wonderful acting and plenty of recognizable faces

Dick York always fascinated me. He had a rather "goofy" face, with cartoonish features and big ears, and yet he worked a lot and sometimes got romantic roles(as here) with a girl friend or fiancé, and then became famous as the husband of the very beautiful Elizabeth Montgomery on "Bewitched." I don't know about you, but I kept hearing all the time as a viewer of that show how York's Darrin had definitely "married up" in the looks department on that show. But that's how sitcoms often are, right? Hot wife, not so hot husband. (When Nicole Kidman prepped her "Bewitched," the producers tried to get Jim Carrey for Darrin and it would have been great -- he was a mugger, just like York.)

One watches Harry Morgan in Inherit the Wind and that incredible voice of his comes to the fore -- yes it would eventually be rather a sitcom voice on MASH, but it was very special -- purring, incisive, capable of a humorous "dip" for effect. But beyond the voice, Morgan here holds his own with both Tracy and March as he referees their courtroom battle while trying not to tip his bias(on March's side.) A truly great performance, I think the best thing I've ever seen Harry Morgan do.

Gene Kelly was as much a superstar as Tracy or March ...in his own venue(musicals) and his non-singing role in Inherit the Wind was a bit of coup, both for Kelly and for producer-director Stanley Kramer. Kelly always seemed like "a nice guy with an edge" in his musicals, and that comes through loud and clear here. The movie posits Tracy and Kelly as the "intellectual good guys versus a town full of idiots" from the outset, but eventually outs Kelly as far too cynical and unloving for Tracy's friendship. This is a "good guy" role that turns into a "bad guy" role for Kelly...but he leaves the movie with a quip and a smile.

The rest of them were great...though Claude Akins man of God is played pretty much like a roaring monster, a bit over the top for me.