Movies that offer a view of history are usually popular but should not be considered a replacement for actual academic investigation. There are numerous sources that can provide such information ranging from cable stations dedicated to the dissemination of historically verifiable information to libraries filled to the brim with scholarly dissertations on every conceivable significant moment in time. Still, historical movies have their place and dramatic license aside can become cinematic treasures on their own right. One of my favorites has always been ‘Inherit the Wind’, the 1960 classic about the famous Scopes monkey trial. The performances of Fredrick March, Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelly have stood the test of time as among the greatest ever committed to film. In that film the names were all altered but some care was taken to retain the fever pitch emotions the case generated. That case occurred in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925 when the city decided to charge schoolteacher John Scopes with breaking the law prohibiting teaching the theory of evolution in a public school. The contention between science and religion is nothing new. The Vatican took the issue exceptionally seriously when learned men of the time dared to imply the earth was not the center of the universe. The subject of evolution as part of a curriculum is still a hot button topic after all this time renewed by a resurgence of hostilities between scientific rationalist and regions fundamentalist. A new movie has come around that offers a different perspective of the events and people engaged in that pivotal court case. ‘Alleged’ is a movie with a different perspective that the well known classic. It offers a previously unexplored vantage point to the circumstances focusing on characters usually considered on the peripheral on the story as commonly known. Naturally, the core characters are still in prominent positions but this time the real names were used. It should come as no surprise that this film is not on the extraordinary level of ‘Wind’ but it manages to revisit an important point in American history in a satisfying fashion. Most importantly this movie places the events in a historical context that you might not have considered before.

First of all the story depicted here is completely fabricated, that is aside from the aforementioned use of the real names of the principles. While many might be inclined to deride the production on this basis it must be remembered that ‘Inherit the Wind’ already covered the intense emotional conflict of the trial while the History Channel has produced a straight factual account of the circumstances. The focus of ‘Alleged’ is on the people on the perimeter of the trial and how it affected their lives. The trial is almost a Macguffin as utilized here, vitally important internally to the characters but not directly pertinent to the audience. The case of ‘The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes’ forms the scaffold to construct an oddly poignant love story. Charles Anderson (Nathan West) is an aspiring journalist working in a local small time newspaper. He comes to observe the growing circus in Dayton swelling up around the trial. Realizing this is his bid shot at the big leagues Charlie ambitiously moves to insert himself in the media frenzy as close to the action as possible. Traveling along, with separate lodgings of course, is his girlfriend/fiancé Rose Williams (Ashley Johnson). She shares Charlie’s journalistic inclinations but in 1925 a young woman could be a teacher, librarian or mother but not a newspaper reporter. The ambitious young reporter quickly succeeds in infiltrating the inner circle is defense attorney Clarence Darrow (Brian Dennehy) and the controversial star reporter from Baltimore H.L. Mencken (Colm Meaney). One of the first things he notices is the unexpected collaboration with the visiting prosecutor William Jennings Bryan (Fred Dalton Thompson). It also comes to light for Charlie that there is a financial motivation for the town who is getting past a difficult economic slump thanks to the media spectacle generated by the trial. The town leaders care more about the influx of funds into local business than the ground breaking debate at hand. This takes the story in an interesting direction. Rather than concentrating on the monumental clash of legal titans and more on the immediate concerns of economic survival. When Charley is pulled into less than ethical actions Rose is forced out of the role of dutiful girlfriend into one that remains the moral compass for both of them.

If this case looks familiar to you there is a good reason, most have been on popular television series. Thompson is no stranger to prosecution having played District Attorney Arthur Branch on TV longest running crime drama, ‘Law & Order. Meaney spent a few years as Chief O’Brian on Star Trek while Johnson was a child actor portraying the youngest Seaver on ‘Growing Pain’. In each case they do an admirable job here of presenting a new side of a familiar piece of our history. This film came across as endearing without delving into the melodramatic. Some of it seems more at home on a Lifetime movie marathon but the filmmaker Tom Hines does very well holding the production together especially when you consider this is his sophomore opus. Stylistically he does very well in using the trappings of a period piece without sacrificing the timely social relevance. Rose was a feminist long before the term was formerly coined. She was a talented, deterring young woman who needs to make her own mark on the world before settling down to what society has mandated for her, being a wife and mother. She winds up not only fighting for her man and relationship but more importantly her convictions. This film is enjoyable and visually interesting. The mid twenties offered a lull between World War One and the Great Depression when the country was starting to come of age. The subject is enduring with a tact that is interesting so this is a movie to check out.