy you a big, big, big, big ring.
Or maybe I will win it...
And I will buy myself a big ring.
Okay. How about a kiss?
No, I'm not gonna kissyou.
Come here. No.
No. Get out of here. Come on.
T-that's Darrow's train.
I-I promised Mencken that I was gonna be there.
Go.
I loveyou, Rose Elizabeth Williams.
You can quote me on that.
Foxhall man, Nebraska man, neanderthal man...
All links in an unbroken chain.
And who knows what men may be like 10,000years from now?
Metcalf been hereyet?
I want all the expert witnesses here, in force.
Especially him.
Not that I've heard, Mr. Darrow.
Mencken! Uh, Mr. Mencken.
I-I'm sorry.
Where wereyou, Charles?
The great Clarence Darrow was pelted with rosaries...
At the station...
And you missed the story.
Sorry to have missed your arrival, Mr. Darrow.
It's just my girlfriend... Well, my fiancee now...
we just got engaged.
That's great. Congratulations.
Excuse me.
Let me buy lunch, Mr. Darrow.
You're gonna love this town.
Wait, Mr. Mencken.
Now, I'd like a second chance.
To miss another story?
Okay, wait.
Wait.
Now...
What if I could, uh, make a story?
So, you're an attorney.
I am.
I used to practice.
I had no idea.
Miss Williams, did you have any idea...
That Darwin fretted over vaccinations...
Because they would help save people...
That natural selection would kill off?
Or take helping the poor.
Didyou ever hear that charity hurt mankind...
Instead of uplifted it?
That seems hard to believe, Mr. Bryan.
Well, you show me one hospital...
Or one soup kitchen, for that matter...
That's named after Charles Darwin.
His closing argument, if he can keep it to that.
Bryan:
Now, mother, areyou suggesting...
That I might sometimes talk too much?
Ladies, excuse me.
Well, I think I've taken up enough of your time.
I like the article, Charles, but this headline...
"Dayton welcomes Bryan"... It's so dull and boring.
Hi, Charles.
Hey, miss Caroline.
It's the pumpkin queen, right?
Ah, yes. I've been reading about you.
How's the little one?
What little one?
Okay, how about, uh...
"Guns Blaze for Bryan in Dayton"?
I don't want to hear any more of that evolution nonsense!
You hear me?!
Haveyou lostyour mind - not now, George!
Give me the gun. Give me the gun.
Don't give me the gun. Get inside. Get inside.
How's that for guns blazing?
Hmm?
Ah. Yeah?
Yes. I like it. I like it.
Charles B. Anderson, the Baltimore Sun.
You got the job!
As of now, yeah. How?
Well, it's kind of a story, a long story.
Good to see you.
My friend.
Good to see you. Good to see you.
Say, I broughtyou something here.
Bailiff:
The honorable judge John T. Raulston.
Oyez, oyez, oyez.
The court, on this lovely Friday morning...
Will come to order.
Reverend Sutherland?
Let us pray.
Oh, god, our divine Father...
We recognize thee as the creator of the universe.
Hear us in these, our prayers.
And help us to be loyal to the lord Jesus and to the truth.
Amen.
I'd like first to welcome colonel Darrow from Chicago.
And, of course, the great commoner...
Colonel Bryan, up from Florida.
I'm calling to order...
The case of the state vs. John Thomas Scopes.
Mr. Attorney General, are you ready to proceed?
Yes, sir.
Your honor, we would first like to discuss our idea...
That the scientific experts are relevant witnesses...
If only for the purpose of explaining to the jury...
What evolution is.
General Stewart?
Well, I'm frank to state that we will be objecting...
To that sort of testimony as legally irrelevant.
And we'd prefer to stick to the usual order...
And select the jury first.
Very well.
Mr. Bailiff.
Reverend J.P. Sutherland.
Go get 'em!
Are they all gonna be reverends?
Bailiff?
Mr. James Riley.
Mr. Riley, you say...
You've never read anything about evolution?
Uh, no, sir.
I can't read.
I'm sorry. I didn't hear that.
I said...
I'm unable to read.
I have not been educated.
Well, that can sometimes come in handy, sir.
Mr. Bryan? Excuse me, Mr. Bryan?
Will you be seeking jail time for Professor Scopes?
Oh, the law doesn't provide for any jail time.
But since I have already offered to pay any fine...
In the event Professor Scopes is found guilty...
I hope you won't begrudge us...
If we recommend the smallest fine possible.
The real issue is that the public schools...
Are being funded by force.
Using taxes to finance the teaching...
Of any theory of origins...
Bryan's or Darrow's or some combination of the two -
is tyrannical and sinful!
Preach it, brother! Preach it!
Yes! Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
The Baltimore Sun. Welcome to the big leagues.
Thanks. Ma'am.
Hey, Charlie, you wouldn't know anything...
About that gunfight being staged, would you?
Charles, a moment?
Be right back.
So, what did you see?
The first live radio broadcast of a trial in history.
Everyone's gonna write about that.
Okay. Um...
A Christian prayer to start things off.
Now, that seemed a little unfair.
And then the jury was selected...
Six baptists, four Methodists, one agnostic...
Charles, you make it sound like a grocery list.
Keep it simple, but give it punch.
Bible thumpers?
Bible thumpers.
With loving cup ears and homemade haircuts, hmm?
See, paint a picture.
Anything else?
The prosecution wants to prevent...
All scientists from taking the stand.
That's right. Why?
What are they afraid of?
Remember "David versus Goliath"?
Hmm? Hmm?
Has our Shepherd boy lost his stones?
Excuse me. Why would you mock me?
Gee, I don't know. Uh...
Because you're backward and proud of it?
Wouldn't mind seeing her without her bonnet.
Gentlemen for the defense?
Your honor, we would like to make a pretrial motion...
To dismiss the indictment against our client.
Proceed, colonel.
May I say first, your honor...
That I shall always remember this court...
For giving me the great title of "colonel."
It's not the custom of our courts up north.
And I want you to take it back there with you, Colonel.
Better that than this state's foolish, mischievous...
And wicked statute against all learning!
Rapp!
The defense just made a motion to dismiss the trial.
You might need to lower that price, not raise it.
The anti-evolution law makes the Bible...
The measuring stick of every man's education.
Are your mathematics good?
Turn to 1 Elijah, chapter 2.
Is your philosophy good? Turn to Samson 2, chapter 3.
How about chemistry?
Well, for that we need to read
about fire and brimstone, I suppose.
We better wrap up today, colonel.
Just one minute longer, your honor.
Let me add this. Ignorance and fanaticism are all around us.
If today you can make evolution a crime in the public school...
Well, tomorrow you can make it a crime in the private school.
After a while, your honor...
It's man against man, creed against creed,
until, with banners flying and drums beating...
We are marching backwards...
To those glorious days when bigots burned at the stake...
Those men who dared bring any enlightenment to the human mind!
Bravo! Yeah!
Regarding the defense's pretrial motion...
To dismiss this case...
I'll present my ruling first thing Monday morning.
Court is adjourned.
What'd I miss?
A lot!
It's beautiful, Rose.
Nobody ever writes about Mrs. Bryan.
This is award-winning stuff.
I really like that she helps write his speeches...
And weekly columns.
- Really? - Yeah.
That's plagiarism. Now, there's a story.
It's not plagiarism.
I said "alleged."
Charlie.
What?
My shift's about to start.
"Know little of anything worth knowing
"and there is not the slightest inclination among them...
To increase their knowledge."
Is that what's going on in this town, hmm?
Yankee bastard!
But, George, you're a Yankee.
Now is not the time, doc.
And did you see what Charlie wrote?
Ugh.
Mm-hmm.
You reported to the whole world...
That Mr. Riley can't read.
He said so himself under oath.
That's a half-truth!
Why didn't you also mention...
That he's the most talented organist in east Tennessee?
What does one have to do with the other?
I'm not writing puff pieces here, Rose.
Oh, and I am?
Come on. That's not what I'm saying.
Rose, you can't get ahead by being soft on the locals.
On our friends.
I have to finish this article.
I'm sorry.
Yes. Very good. Yes. That's nice.
Rose, have you see what the girls have been making?
Oh.
Yes. That's nice.
Rose, I need to speak with you privately.
Stewart Anderson.
♪ You may think it's not the time ♪
♪ Think it's not the place ♪
♪ But god has warned us all that the end of the race ♪
♪ Could be around the corner ♪
♪ Just around the bend... ♪
What's wrong?
Nothing.
Come on, Rose, what's going on?
Uncle Phil said that Abby has a reproductive issue.
She needs an operation.
He said that she'll be fine.
It's just that...
She hasn't complained about pain or anything.
Now, he is a trained professional, right?
And her uncle.
Well, I'm her sister.
Hey.
Now, you know I would never...
Let anything happen to Abigail, right?
- Right. - Okay.
So there's nothing to worry about.
Okay.
Now, uh, I got to go.
Let me guess: Mr. Mencken.
I thought we were gonna read through my article.
It's just that Mencken's gonna introduce me
to some of the guys.
Okay.
How about later?
Judge Raulston asked me...
To be his stenographer for his ruling.
It could go past midnight.
I'm sure that your article is terrific.
I have to go.
Ah!
Ah.
You know, Beethoven and I are related...
If you go back far enough.
How far?
Oh, uh, the cockroach or thereabouts.
Oh, come on, Charles, loosen up.
Where is the little tomato tonight?
She's, uh, taking dictation...
For the judge's ruling on the motion to dismiss.
Stop the presses.
You mean your little gal will know tonight...
Whether or not the trial will proceed on Monday?
No, I'm not gonna use Rose to get a scoop.
Okay.
Then, uh, you'd better get creative, Charles.
'Morning, judge. You have a moment?
Sorry, Charles. We're having some pictures made...
At the courthouse before church.
- Can we talk later, then? - Well, uh...
How about Monday...
Between your ruling and the start of the trial?
Sure. We'll have some time then.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
Oh, your honor.
Not you, Mr. Mencken.
I've been advised that the Baltimore Sun...
Is running a story purporting to know already...
How I will be ruling on tomorrow's motion to dismiss.
Mr. Mencken, it's your paper.
I trust you know the anonymous source.
Well, the source and I, your honor, are very...
Well, we're... we're very close.
But my lips are sealed.
Could only have been the stenographer.
Wait, your honor.
Uh...
It wasn't Rose.
I-it was you...
At, uh, breakfast.
"Guns Blaze for Bryan in Dayton."
Rose...
No, no, no. This is better:
"Judge spills beans over breakfast."
Well... he did.
You tricked him, Charlie.
Come on, Rose.
It's part of the job.
Deceit?
You're making the judge look stupid.
You're...
You're making all of us look stupid.
Mr. Mencken...
Mr. Mencken can't be trusted!
Journalism should be based on telling the truth.
Your father founded this paper on telling the truth.
Charlie, your father would never have done this.
I'm not my father!
My father has been dead for 15years!
But he left you the Dayton herald...
And a path to follow.
A path going nowhere.
Why can't you see that?
Why can't you see...
Rose...
You're right.
I'm sorry.
Straight shooting from here on out.
I promise.
Charles, you're an amazing writer.
And I don't mean to throw cold water
on your chance to write for the Sun.
I really don't.
They're happy with me, Rose...
Not just Mencken, but the Bigs in Baltimore.
But there's a dream that I've been cherishing...
A lot longer than writing for the Sun.
What are you doing?
It's perfect.
Is this you?
Yes, it is.
Then you're the one that wrote that my daddy's ignorant?
Aah!
Sorry, Mr. Anderson.
I'm gonna wait outside.
It's our children, our taxes.
Shouldn't the people holding the paycheck make the rules?
Now, boys, we want you to go in there and sit tall.
Make us proud.
No more cola.
I sure would hate to get Professor Scopes in trouble.
Now, honey, you just tell the truth.
Mr. Darrow just confuses me.
Mr. Darrow?
When did you boys speak with Mr. Darrow?
Mr. Darrow coached the schoolboys just yesterday...
On what to say...
Because John's lesson on evolution never happened.
So what?
Well, shouldn't somebody say something? Tell the truth?
And cause a mistrial?
Come on, Rose. Nobody's getting hurt.
Nobody?
The boys are being taught to lie in court by an attorney.
Yeah, but it's a white lie.
And don't forget...
You were in the drugstore when the plan was hatched.
We're both in on this one, Rose.
Come on.
We've got that appointment.
A reproductive issue?
Mm-hmm.
That's what your uncle said?
Yes, but he said she'll be fine.
A reproductive issue that requires her to be sterilized?
So, this is new, right?
Uh, eugenics?
New since Darwin.
It means "good genes"...
Improving the quality of the human gene pool.
This must be illegal.
Attempting to sterilize people who aren't even told.
Oh, no, it most certainly is not.
19 states now have sterilization laws...
And more are being added all the time.
I'm taking Abigail back home.
Rose, I'm afraid you can't.
Abigail has a diagnosed medical condition.
Oh, right...
Her "reproductive issue."
She's had a full battery of aptitude tests and...
I.Q. Tests?
You want to sterilize my sister... your niece...
Based on an I.Q. Test!
My niece by marriage.
Rose, you can have Abigail back if she's treated.
Otherwise, she needs to stay here.
Now, that's the law.
The law is shameful. Let's go.
I just need a signature to authorize the procedure.
You're not getting one.
Speaking in opposition...
To the admission of scientific testimony...
In this trial, colonel Bryan.
Thank you, your honor, and my friends.
We have heard the testimony of the students.
Professor Scopes taught that man has evolved from lower forms.
So why now the need for experts?
Well, I'll tell you why:
So that they might come in here...
And persuade the entire world...
That evolution is a beautiful thing.
But what are the fruits of a faith...
In Darwin's survival of the fittest?
Unbridled capitalism where the strong can crush the weak?
An imperialist foreign policy...
That calls for the enslaving of other people?
Or perhaps a program of scientific breeding...
Directing us as to who may and may not bear children?
Margaret Sanger.
And, of course, we have the testimony...
Of my good friend from Chicago.
Objection, your honor!
Overruled.
I'd like to hear more.
Thank you, your honor.
Leopold and Loeb had adopted Nietzsche's theory...
Of the Ubermensch, or "Superman"
which is an evolutionary concept...
That justified them...
In murdering a younger boy in cold blood.
Now, Leopold and Loeb simply thought...
That they were carrying out their biological prerogative.
Their duty, even...
To eliminate anyone who was smaller, weaker...
And less intelligent than they.
I mean, after all...
They say man is nothing more than a mammal.
Ugh.
And then we come to Mr. Darrow's accessory argument...
That his clients a re not responsible for the murder...
The theory of evolution is.
And that professors who teach it...
Are more responsible than the boys themselves!
I object, your honor.
There is absolutely no truth in it!
Would you like for me to read your words
from the trial transcript?
How about if we move off the subject...
Of Leopold and Loeb, colonel?
Hear, hear!
Your honor, we believe that any scientific testimony...
In this case would be totally irrelevant.
The facts are simple. The case is plain.
Now, if these gentlemen want to enter...
On the broader field of education...
Concerning the subject of evolution...
Then I suggest that we finish this case...
And, after that, convene a mock court...
Because it would deserve the title of "mock court"
if its purpose is to banish from the hearts of the people...
The word of god as revealed!
And then here, the textbook says...
That epileptics and the handicapped...
Are, "parasites upon the species"
and, "if such people were lower animals...
We'd probably kill them off to prevent them from spreading."
Can I take a look at that book?
Ah.
Why are we journalists, Charles?
And I'm not talking about women or second-raters.
I'm talking about the best journalists alive.
To change the world.
See, evolution is progress.
No legislation should attempt...
To steal this hope from the people.
But it doesn't.
Did you read Rose's last article?
Well, now, wait a minute.
In Tennessee, you can still teach...
The evolution of 2 million species.
The only thing you can't teach...
Is that mankind evolved from the monkeys...
Which makes it an anti-evolution law, 100%.
Don't get suckered in by their religion.
Well, can't you believe in both evolution and religion?
Can you mix just a little vomit into a glass of milk, huh?
Science is reality.
It's good for your teeth and bones.
But religion is built on fairy tales.
Better not mix the two, not even a little.
Let me tell you a story of two reporters, Charles...
Side by side on the same newspaper
in a major American city.
One of them, some said, stretched the truth.
I would disagree.
But if he did, he always had a good reason, a higher cause.
The cause, he learned...
Is more important than any particular detail.
In time, he became...
One of the most influential columnists in America.
And the other?
What became of him?
You tell me.
You've got talent, son,
as much as I've ever seen in someone your age.
You can use it for good, too.
Don't let it die in Dayton.
"Like watching a fat lady land ankles-up on the ice...
"...in court today the audience had to laugh in their sleeves...
"When William Jennings Bryan...
Denied that he himself is a mammal."
That's good.
A ward-winning good.
Charles...
I heard it all.
Mr. Bryan said no such thing.
I'm making a larger point here.
What?
It's my opinion.
Oh, it is?
It is.
It's my opinion that fundamentalists like Bryan...
Are keeping kids in the dark about evolution out of fear!
I think it'd be a good idea...
To review the fossil evidence for mankind.
Maybe the judge will allow you gentlemen to testify after all.
Foxhall man...
We have no fossils for Foxhall man...
But they did find the tools and the fire pits.
Java man...
We actually have a few bone fragments of java man.
Correct.
Nebraska man...
Yes, for them, we have a tooth.
A tooth?
We have a tooth!
Wow.
And so they marked and measured, marked and measured.
Uncle Phil said he could tell from my face...
That I'd be a good dishwasher.
With this face, you could be anything you want.
Okay. You hungry?
Let's go.
And then, as the human embryo progresses...
Through 40 weeks of gestation...
It virtually revisits our entire evolutionary history.
From a single cell to a fish-like stage with gills...
To a stage with webbed hands and an amphibian tail...
And then to the mammal stage...
With a covering of hair, like a monkey.
And, finally, a human child.
And there's no way around the evidence?
Look for yourself.
Rose, this isn't about you or even about Abigail.
Even in our own family...
Starting with your grandmother...
Don't you think three generations of heartache...
Is enough?
Rose, if you sign the papers authorizing her surgery...
Abigail goes home with you in a few days.
Resist...
And I may have to gain custody of her myself...
As her uncle.
I don't want to do that.
Gentlemen, I fear that we're missing something here.
We're forgetting about Mr. Bryan.
Who's Bryan?
I'm being serious, Henry.
How much fossil evidence is there, really, for evolution?
From the standpoint of a skeptic?
From the standpoint of the average American.
From what I've seen here, William Jennings Bryan...
Could pick the entire fossil history of mankind up...
With his butt cheeks in one squat.
I agree.
And take your view that the Bible...
Actually describes evolution.
I'm Bryan. We're in court.
Dr. Metcalf, you say you're a Christian.
You believe the Bible?
So, you believe that Jesus was born of a virgin?
Well, actually, that's not possible biologically.
Oh? Well, do you at least believe...
That he was resurrected from the dead?
In a sense, yes. His ideas Rose.
His ideas?
Mr. Anderson, how far will that idea fly in these parts?
About as far as a pig, sir.
Professor, can your theory of evolution be used...
To develop a more fragrant Rose, a cow that gives more milk?
Certainly.
How about better human beings?
That one jurist who is illiterate...
Do you think he should have been allowed to have children?
I would say that depends.
Depends upon whom?
Who gets to decide if a man should have children...
And on what authority?
It's poppycock!
If we're being frank with each other, Mr. Darrow...
I think that defending cold-blooded murderers...
On the theory that they are programmed by evolution...
That is poppycock!
Gentlemen, we're in a Tennessee courtroom.
On our side of the case...
Is a self-proclaimed heretic, yours truly.
In addition, I have recruited scientists...
Who call themselves Christians...
But who, truth be told...
Seem more to me like a bunch of Hindus.
On the other side of the case...
We have Saint William Jennings Bryan...
The great commoner...
Defending both the manifest will of the people...
And the Bible, which they hold most dear.
The point is...
We simply can't risk putting you gentlemen on the stand...
Even if the judge allows it.
To being monkeys!
Marco!
Be quiet out there!
Oh, you be quiet!
I'm not talking to you.
Polo!
Wo Do you have any idea what time it is?!
I don't know the time!
Marco! Ow.
Rosie.
Shh!
Hey.
Charles, have you been drinking?
Shh! Don't tell no one.
I talked to Mencken tonight about your articles...
And he wants to read them!
Why did you talk to Mencken about my ar...
Well, he asked, silly! Look...
He can help you, Rosie.
He can give you some of that...
Feminist flair.
Rah-ha-ha.
You know, life is not all made up
with a nice little bow around it.
Look, take the Bible, for instance, right?
You take a little milk, and you put it in vomit.
Oh.
Oh, Charles.
I think I threw up in my hat.
You did throw up in your hat.
I did. I liked that hat.
- Charles. - Huh?
Go home.
Okay.
You can have it.
I'm gonna go to bed.
Oh.
I'm just gonna lie down here for a minute.
My, the heavens do declare, Rose.
Charles?
Charles.
It is my ruling today that expert testimony...
On the theory of evolution will shed no light...
On the factual issues in this case.
The scientists will not be permitted to testify.
Your honor, what about expert testimony...
Offered for the trial record for the basis of appeal...
Without the jury being present?
Sounds reasonable to me.
Colonel Bryan?
Well, it would suit me just fine...
To relax the rules a little, your honor.
I assume that we'll be entitled...
To cross-examine his witnesses.
Absolutely not!
Why not, Clarence?
Cross-examine testimony...
That's being offered merely for the record?
Well, now, colonel, wouldn't that help ascertain the truth?
The truth?!
Has there been any effort thus far to ascertain the truth?
If the scientists take the stand to testify about evolution...
They can be cross-examined as to their views.
That's fair.
Then forget about testimony on the stand!
We'll offer their written affidavits tomorrow...
Off the stand...
For the future benefit of the appellate court...
And anyone else around here who dares to think!
I hope, colonel, you do not mean to reflect upon the court.
Well, your honor certainly has the right to hope.
The scientists will need the rest of the day...
To prepare their statements.
Thank you!
This court has not been recessed!
Colonel Darrow! Hold him in contempt, your honor!
Colonel Darrow!
Attention, please.
Due to overcrowding in the courthouse...
The remainder of the trial...
Shall take place on the courthouse lawn.
The publisher loved your last article on Bryan.
Denying he is a mammal!
He's a perfect specimen.
Homo nincompoopus.
Abigail: Mr. Charles!
Abby!
Stay here.
Uh, pardon me a moment, Charles.
Doctor?
Sorry. Uh, may I have a word?
Oh, absolutely, sir.
I'm quite interested in that treatment center of yours.
The unfortunate...
H.L. Mencken for the Baltimore Sun.
Charles Anderson will be arriving...
At the prestigious Baltimore Sun soon...
Alone...
destined to surpass his father...
Stewart Anderson, who was...
Inexplicably, more enamored with long-horned cattle...
And half-wits.
Um, "enamored of."
Rose, Charles has the whole package...
Talent, pedigree, ambition.
Now, even if you wanted to be a hanger-on...
Baltimore is no place for a writer of modest potential.
And how would you know what my potential is, Mr. Mencken?
Do you have any writers in your family?
College graduates, even?
No.
A feeble-minded sister whose father was a darky...
A mentally ill mother who committed suicide...
Oh, and an uncle in St. Louis who likes little boys.
Shall I go on?
And that makes me...
Well, that makes you...
You.
Rose?
Ah, Charles!
We were just talking about Baltimore.
What's wrong?
Charles.
Sign the papers authorizing the surgery...
And Abigail goes home with you in a few days.
Resist, and I may have to take custody of her myself.
Dr. Metcalf: "From the above it seems conclusive...
"That it is impossible to teach anthropology...
Or the prehistory of man without teaching evolution."
Dr. Metcalf, have you read into the record...
The statements of all the scientists?
Yes, sir. They are all in.
Well, why don't we adjourn Early, then?
Tomorrow we can commence...
With the closing arguments here outside.
Just one more thing, your honor.
Colonel?
The defense would like to call to the stand...
Mr. William Jennings Bryan.
Colonel Bryan?
You want to call opposing counsel?
As an expert on the Bible.
If I may be frank, Mr. Bryan...
This is what Clarence Darrow does for a living.
He's gonna get to ask all the questions, understand?
It's not gonna be a fair fight, now.
Wo We know you can do it, Mr. Bryan!
Go ahead!
Wo Take the stuffing out of him, Mr. Bryan!
Your honor, please, I must insist in advance...
That if I take the stand...
Then Mr. Darrow can be put on the stand...
To give us his view.
As an expert on what? Scotch whisky?
Well, if it's done outside the presence of the jurors...
I see no legal reason to deny the request.
You have done considerable study on the Bible...
Haven't you, Mr. Bryan?
Yes, sir. I have tried to.
Do you believe that everything in the Bible...
Should be accepted literally?
No, sir.
Uh, some of the Bible is clearly intended...
To be understood figuratively.
Well, don't you think that the world was created...
In six days, for instance?
No, I do not.
Well, the Bible says it was.
I do not think that the Bible insists...
That those were 24-hour days.
Some men differ...
But I believe that they were long periods of time.
You do not!
For two hours in the Tennessee Sun today.
Back and forth, back and forth...
Darrow crushed fundamentalism...
For the New York times, this is Philmore Lewis...
Miami herald...
Charles, today we put fundamentalism down...
Like a rabid dog.
Do you understand?
Yes, sir, but honestly...
We don't hold back now.
The next train out of this here leaves...
In three hours, and I will be on it.
Anyway, you know what to write.
On the one side was ignorance, bigotry, and superstition.
On the other was sense.
And today sense prevailed.
You wire your story straight in.
Get a copy to me in the station at 4:29.
Don't be late.
You're gonna miss the closing arguments tomorrow...
The culmination of everything!
I will write about the closing arguments sight unseen.
It's not as difficult as it seems.
You stick to what we saw today. I'm moving on.
Let her hold it.
Anyway, you know what to write.
On the one side was ignorance, bigotry, and superstition.
On the other was sense.
Charles. There you are.
Tell colonel Darrow the prophet has spoken.
I can see it now.
What now, Charles? Time is ticking.
Say that Bryan's a lunatic or something.
Paint a picture!
Oh, and, uh, don't forget my suitcase.
Right. Your suitcase.
You've got talent, son...
As much as I've ever seen in someone your age.
You can use it for good, too.
Mr. Darrow.
Mr. Anderson.
I need your help.
Well, I'm a lawyer.
Just one?
Yes, sir, for my nephew. Charlie! Charlie!
I, uh, I heard you're leaving town.
I got something for you.
At least Mencken writes the things he does...
About people he hates.
What's your excuse, Charlie?
That was a good one, Rapp. Got his comeuppance.
Name?
Charles B. Anderson.
Who are you writing for?
You sound like my father.
Baltimore Sun.
All aboard!
Hmm.
Oh. You sure can write, kid.
Hmm.
You really thought Bryan won that cross-examination?
We don't need a fundamentalist at T he Sun, Charles.
Of course, at the next station...
I'll kill that pissant story with one little phone call.
Go ahead.
You really are like your father, kid.
Hey!
Good luck at the bottom of the food chain!
I just wanted to get you home.
You told me that the operation wouldn't be until tomorrow.
Don't you know?
About what?
The injunction.
Mr. Charles?
Abigail was already under anesthetic...
But with this order, we had to stop the operation.
So she's...
We never touched her.
Who authorized the order?
The judge, of course.
And Abigail's attorney... Mr. Clarence Darrow.
Judge. What brings you out tonight?
Colonel.
You have been a gentleman throughout this trial.
Thank you.
So it pains me to tell you I have decided not to permit...
A cross-examination of Mr. Darrow tomorrow.
After what happened today?
After two hours of questions designed to trap and mislead?
Tell me, do you think Clarence Darrow knows...
How many people were on this earth 3,000years ago?
Do you think he ever studied linguistics...
Biology, paleontology?
I suspect not.
The governor of Tennessee has asked me to put a quick end...
To this trial, colonel.
The State Bar has asked for the same.
We Christians are losing very badly in the big newspapers...
The news, the editorials, the cartoons...
Every day it seems to get worse.
I'm sorry, colonel.
I'm truly sorry.
You ready?
Are you?
Mr. Darrow, I just wanted to say thank you again...
For yesterday.
Um, I forgot to give this to you.
It's Mencken's article about today's closing arguments.
I was told to tell you that "the prophet has spoken"
but I think as we all know...
That, uh, well, it's just a pack of lies, isn't it?
Got to go find someone.
Owing to a misstep on my part yesterday...
I have allowed the trial to get a bit off-course.
There will be no more cross-examinations
of the attorneys.
For this I apologize, especially to colonel Bryan
who was not, of course, permitted to put questions...
To colonel Darrow.
But that brings us this morning to the point in the trial...
That I'm sure has been eagerly awaited by you all.
Colonel Bryan, are you ready?
Yes, we are, your honor.
Colonel Darrow?
Al though I respect the court's decision...
Not to permit any further debate...
Between the attorneys...
I... I must admit...
That I was looking forward to more of the same today.
Closing arguments at the Scopes trial today...
Ended fundamentalism's throttle hold...
Over America's better judgment.
From the hills of monkeyville, we can see a future...
Where indeed it is the fittest who survive...
Where we can call a spade a spade...
A moron a moron...
And the typical man of god a menace to the body politic.
We can now all safely forget...
The over rated oratory of William Jennings Bryan.
From now on, what will be quoted by reporters...
And echoed in our classrooms for decades to come...
Will be today's closing argument...
By the great and courageous Clarence Darrow.
Colonel Darrow?
Well, frankly, your honor...
I think it best to instruct the jury...
To find Professor Scopes guilty as charged.
Mr. Darrow!
You want to skip the closing arguments?
Yes, sir.
It's a waste of time.
We'll be focusing on our efforts on the appeal.
Getting a guilty verdict is the only way to go.
So why make speeches?
Any objections, general Stewart?
Your honor, may we have a moment?
Now, you know what he's doing, right?
You can't make your closing argument if he doesn't make his.
It's an outrage. It's cowardice.
And the press will ignore it.
Sword of the lord and Gideon, Mr. Bryan!
Your honor, if, uh, colonel Darrow...
Wishes to dispense with closing arguments...
Then, um... That's his prerogative.
Well, let's go to the jury, then.
In the matter of the state of Tennessee vs. John Scopes...
The defendant, John T. Scopes, is guilty as charged.
Minimum fine, general?
Yes, sir.
$100, then.
And, uh, I have here a telegram...
Indicating that Mr. Mencken of the Baltimore Sun...
Is pleased to have already paid the fine.
Court is adjourned.
Sine die.
Mr. Bryan.
Huh. Congratulations.
You're guilty.
Rosie!
Hey.
My Rosie.
Hey, Sally.
Marco.
Polo.
Marco.
Polo.
Marco.
The stenographer showed me your article.
It was good.
This was, uh, in Mencken's suitcase.
I don't know how he got it or why...
But if you ask me, this guy can't be trusted.
I love you, Rose Elizabeth Williams.
You can quote me on that.
Sally: From Mr. Mencken?
That's not right.
It was you.
Yes.
Charlie!
Hey.
Psst!
I-it's beautiful, Rose.
Thank you.
The Fergusons discovered that they were related...
To the family that boarded at their home.
I mean, that's worth a story.
William Jennings Bryan dies in his sleep...
Just seven days ago, right here in Dayton.
Mencken brags to the press that he should get the credit...
And you want to write about the Fergusons.
The 10:00 is arriving.
You want to go?
We could walk the train.
You've done it a thousand times, but never with me.
Well, okay.
Thanks.
Excuse me.
- May I? - No!
Well... that's it, Rose.
See what you've been missing?
Well, what about the last car?
I love you, Charles B. Anderson.
Come on.
What are you doing?
Come here.
I got a surprise.
Don't you play with me, now.
Come on.
Wo Oh, there they are!
Prize money.
I have to admit, the Washington post...
Is a better paper than the herald...
Especially for two prize-winning journalists.
Your new jobs are waiting, thanks to Rose.
All aboard!
Mm-hmm.
Uh, yeah. We've only got a minute.
Do you, Charles B. Anderson,
take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?
I do.
A-and do you, Rose Elizabeth Williams,
take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?!
I do.
By the power vested in me by the great state of Tennessee...
I now pronounce you man and wife!
You may kiss the bride!
Hey, Charlie.
B-bye! Bye! Charlie...
Charlie boy, I don't want to interrupt...
But I'm sorry I smacked you, boy.
I am, and I'm proud of you. Rapp.
I'm gonna come visit you in D.C.
R-Rapp! Bye, George!
Can I have the car, at least?!
Rapp, I'm on my honeymoon!
I'm gonna miss you guys!