A young man, Bert Cates, is arrested in a small Bible Belt town for teaching the theory of Evolution in the public school. Two of the finest legal minds in the U.S. are called to the trial: Henry Drummond for the defense, and Matthew Harrison Brady for the prosecution. The trial proceeds on three levels, the guilt or innocence of Cates, the issue of the Bible vs. Darwin, and finally, the personal confrontation between Drummond and Brady.
Melvyn Douglas
as Henry Drummond
Ed Begley
as Matthew Harrison Brady
Diane Baker
as Rachel Brown
Murray Hamilton
as E.K. Hornbeck
John Randolph
as Rev. Brown
Adrienne King
as Melinda
Burt Brinckerhoff
as Bert Cates
Norman Wright
as Townsman
Robert Breen
as Elijah
Fred Burrell
as Davenport
Doug Chapin
as Howard
Beulah Garrick
as Mrs. McClain
