Though I tended to think that most people had embraced the theory of evolution and no longer took the Bible's creation theory literally, the recent "debate" over the issue, triggered by Stockwell Day, left me a bit puzzled. Could anyone be so nuts as to suggest that creationism and Darwinism be taught side by side, as competing theories of how we all got here? Apparently so.

Thus it was a treat to rent and re-watch Inherit the Wind, Stanley Kramer's artful 1960 adaptation of the stage play about the famous monkey trial of 1925. Spencer Tracy, Fredric March and Gene Kelly are all fine in the leads, but the standouts here are the supporting cast, who, taken as a whole, resemble the lineup on an old episode of Hollywood Squares. Included are the future stars of numerous yuk-yuk shows, including Dick York (the first Darrin on Bewitched), Harry Morgan (M*A*S*H*), Claude Akin (B.J. and the Bear, The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo) and the unbeatable Norman Fell (Three's Company, The Ropers). All that comic talent in one movie is a wee bit distracting, but to their credit, these sitcom personalities do well despite the absence of a laugh track. It was later in their careers that they would evolve to the higher, wonderful realm of laugh tracks, cheeseball one- liners, crazier-than-crazy situations and wacky slapstick.

--Matthew Hays