Inherit the Wind/YMMV
- Alas, Poor Villain: Brady. In the film version, Hornbeck as well, who is basically told by Drummond that he lives an empty, miserable life, and seems to agree with him.
- Complete Monster: Antagonistic characters Hornbeck and especially Brady are portrayed with some sympathy, but Reverand Brown is a fundemantalist who has damned a dead little boy's soul to Hell just because he wasn't properly baptized, and later goes on to damn Bates and his own freaking daughter! Even Brady, who is mainly religious as a way to boost his ego, calls the reverand out on how un-Christian this behavior is.
- Misaimed Fandom (implicitly invoked when after he dies in the courtroom, Brady is hailed as a "prophet" by a lady in the crowd based on Drummond's drippingly sarcastic naming of him as such).
- Retroactive Recognition: Hey, it's Darrin Stevens! Not that one, the real one!
- Romantic Plot Tumor: The film spends an awful lot of time on Rachel, despite the fact that she's by far the most boring character.