Best movies like Inherit the Wind
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Based on a real-life case in 1925, two great lawyers argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 598
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, talky
Best tv shows and movies like Inherit the Wind (1988):
Similar in 76%
Alleged (2010)
Plot Summary:
Alleged is a romantic drama based on events occurring behind the scenes and outside the courtroom of the famous Scopes "Monkey Trial" of 1925. Charles Anderson, a talented young reporter, feels trapped working for his deceased father's weekly newspaper and living in a tiny town (Dayton, TN) in steep decline. Seeing the "Monkey Trial" as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break into the journalistic big leagues, Charles manages to insert himself into the middle of the "Trial of the Century." Once in the midst of this staged event, however, he is torn between his love for the more principled Rose, his fiancée, and the escalating moral compromises that he is asked to make as the eager protégé of H.L. Mencken, America's most colorful and influential columnist.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 303
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, thought provoking, sincere
Similar in 86%
Town Without Pity (1961)
Plot Summary:
Four American soldiers stationed near a German village face death in the rape of a local girl and are defended by outside counsel Major Steve Grant.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Switzerland, West Germany, USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, talky, neo noir
Similar in 88%
Roe v. Wade (2019)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Bernard Nathanson and Dr. Mildred Jefferson square off in a national battle in this untold conspiracy that led to the most famous and controversial court case in history.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, thought provoking, suspense, disturbing, patriotic, independent film, political drama
Similar in 79%
First Monday in October (1981)
Plot Summary:
For the first time in history a woman is appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she becomes a friendly rival to a liberal associate.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: light, entertaining, melancholic, realistic, humorous, semi serious, witty, funny, romantic, thought provoking
Similar in 78%
As Summers Die (1986)
Plot Summary:
Set in a sleepy Southern Louisiana town in 1959, a lawyer, searches for justice as he volunteers to help a black woman whose property is being threatened by the Holts, the first family of the town, after she refuses to sell her valuable land.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 853
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: political, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 84%
Heart of the Beholder (2005)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of a family who opened the first videocassette rental stores in St. Louis in 1980. The family was ruined by a corrupt prosecutor who had been blackmailed by a religious group because the family refused to remove Martin Scorsese's controversial film, "The Last Temptation of Christ", from their stores.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 408
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 83%
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988)
Plot Summary:
A full-length adaptation, originally staged as a play, of the court-martial segment from the novel "The Caine Mutiny".
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 693
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, clever, serious, realistic, disturbing, contemplative, talky, biting, suspense
Similar in 81%
8 (2012)
Plot Summary:
"8"—a new play by Academy-award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk, J. Edgar)—demystifies the debate around marriage equality by chronicling the landmark trial of Perry v. Schwarzenegger. A one time show was done live on youtube with a superstar cast.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 597
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: cult classic, powerful, factual, queer cinema
Similar in 86%
Beginning of the Great Revival (2011)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the events that led to the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.
IMDB Rating: 3.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, factual, banned
Similar in 76%
The Crucible (1996)
Plot Summary:
The movie is centered around the Salem Massachusetts witch trials of 1692. The movie is based on the play "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. He also wrote the screen play adaptation.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: talky, suspense, rough, disturbing, dramatic, emotional, gothic, depressing, factual, period piece
Similar in 77%
The Eichmann Show (2015)
Plot Summary:
The behind-the-scenes true life story of a groundbreaking producer, Milton Fruchtman, and blacklisted TV director Leo Hurwitz who, overcoming enormous obstacles, set out to capture the testimony of one of the war's most notorious Nazis, Adolf Eichmann, who is accused of executing the 'final solution' and organising the murder of 6 million Jews. This is the extraordinary story of how the trial came to be televised and the team that made it happen.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK, Lithuania
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, clever, serious, realistic, captivating, dark
Similar in 86%
The Man in the Glass Booth (1975)
Plot Summary:
Arthur Goldman is a rich Jewish industrialist, living in luxury in a Manhattan high-rise. He banters with his assistant Charlie, often shocking Charlie with his outrageousness and irreverence about aspects of Jewish life. Nonetheless, Charlie is astonished when, one day, Israeli secret agents burst in and arrest Goldman for being not a Jewish businessman but a Nazi war criminal. Whisked to Israel for trial, Goldman forces his accusers to face not only his presumed guilt--but their own.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: sad, independent film, tense, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, talky
Similar in 87%
Once They Marched Through a Thousand Towns (1981)
Plot Summary:
A dramatization of the controversial trial concerning the right for Neo-Nazis to march in the predominately Jewish community of Skokie.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 409
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: political, sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 90%
Prosecuting Casey Anthony (2013)
Plot Summary:
"Prosecuting Casey Anthony" reveals Florida prosecutor, Jeff Ashton’s inside story of the true crime drama that captivated and then shocked the nation when Caylee Anthony’s mother, Casey, was acquitted of killing her daughter, despite what many thought to be overwhelming evidence of guilt. The movie is seen from Ashton’s (Lowe) perspective and it takes viewers behind-the-scenes of both the investigation into Caylee’s tragic death and the ensuing trial, shedding new light on the many questions of what happened to the two year-old girl, how Ashton and his fellow prosecutors built their case and why a woman so shrouded in suspicion was proclaimed innocent. With in-depth information about the case and the accused, "Prosecuting Casey Anthony" examines what the prosecution got right, what they got wrong and why Ashton remains convinced of Casey Anthony’s guilt.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: disturbing, serious, captivating, realistic, emotional, detective, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Separate But Equal (1991)
Plot Summary:
A dramatization of the American court case that destroyed the legal validity of racial segregation. One of the most pivotal moments in 20th century American history is bracingly dramatized in Separate but Equal. In telling the detailed story of the Supreme Court's 1953 decision to abolish racial segregation in schools, this superb 1991 TV movie covers a broad spectrum of issues, never taking its "eyes off the prize" while its first-rate cast conveys the importance of the Supreme Court's ultimately unanimous decision.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 763
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 190 min
Plot tags: historical drama, sincere, thought provoking, clever, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, talky
Similar in 77%
Hope & Redemption: The Lena Baker Story (2008)
Plot Summary:
Based on true events, The Lena Baker Story recounts one African-American womans struggle to rise above the challenges of her life, to face the choices she makes, and to ultimately triumph over her...Lena Baker was the first and only woman to be sentenced to death by the electric chair in the state of Georgia and was executed in 1945. She was pardoned posthumously in 2005.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 405
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 82%
Court (2014)
Plot Summary:
A sewerage worker's dead body is found inside a manhole in Mumbai. An ageing folk singer is tried in court on charges of abetment of suicide. He is accused of performing an inflammatory song which might have incited the worker to commit the act. As the trial unfolds, the personal lives of the lawyers and the judge involved in the case are observed outside the court.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: India
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, realistic, psychological, captivating, social, satirical, gujarati, sincere, clever, serious
Similar in 90%
A Stranger in the Kingdom (1999)
Plot Summary:
A Vermont town in the 1950's hires a new minister based on his war record and capable presentation, but then are shocked when he shows up and is a black man. Things go completely wrong for.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 224
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: independent film, sincere, atmospheric, thought provoking, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Inherit the Wind (1999)
Plot Summary:
Based on a real-life case in 1925, two great lawyers argue the case for and against a science teacher accused of the crime of teaching evolution.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: gothic, sincere, thought provoking, clever, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, contemplative, talky
Similar in 75%
12 Angry Men (1997)
Plot Summary:
During the trial of a man accused of his father's murder, a lone juror takes a stand against the guilty verdict handed down by the others as a result of their preconceptions and prejudices. The film is adapted by Reginald Rose from his own 1957 film version (directed by Sidney Lumet) and from the Westinghouse One television production that predated it. George C. Scott won a Golden Globe for his supporting role; righteous juror Jack Lemmon was denied such an honor for Best Actor, but recipient Ving Rhames (for Don King) dedicated his award to Lemmon.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, captivating, clever, talky, tense, inspirational, retro, philosophical, cerebral
Similar in 89%
Witness for the Prosecution (1982)
Plot Summary:
Sir Wilfred Robarts, a famed barrister is released from the hospital, where he stayed for two months following his heart attack. Returning to the practise of his lawyer skills, he takes the case of Leonard Vole, an unemployed man who is accused of murdering an elderly lady friend of his, Mrs. Emily French. While Leonard Vole claims he's innocent, although all evidence points to him as the killer, his alibi witness, his cold German wife Christine, instead of entering the court as a witness for the defense, she becomes the witness for the prosecution and strongly claims her husband is guilty of the murder.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: tense, mind bending, clever, serious, realistic, suspenseful, witty, contemplative, talky
Similar in 86%
Gideon's Trumpet (1980)
Plot Summary:
True story of Clarence Gideon's fight to be appointed counsel at the expense of the state. This landmark case led to the Supreme Court's decision which extended this right to all criminal defendants.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 76%
The Attorney (2013)
Plot Summary:
In the early 1980s, South Korea is torn by student protests over the lack of representation in the government. Song Woo-Seok is a successful attorney in Busan specializing in tax law. His views regarding civil liberties are changed by student activist Park Jin-woo. When Jin-Woo is brutally tortured and put on trial for his activism, Woo-seok decides to defend Jin-woo as his client.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic
Similar in 87%
Class Action (1991)
Plot Summary:
Liberal activist lawyer Jedediah alienated daughter Maggie years ago when she discovered his many affairs. Now a conservative corporate lawyer, Maggie agrees to go up against her father in court. To gain promotion, she must defend an auto manufacturer against charges that their explosion-prone station wagons are unsafe. As her mother begs for peace, Maggie takes on her dad in a trial that turns increasingly personal and nasty.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: suspense, thought provoking, touching, serious, realistic, talky, emotional, clever, contemplative, exciting
Similar in 76%
A Civil Action (1998)
Plot Summary:
Jan Schlickmann is a cynical lawyer who goes out to "get rid of" a case, only to find out it is potentially worth millions. The case becomes his obsession, to the extent that he is willing to give up everything - including his career and his clients' goals, in order to continue the case against all odds.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, thought provoking, serious, disturbing, sincere, realistic, inspirational, feel good, sad
Similar in 78%
The Conspirator (2010)
Plot Summary:
Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: political, factual, period piece, emotional, suspense, thought provoking, serious, captivating, historical drama, gothic
Similar in 76%
Labyrinth of Lies (2014)
Plot Summary:
A young prosecutor in postwar West Germany investigates a massive conspiracy to cover up the Nazi pasts of prominent public figures.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: Germany
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: serious, disturbing, thought provoking, captivating, realistic, heartbreaking, emotional, social, crying, tense
Similar in 80%
Recount (2008)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. presidential election and the subsequent recounts in Florida.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: realistic, political, factual, talky, intense, serious, captivating, controversial, non fiction, cult classic
Similar in 75%
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
Plot Summary:
Ghosts of Mississippi is a drama covering the final trial of the assassin, Bryon De La Beckwith, of the 60s civil rights leader Medgar Evers. It begins with the murder and the events surrounding the two initial trials which both ended in a hung jury. The movie then covers District Attorney, Bobby DeLaughters transformation and alliance with Myrlie Evers, wife of Medgar Evers, of the, as he becomes more involved with bringing Beckwith to trial for the third time 30 years later. Some of the characters are played by the actual participants in this story.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: inspirational, talky, factual, intense, compassionate, sincere, thought provoking, serious, political, political thriller
Similar in 82%
The Verdict (1982)
Plot Summary:
Frank Galvin is a down-on-his luck lawyer, reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing. Former associate Mickey Morrissey reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit that he himself served to Galvin on a silver platter: all parties willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, he suddenly realizes that perhaps after all the case should go to court; to punish the guilty, to get a decent settlement for his clients, and to restore his standing as a lawyer.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 45000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, atmospheric, intense, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, suspenseful, clever