NEW ULM – The New Ulm Film Society is continuing its legal drama series with a screening of “The Crucible.” The screening begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 12. 

“The Crucible” is not typically cited as a legal drama, though it centers on one of the most infamous trials in history; the Salem Witch Trials. 

In 1692, the town of Salem, Massachusetts was plagued with accusations of witchcraft. Several townsfolk in the puritan community were accused of cavorting with the devil. Many citizens were put on trial and forced to make false confessions under pains of torture. In the end, 19 people were executed by hanging. Another man died from torture after refusing to enter a plea.

In the centuries since, the Salem Witch Trials have become known as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in colonial America. The term “witch hunt” has since become synonymous with campaigns to target people without evidence.

“The Crucible” began as a play, written in 1953 by Arthur Miller as a metaphor for McCarthyism. For years, Sen. Joe McCarthy and his fellow House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) members had charged many Americans with having ties to socialists and other communist agents based on little proof except hearsay. Miller believed the HUAC hearings were nothing but a “witch hunt.”

Several of Miller’s friends had been forced to testify before HUAC and in order to save their livelihood, name socialists, even if it was a lie. It was not difficult for Miller to see the comparisons between the two time periods. Many of the Salem’s people accused of witchcraft, also gave false testimony in order to save their lives.

Several stage and television adaptations of the play were produced over the years, but it was not until 1996 that “The Crucible” received a film adaptation. The script for the film was rewritten by Miller himself. 

Miller took some historic liberties in writing “The Crucible.” Several characters in the play and movie were composite of real-life people. Some characters are based on real people, but the story presents a fictionalized version of their story. The main accuser, Abigail Williams (played by Winona Ryder) was aged-up to be given a previous relationship with John Proctor (played by Daniel Day-Lewis).

John Proctor is often viewed as a self-insert character. Proctor speaks out against the witch trials from the beginning. When he is forced to testify, he tells the truth and refuses to name others to save himself. This is similar to what happened to Miller, who was brought before HUAC, but refused to name others.

Adaptations of “The Crucible” vary greatly based on the cast playing them. Some adaptations portray those claiming witchcraft as lying to save themselves, while other adaptations depict them as true believers. The question is, were the  Salem Witch Trials the result of mass hysteria or mass scapegoating. The 1996 adaptation of “The Crucible” leaves it for the audience to decide. 

At the start of the film it suggests some of the Salem children are lying to save themselves. Abigail Williams clearly knows there are no witches in the town. She claims to have seen witches to avoid being punished for her behavior. However, it is not clear if the other young women in the community are aware it is a lie. It is implied that some of the girls do believe they saw witches. Ryder’s portrayal of Abigail becomes more unhinged over time, suggesting she might have come to believe her own lies.

However audiences choose to judge Abigail and the other witnesses, no version of “The Crucible” suggests the witches were real. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and the HUAC hearings of the 1950s may have had the force of law behind them, neither was interested in reaching the truth.

The real trial at the center of “The Crucible” is whether people will be broken down by the court or stick to their principles. The story title is a metaphor for the real trial. A crucible is a container in which a substance is melted down or subjected to a high temperature. In a sense, a substance in a crucible is being put through a trial by fire.

The New Ulm Film Society’s screening of “The Crucible” is free to the public. Before and after the film, there will be a discussion about the film’s place in film history and its importance as a legal drama.