Review
It is a reconstruction of the celebrated 1925 trial in Dayton, Tennessee. Obstensibly about a teacher's illegal teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution, it evolved into a "duel to the death" (the prosecution's words) in a contest between theology and science. The recording was made in Hollywood, the cast were all American, Peter Goodchild, the adapter, was British, and the production team were half British, half American. Neither theatre nor documentary, it succeeds in thrillingly being both. -- The London Times
Most of us respond to the Scopes Monkey Trial in terms of the popular play and movie "Inherit the Wind." But that was a dramatization of court transcripts, not a meticulous playback of the sundry strategies, witnesses and warring attorneys. Now, with the radio drama THE GREAT TENNESSEE MONKEY TRIAL, you can experience another more literal dramatization, totally compiled from the transcripts of that historic battle in Dayton, Tenn., in the summer of 1925 over the right to teach the theory of evolution in public schools. Starring Edward Asner as the Bible thumper William Jennings Bryan and Charles Durning as the attorney Clarence Darrow, the production celebrates the bicentennial of the Bill of Rights with a swarm of heretofore unknown characters in a recording that catches the heat and clamor of that legal boiler room known as Tennessee versus John Thomas Scopes. -- Los Angeles Times
Radio drama of a special order. -- L.A. Times
The remarkable aspect of THE GREAT TENNESSEE MONKEY TRIAL is how closely Peter Goodchild's adaptation of the official record of the infamous court battle in Dayton, Tennessee reflects contemporary arguments. This American production features a bravura performance by Edward Asner as the fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan. -- The Guardian --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Most of us respond to the Scopes Monkey Trial in terms of the popular play and movie "Inherit the Wind." But that was a dramatization of court transcripts, not a meticulous playback of the sundry strategies, witnesses and warring attorneys. Now, with the radio drama THE GREAT TENNESSEE MONKEY TRIAL, you can experience another more literal dramatization, totally compiled from the transcripts of that historic battle in Dayton, Tenn., in the summer of 1925 over the right to teach the theory of evolution in public schools. Starring Edward Asner as the Bible thumper William Jennings Bryan and Charles Durning as the attorney Clarence Darrow, the production celebrates the bicentennial of the Bill of Rights with a swarm of heretofore unknown characters in a recording that catches the heat and clamor of that legal boiler room known as Tennessee versus John Thomas Scopes. -- Los Angeles Times
Radio drama of a special order. -- L.A. Times
The remarkable aspect of THE GREAT TENNESSEE MONKEY TRIAL is how closely Peter Goodchild's adaptation of the official record of the infamous court battle in Dayton, Tennessee reflects contemporary arguments. This American production features a bravura performance by Edward Asner as the fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan. -- The Guardian --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Product Description
The Scopes Trial, over the right to teach evolution in public schools, reaffirmed the importance of intellectual freedom as codified in the Bill of Rights. The trial, in a small town Tennessee courtroom in 1925, set the stage for ongoing national debates over the sepertion of Church and State in a democratic society, debates that continue to this day. A BBC Co -Production.
