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''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a 1962 American
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Robert Mulligan Robert Patrick Mulligan (August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008) was an American director and producer. He is best known for his humanist dramas, including ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), ''Summer of '42'' (1971), ' ...
. The screenplay by
Horton Foote Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name ...
is based on
Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926February 19, 2016) was an American novelist best known for her 1960 novel ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. It won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature. Lee has received numero ...
's
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
–winning novel of the same name. The film stars
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
as
Atticus Finch Atticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel of 1960, ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. A preliminary version of the character also appears in the novel '' Go Set a Watchman'', written in the mid-1950s but not pub ...
and
Mary Badham Mary Badham (born October 7, 1952) is an American actress who portrayed Jean Louise "Scout" Finch in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. At the time, Badham (aged 10) w ...
as Scout. It marked the film debut of
Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
,
William Windom William Windom (May 10, 1827January 29, 1891) was an American politician from Minnesota. He served as U.S. Representative from 1859 to 1869, and as U.S. Senator from 1870 to January 1871, from March 1871 to March 1881, and from November 1881 ...
and
Alice Ghostley Alice Margaret Ghostley (August 14, 1923 – September 21, 2007) was a Tony Award-winning American actress and singer on stage, film and television. She was best known for her roles as bumbling witch Esmeralda (1969–70; 1972) on '' Bewitched' ...
. It gained overwhelmingly positive reception from both the critics and the public; a box-office success, it earned more than six times its budget. The film won three
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, including Best Actor for Peck, and was nominated for eight, including
Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
. In 1995, the film was selected by the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
for preservation in the
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2003, the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th century. In 2007, the film ranked twenty-fifth on the AFI's 10th anniversary list of the greatest American movies of all time. In 2020, the British Film Institute included it in their list of the 50 films you should see by the age of 15. The film was restored and released on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
in 2012, as part of the 100th anniversary of
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
.


Plot

The film is narrated by the adult Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Young Scout and her pre-teen older brother Jem live in the fictional town of Maycomb,
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, during the early 1930s. Despite the family's modest means, the children enjoy a happy childhood, cared for by their widowed father,
Atticus Finch Atticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel of 1960, ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. A preliminary version of the character also appears in the novel '' Go Set a Watchman'', written in the mid-1950s but not pub ...
, and the family's black housekeeper, Calpurnia. During the summer, Jem, Scout, and their friend Dill play games and often search for Arthur "Boo" Radley, an odd, reclusive neighbor who lives with his brother Nathan. The children have never seen Boo, who rarely leaves the house. On different occasions, Jem has found small objects left inside a tree knothole on the Radley property. These include a broken pocket watch, an old
spelling bee A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite ...
medal, a pocket knife, and two carved soap dolls resembling Jem and Scout. Atticus, a lawyer, strongly believes all people deserve fair treatment, in turning the other cheek, and in defending what you believe. Many of Atticus' clients are poor farmers who pay for his legal services in trade, often leaving him fresh produce, firewood, and so on. Atticus' work as a lawyer often exposes Scout and Jem to the town's
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
, aggravated by poverty. As a result, the children mature more quickly. Atticus is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. Atticus accepts the case, heightening tension in the town and causing Jem and Scout to experience schoolyard taunts. One evening before the trial, as Atticus sits in front of the local jail to safeguard Robinson, a lynch mob arrives. Scout, Jem, and Dill unexpectedly interrupt the confrontation. Scout, unaware of the mob's purpose, recognizes Mr. Cunningham and asks him to say hello to his son Walter, her classmate. Cunningham becomes embarrassed, and the mob disperses. At the trial, it is alleged that Tom entered the Ewell property at Mayella's request to chop up a
chifforobe A chifforobe (), also chiffarobe or chifferobe, is a closet-like piece of furniture that combines a long space for hanging clothes (that is, a wardrobe or armoire) with a chest of drawers. Typically the wardrobe section runs down one side of the ...
and that Mayella showed signs of having been beaten around that time. One of Atticus' defensive arguments is that Tom's left arm is disabled due to a farming accident years ago, yet the supposed rapist would have had to mostly assault Mayella with his left hand before raping her. Atticus noted that Mayella's father, Bob Ewell, is left-handed, implying that he beat Mayella because he caught her seducing a young black man (Robinson). Atticus also states that Mayella was never examined by a doctor after the supposed assault. Taking the stand, Tom denies he attacked Mayella but states that she kissed him against his will. He testifies that he had previously assisted Mayella with various chores at her request because he "felt sorry for her" – words that incite a swift, negative reaction from the prosecutor. In his closing argument, Atticus asks the all-white male jury to cast aside their prejudices and focus on Tom's obvious innocence. However, Tom is found guilty. As Atticus exits the courtroom, the black spectators in the balcony rise to show their respect and appreciation. When Atticus arrives home, Sheriff Tate informs him that Tom was killed during his transfer to prison, apparently while attempting to escape. Atticus, accompanied by Jem, goes to the Robinson home to relay news of Tom's death. Bob Ewell appears and spits in Atticus' face. Autumn arrives, and Scout and Jem attend an evening school pageant in which Scout portrays a ham. After the pageant, Scout is unable to find her dress and shoes, forcing her to walk home with Jem while wearing the large, hard-shelled costume. While cutting through the woods, Scout and Jem are attacked. Scout's cumbersome costume protects her but restricts her vision. The attacker knocks Jem unconscious but is himself attacked (and killed) by a second man unseen by Scout. Scout escapes her costume and sees the second man carrying Jem towards their house. Scout follows them and runs into the arms of a frantic Atticus. Still unconscious, Jem has his broken arm treated by Doc Reynolds. Scout tells Sheriff Tate and her father what happened, then notices a strange man behind Jem's bedroom door. Atticus introduces Scout to Arthur Radley, whom she knows as Boo. It was Boo who rescued Jem and Scout, overpowering Bob Ewell and carrying Jem home. The sheriff reports that Ewell, apparently seeking revenge for Atticus humiliating him in court, is dead at the scene of the attack. Atticus mistakenly assumes Jem killed Ewell in self-defense, but Sheriff Tate realizes the truth – Boo killed Ewell defending the children. His official report will state that Ewell died falling on his knife. He refuses to drag the painfully shy, introverted Boo into the spotlight for his heroism, insisting it would be a sin. As Scout escorts Boo home, she draws a startlingly precocious analogy: comparing the unwelcome public attention that would have been heaped on Boo, with the killing of a mockingbird that does nothing but sing.


Cast


Uncredited roles in order of appearance

*
Kim Stanley Kim Stanley (born Patricia Kimberley Reid; February 11, 1925 – August 20, 2001) was an American actress, primarily in television and theatre, but with occasional film performances. She began her acting career in theatre, and subsequently at ...
as the narrator; the voice of adult Scout"''Maycomb was a tired old towneven in 1932 when I first knew itthat summer I was six years old.''" *
Paulene Myers Paulene Elenora Myers (November 9, 1913 – December 8, 1996) was an American actress. Variations on the spelling of her name include Pauline Myers and Pauline Meyers.Kim Hamilton Kim Hamilton (born Dorothy Mae Aiken; September 12, 1932 – September 16, 2013) was an American film and television actress, as well as a director, writer, and artist. Her career spanned more than half a century, from the early 1950s to 2010. H ...
as Helen, Tom Robinson's wife, inside the Robinsons' shack: "''Good evening, Mr. Finch.''" *
Dan White Daniel James White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall. White was convicted of manslaugh ...
as the mob leader approaching as Atticus Finch sits in front of the jailhouse: "''He in there, Mr. Finch?''" *
Kelly Thordsen Kelly Thordsen, born Sherman Jess Thordsen (January 19, 1917 – January 23, 1978) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Thordsen was born in Deadwood, South Dakota. He served in the United States Navy during World War II ...
as a heavyset member of the mob who grabs and picks up Jem: "''Well, I'll send you home.''" *
William "Bill" Walker William Franklin Walker (July 1, 1896 – January 27, 1992) was an American television and film actor. Walker is best remembered for his role as Reverend Sykes in the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. Career Born in Pendleton, Indiana, ...
as Reverend Sykes, at the courthouse for Tom Robinson's trial: "''Miss Jean Louise? Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passin'.''" *
Charles Fredericks Charles Fredericks (born Fred Cockerham; or Crockenham; September 5, 1918 – May 14, 1970) was an American actor of stage, television, and film. Early years Fredericks was born Fred Cockerham (or Crockenham) the son of a Presbyterian ministe ...
as the court clerk at Tom Robinson's trial: "''Place your hand on the bible, please. Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth...?''" *
Guy Wilkerson Guy Owen Wilkerson (December 21, 1899 – July 15, 1971) was an American actor, known primarily for his roles in Western B movies, who with his tall, lanky frame, he often played sidekick or comedy relief parts. Biography Wilkseron was ...
as the jury foreman at Tom Robinson's trial: "''We find the defendant guilty as charged.''" * Jay Sullivan as the court reporter at Tom Robinson's trial: "''Yes.''" *
Jester Hairston Jester Joseph Hairston (July 9, 1901 – January 18, 2000) was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor and actor. He was regarded as a leading expert on black spirituals and choral music. His notable compositions include "Am ...
as Spence, Tom Robinson's father in front of the Robinsons' shack: "''Hello Mr. Finch. I'm Spence, Tom's father.''" *
Hugh Sanders Hugh Howard Sanders (March 13, 1911 – January 9, 1966) was an American actor, probably best known for playing the role of Dr. Reynolds in the movie ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. Biography Born in Illinois, Sanders graduated from Northwestern U ...
as Doctor Reynolds, the town physician who examines Jem: "''He's got a bad break, so far as I can tell. Somebody tried to wring his arm off.''"


Casting

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
declined the role of Atticus Finch, concerned that the story was too controversial. Universal offered the role to
Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...
when the project was being first developed but producer
Alan J. Pakula Alan Jay Pakula (; April 7, 1928 – November 19, 1998) was an American film director, writer and producer. He was nominated for three Academy Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture for ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Moc ...
wanted a bigger star.


Production

The producers had wanted to use Harper Lee's hometown of
Monroeville, Alabama Monroeville is the county seat of Monroe County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census its population was 5,951. Monroeville is known as the hometown of two prominent writers of the post-World War II period, Truman Capote and Harper Lee, w ...
for the set. Harper Lee used her experiences as a child in Monroeville as the basis for the fictional town of Maycomb, so it seemed that would be the best place. However, the town had changed significantly between the 1920s and the early 1960s so they made the backlot in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
instead. ''See also:'' The
Old Monroe County Courthouse The Old Monroe County Courthouse is a historic courthouse building in Monroeville, Alabama that served as the Monroe County courthouse from 1903 to 1963. It is significant as an Alabama literary landmark due to its association with Harper Le ...
in Monroeville was used as a model for the film set since they could not use the courthouse due to the poor audio quality in the courthouse. The accuracy of the recreated courthouse in Hollywood led many Alabamians to believe that the film was shot in Monroeville. The Old Courthouse in
Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...
is now a theater for many plays inspired by ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' as well as a museum dedicated to multiple authors from Monroeville.


Reception

The film received widespread critical acclaim. As of November 2021, it maintains a rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus states, "''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a textbook example of a message movie done right – sober-minded and earnest, but never letting its social conscience get in the way of gripping drama." Metacritic, using a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 88 out of 100 based on 16 critics, meaning "universal acclaim." According to
Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
:
Horton Foote Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name ...
's script and the direction of Mr. Mulligan may not penetrate that deeply, but they do allow Mr. Peck and little Miss Badham and Master Alford to portray delightful characters. Their charming enactments of a father and his children in that close relationship, which can occur at only one brief period, are worth all the footage of the film.
Rosemary Murphy Rosemary Murphy (January 13, 1925 – July 5, 2014) was a German-American actress of stage, film, and television. She was nominated for three Tony Awards for her stage work, as well as two Emmy Awards for television work, winning once, for her ...
as a neighbor,
Brock Peters Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in th ...
as the Negro on trial, and
Frank Overton Frank Emmons Overton (March 12, 1918April 24, 1967) was an American actor. He was best known for the roles of Maj. Harvey Stovall in ''Twelve O'Clock High'' (1964-1967), Sheriff Heck Tate in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962) and General Bogan in ' ...
as a troubled sheriff are good as locality characters, too.
James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...
and Collin Wilcox as Southern bigots are almost caricatures. But those are minor shortcomings in a rewarding film.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' criticized the film for focusing less on black people, criticizing the film for having a
white savior narrative The term white savior is a critical description of a White people, white person who is depicted as liberating, rescuing or uplifting Person of color, non-white people; it is critical in the sense that it describes a pattern in which people of colo ...
:
It expresses the liberal pieties of a more innocent time, the early 1960s, and it goes very easy on the realities of small-town Alabama in the 1930s. One of the most dramatic scenes shows a lynch mob facing Atticus, who is all by himself on the jailhouse steps the night before Tom Robinson's trial. The mob is armed and prepared to break in and hang Robinson, but Scout bursts onto the scene, recognizes a poor farmer who has been befriended by her father, and shames him (and all the other men) into leaving. Her speech is a calculated strategic exercise, masked as the innocent words of a child; one shot of her eyes shows she realizes exactly what she's doing. Could a child turn away a lynch mob at that time, in that place? Isn't it nice to think so.
Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
requested that the film be privately screened in his house. At the film's conclusion, Disney sadly stated, "That was one hell of a picture. That's the kind of film I wish I could make." In a retrospective review, American film critic
Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 â€“ September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' magazine from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael's opinions oft ...
claimed that, when
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
received the
Academy Award for Best Actor The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
:
... there was a fair amount of derision throughout the country: Peck was better than usual, but in that same virtuously dull way. (There was the suspicion that Peck was being rewarded because the Lincolnesque lawyer shot a rabid dog and defended an innocent black man accused of raping a white woman.)
Peck's performance became synonymous with the role and character of Atticus Finch. Producer
Alan J. Pakula Alan Jay Pakula (; April 7, 1928 – November 19, 1998) was an American film director, writer and producer. He was nominated for three Academy Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture for ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Moc ...
remembered hearing from Peck when he was first approached with the role: "He called back immediately. No maybes. €¦I must say the man and the character he played were not unalike". Peck later said in an interview that he was drawn to the role because the book reminded him of growing up in
La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...
. "Hardly a day passes that I don't think how lucky I was to be cast in that film", Peck said in a 1997 interview. "I recently sat at a dinner next to a woman who saw it when she was 14-years-old, and she said it changed her life. I hear things like that all the time". The 1962 softcover edition of the novel opens: : "''The Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, reminds me of the California town I grew up in. The characters of the novel are like people I knew as a boy. I think perhaps the great appeal of the novel is that it reminds readers everywhere of a person or a town they have known. It is to me a universal story – moving, passionate and told with great humor and tenderness." Gregory Peck.'' Harper Lee, in liner notes written for the film's DVD re-release by Universal, wrote: : "When I learned that Gregory Peck would play Atticus Finch in the film production of ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', I was of course delighted: here was a fine actor who had made great films – what more could a writer ask for? ...The years told me his secret. When he played Atticus Finch, he had played himself, and time has told all of us something more: when he played himself, he touched the world". Upon Peck's death in 2003,
Brock Peters Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in th ...
, who played Tom Robinson in the film version, quoted Harper Lee at Peck's eulogy, saying, "Atticus Finch gave him an opportunity to play himself". Peters concluded his eulogy stating, "To my friend Gregory Peck, to my friend Atticus Finch, ''vaya con Dios''". Peters remembered the role of Tom Robinson when he recalled, "It certainly is one of my proudest achievements in life, one of the happiest participations in film or theater I have experienced". Peters remained friends not only with Peck but with Mary Badham throughout his life. Peck himself admitted that many people reminded him of this film more than any other film he had ever done.


Awards and honors

In 1995, ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' was selected for preservation in the United States
National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...
by the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is also
Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career spans more than seven decades and he is considered one of the greatest American actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Gold ...
's big-screen debut, as the misunderstood recluse Boo Radley. Duvall was cast on the recommendation of
screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...
Horton Foote Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name ...
, who met him at
Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where Duvall starred in a 1957 production of Foote's play, '' The Midnight Caller''. In 2007, Hamilton was honored by the
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
community for her part in the movie. She was the last surviving African-American adult who had a speaking part in the movie. When told of the award, she said, "I think it is terrific. I'm very pleased and very surprised"."Harlem community honors 'Mockingbird' actress"
. ''USA Today''.
The
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th century. Additionally, the AFI ranked the movie second on their '' 100 Years... 100 Cheers'' list, behind ''
It's a Wonderful Life ''It's a Wonderful Life'' is a 1946 American Christmas by medium#Films, Christmas Fantasy film, fantasy drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, based on the short story and booklet ''The Greatest Gift'', which Philip Van Doren Stern se ...
''. The film was ranked number 34 on AFI's list of the 100 greatest movies of all time, but moved up to number 25 on the 10th Anniversary list. In June 2008, the AFI revealed its " Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' was acknowledged as the best film in the
courtroom drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...
genre.
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
lists: * AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #34 * AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains: ** Atticus Finch – #1 Hero * AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes: ** "Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passing." – Nominated ** "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." – Nominated *
AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Part of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores is a list of the top 25 film scores in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute in 2005. John Williams has the most scores in the top 25, with three ...
– #17 * AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #2 * AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies: 10th Anniversary Edition– #25 *
AFI's 10 Top 10 ''AFI's 10 Top 10'' honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI), the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008. In the special, various acto ...
– #1 Courtroom Drama


Music

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...
's score for ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is regarded as one of the greatest film scores and has been recorded three times. It was first released in April 1963 on Ava; then Bernstein re-recorded it in the 1970s for his Film Music Collection series; and finally, he recorded the complete score (below) in 1996 with the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five National performing arts companies of Scotland, national performing arts compa ...
for the
Varese Sarabande Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the ...
Film Classics series. # "Main Title" – 3:21 # "Remember Mama" – 1:08 # "Atticus Accepts The Case – Roll in the Tire" – 2:06 # "Creepy Caper – Peek-A-Boo" – 4:10 # "Ewell's Hatred" – 3:33 # "Jem's Discovery" – 3:47 # "Tree Treasure" – 4:23 # "Lynch Mob" – 3:04 # "Guilty Verdict" – 3:10 # "Ewell Regret It" – 2:11 # "Footsteps in the Dark" – 2:07 # "Assault in the Shadows" – 2:28 # "Boo Who" – 3:00 # "End Title" – 3:25


See also

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List of American films of 1962 A list of American films released in 1962. ''Lawrence of Arabia'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. __TOC__ Top-grossing films (U.S.) source: https://web.archive.org/web/20080907071824/http://www.boxofficereport.com/database/1962.shtml ...
* '' La Joven (The Young One)'', the 1960 film *
Trial film Trial films is a subgenre of the legal/courtroom drama that encompasses films that are centered on a civil or criminal trial, typically a trial by jury.Rafter, Nicole. 2001. "American Criminal Trial Films: An Overview of Their Development, 1930– ...
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White savior narrative in film The white savior is a cinematic trope in which a white central character rescues non-white (often less prominent) characters from unfortunate circumstances. This recurs in an array of genres in American cinema, wherein a white protagonist is port ...


References


External links

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''To Kill A Mockingbird''
location and production notes {{DEFAULTSORT:To Kill A Mockingbird 1962 crime drama films 1962 films 1960s English-language films 1960s legal films
Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
American black-and-white films American legal drama films American courtroom films Films scored by Elmer Bernstein Films about lawyers Films about miscarriage of justice Films about prejudice Films about race and ethnicity Films about racism Films about siblings Films based on American novels Films directed by Robert Mulligan Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award-winning performance Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance Films set in Alabama Films set in the 1930s Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award Films with screenplays by Horton Foote Great Depression films Southern Gothic films United States National Film Registry films Universal Pictures films American crime drama films Films about father–daughter relationships Films about father–son relationships 1960s American films