To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) | |
| Director(s) | Robert Mulligan |
| Producer(s) | Alan J. Pakula |
| Top Genres | Crime, Drama, Film Adaptation, Mystery |
| Top Topics | Book-Based, Courtroom, Integrity, Justice, Lawyers, Prejudice |
Featured Cast:
To Kill a Mockingbird Overview:
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) was a Crime - Drama Film directed by Robert Mulligan and produced by Alan J. Pakula.
The film was based on the novel of the same name written by Harper Lee published in 1960.
SYNOPSIS
One of the most beloved of classic movies speaks at once with the wisdom of years and with childlike innocence, capturing both voices flawlessly. Foote's adaptation of the Lee novel gives us a story of quiet courage and unexpected deliverance from the point of view of Scout (Badham), a six-year-old girl in the Depression-era South. She and her brother live with their widowed father Atticus (Peck), a lawyer and well-respected pillar of the community. Their world of play also contains the mystery of Boo Radley (Duvall), the reclusive boy next door rumored to be chained to his bed by his vicious father. The children's world parallels the serious business of Atticus's defense of a black man accused of attacking a white woman. The dignity of the accused and Peck's impassioned defense aren't enough to overcome the jury's racism. But the real attacker wants revenge, and the adult business and the children's world collide on a dark wooded path. All the performances seem to emerge from the dusty southern ground and the atmosphere clings like August heat. A beautifully realized drama cherished with each new generation.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.To Kill a Mockingbird was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1995.
Academy Awards 1962 --- Ceremony Number 35 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Actor | Gregory Peck | Won |
| Best Supporting Actress | Mary Badham | Nominated |
| Best Art Direction | Art Direction: Alexander Golitzen, Henry Bumstead; Set Decoration: Oliver Emert | Won |
| Best Cinematography | Russell Harlan | Nominated |
| Best Director | Robert Mulligan | Nominated |
| Best Music - Scoring | Elmer Bernstein | Nominated |
| Best Picture | Alan J. Pakula, Producer | Nominated |
| Best Writing | Horton Foote | Won |
BlogHub Articles:
Gregory Peck is Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird"
By Stephen Reginald on Nov 24, 2022 From Classic Movie ManGregory Peck is Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird" To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) is an American drama directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay is by Horton Foote, and is based on the best-selling novel by Harper Lee. The book won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for literature. The film stars Gr... Read full article
Field Trip: "To Kill a Mockingbird" on the Big Screen
By Stephen Reginald on Nov 8, 2022 From Classic Movie ManField Trip: "To Kill a Mockingbird" on the Big Screen 60th Anniversary of a ClassicExperience one of the most significant milestones in film history like never before with To Kill a Mockingbird. Gregory Peck stars as courageous Southern lawyer Atticus Finch--the Academy Award-winning performanc... Read full article
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, Robert Mulligan)
on Jan 10, 2020 From The Stop ButtonDuring To Kill a Mockingbird?s exceptional opening titles, I wondered how it was possible the film was going to look so amazing yet had no reputation for being some exquisitely, precisely directed piece of cinema. Then up came Stephen Frankfurt?s credit for title design, which kind of dulled my exci... Read full article
Win Tickets to see ?TCM Big Screen Classics: To Kill a Mockingbird? (Giveaway runs now through Mar 9)
By Annmarie Gatti on Feb 10, 2019 From Classic Movie Hub BlogWin tickets to see ?To Kill a Mockingbird? on the Big Screen! In Select Cinemas Nationwide?Sun Mar 24 & Wed Mar 27 ?You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.? CMH continues with?our?4th y... Read full article
To Kill a Mockingbird: The Casting of Scout and Jem
By Annmarie Gatti on Aug 27, 2018 From Classic Movie Hub BlogThe Filming of To Kill a Mockingbird: The Casting of Scout & Jem Exclusive Excerpt from ?Why to Kill a Mockingbird Matters? Another Big Thank You to author Tom Santopietro for hand-picking another excerpt for us – this time about the casting of Scout and Jem – from his book??Why to K... Read full article
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Quotes from
Sheriff Tate: Mr. Finch do you think Jem stabbed Bob Ewell - is that what you think? Your boy never killed anyone.
[Atticus and Sheriff Heck Tate look at Boo]
Sheriff Tate: Bob Ewell fell on his knife - he killed himself. There's a black man dead for no reason; now the man responsible for it is dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time, Mr. Finch. I never heard tell it was against the law for any citizen to do his utmost to prevent a crime from being committed, which is exactly what he did. But maybe you'll tell me it's my duty to tell the town all about it and not to hush it up. Well, you know what'll happen then? All the ladies in Maycomb, including my wife, will be knocking on his door bringing angel food cakes. To my way of thinking, taking the one man who's done you and this town a big service and dragging him with his shy ways into the limelight - to me that's a sin... it's a sin. And I'm not about to have it on my head. I may not be much Mr. Finch, but I'm still sheriff of Maycomb County and Bob Ewell fell on his knife. Good night, sir.
Atticus Finch: I remember when my daddy gave me that gun. He told me that I should never point it at anything in the house; and that he'd rather I'd shoot at tin cans in the backyard. But he said that sooner or later he supposed the temptation to go after birds would be too much, and that I could shoot all the blue jays I wanted - if I could hit 'em; but to remember it was a sin to kill a mockingbird.
Jem: Why?
Atticus Finch: Well, I reckon because mockingbirds don't do anything but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat people's gardens, don't nest in the corncrib, they don't do one thing but just sing their hearts out for us.
Calpurnia: That boy is your company. And if he wants to eat up that tablecloth, you let him, you hear? And if you can't act fit to eat like folks, you can just set here and eat in the kitchen.
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Facts about
Atticus Finch is modeled on Harper Lee's own father, Amasa Lee, an attorney whose 1923 defense of a black client inspired the novel's trial. Gregory Peck met with Amasa Lee - then 82 years old - and formed a strong bond with him. Unfortunately Lee died during filming, so his daughter Harper gave Peck his watch and chain. Peck was wearing that same watch and chain at the Academy Awards the following year when he won the Oscar for Best Actor.
Premiered at the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
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