cynical Baltimore reporter (patterned after Henry L. Mencken) whose paper comes to the aid of the younger teacher played by Dick York. Kelly demonstrates again that even without dancing shoes he knows his way on the screen." Bosley Crowther of The New York Times praised the performances of Tracy and March, and further praised Kramer for displaying "not only a graphic fleshing of his theme but he also has got one of the most brilliant and engrossing displays of acting ever witnessed on the screen." Harrison's Reports praised the cast as "superb", but cautioned that "it will be difficult to sell the average movie-goer unless the limited romantic sequences are exaggerated. It is principally a wordy, philosophical courtroom drama, splendidly produced. Direction is top-notch; photography, excellent..." In 2006, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated the film four stars, referring to it as "a film that rebukes the past when it might also have feared the future". On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 93% approval rating, based on 27 reviews with an average rating of 8.1/10. Awards and nominations See also List of American films of 1960 Trial movies References External links 1960 films 1960 drama films 1960s legal films 1960s English-language films American black-and-white films American courtroom films American films based on plays American legal drama films Creationism Cultural depictions of Clarence Darrow Cultural depictions of John T. Scopes Films about religion Films about lawyers American films based on actual events Films à clef Films directed by Stanley Kramer Films produced by Stanley Kramer Films scored by Ernest Gold Films set in 1925 Films set in Tennessee Films with atheism-related themes Scopes Trial United Artists films 1960s American films