Barret Blecker

Every time i see this movie, I concentrate on another character. Most recently, Florence Eldridge's character, Sarah Brady, the lawyer Brady's wife, captured my imagination. Many, many times, the camera focused on her reaction to a critical incident or dialogue with lawyer Brady. As his wife of many years (which, lawyer Drummond, heartfully regrets it was not he, himself), her facial expressions not only mirror, but also anticipate Brady's emotions. Sarah Brady, having experienced the tumultuous life as the wife of politician/lawyer Matthew Harrison Brady, imbues a wise, calming, affetionate motherly effusion throughout the drama. In one scene, Sarah comforts her distraught husband, as her "baby." Also, she comforts the minister's daughter who was emotionally shredded by her father. Although she played a supporting role in the Inherit the Wind movie, Florence Eldridge was an established actress, having been nominated for a Tony award as lead actress in the stage play A Long Day's Journey into Night. Adding to her extraordinary portrayal as the wife of lawyer/politician Matthew Harrison Brady, portrayed by seasoned actor Frederic March, is the fact that she was the wife to Frederic March in real-life from 1927 to 1975.