Drama

To Kill a Mockingbird

Pakula-Mulligan

Brentwood Productions

Universal Pictures

United States of America

English

Mary Badham

Gregory Peck

Phillip Alford

John Megna

Frank Overton

Brock Peters

Rosemary Murphy

Ruth White

Estelle Evans

Paul Fix

Collin Wilcox Paxton

James Anderson

Alice Ghostley

Robert Duvall

William Windom

Crahan Denton

Richard Hale

R. L. Armstrong

Walter Bacon

Eddie Baker

Bobby Barber

John Barton

Audrey Betz

Danny Borzage

John Breen

Jess Cavin

Noble 'Kid' Chissell

Steve Condit

David Crawford

Frank Ellis

Charles Fredericks

Herman Hack

Jester Hairston

Chuck Hamilton

Kim Hamilton

Kim Hector

Michael Jeffers

Dick Johnstone

Chester Jones

Colin Kenny

Ethan Laidlaw

Nancy Marshall

Clyde McLeod

Charles Morton

Paulene Myers

William H. O'Brien

Charles Perry

Joe Ploski

Hugh Sanders

Barry Seltzer

Edward C. Short

Mabel Smaney

Eddie Smith

Walter Smith

Cap Somers

George Sowards

Ray Spiker

Kim Stanley

Kelly Thordsen

Arthur Tovey

George Tracy

Sailor Vincent

Max Wagner

Bill Walker

Joe Walls

Dan White

Guy Wilkerson

Chalky Williams

Raoul Freeman

Alan J. Pakula

Robert Mulligan

Horton Foote

Aaron Stell

Henry Bumstead

Elmer Bernstein

Russell Harlan

Bud Westmore

Larry Germain

Meta Rebner

Edward Muhl

Oliver Emert

Waldon O. Watson

Ernest B. Wehmeyer

Corson Jowett

Léo L. Fuchs

Joseph E. Kenney

Fred Knoth

Boaty Boatwright

Terry Morse Jr.

J. Terry Williams

Rosemary Odell

LaVaughn Speer

Harper Lee

Alexander Golitzen

Frank Prehoda

Dick Gallegly

Leo Shuken

Seth Banks

Jack Hayes

Viola Thompson

Bill Neff

Julius Rosenkrantz

Andres Gomez

If you like children's story, you would love this movie about how the world is shaped from their eyes.

If you don't ... you may find some entertainment in the picture of Southern US and the racial fight that was taking place at the time ...

The part Gregory Peck played in this was reportedly his most favorite role.  And he does a marvelous job of it too, as Atticus Finch, the Southern lawyer who agrees to take on the case of a black man falsely accused of rape.  The story, from Harper Lee's classic novel, is in itself wonderful. It's filled with brilliant and iconic sequences, just a couple memorable ones being the dramatic courtroom scenes where Finch tries his best to make the prejudiced townsfolk see sense, and the intriguing side-plot of his children's growing curiosity and involvement with their eccentric, hermit-like neighbor that no one's ever actually seen. He is, of course, Arthur (Boo) Radley, played by none other than Robert Duvall in his feature film debut.

Would I recommend?  Yes, without a doubt, to anyone and everyone who knows how to enjoy a great film.

Filipe Manuel Neto

**A striking, culturally relevant and indisputably important film.**

It is not very rare to see that an actor's career, however prolific it may be, ends up being especially remembered thanks to his participation in a very small set of films, or even for his participation in a single film. I don't see this as a demerit, but as something unavoidable: only a very limited set of films ends up surviving the test of time and becoming culturally and historically relevant. Gregory Peck was an actor of great importance in his time, one of the faces of honesty and fairness, since he almost always played characters imbued with great honesty and nobility of intentions. As such, he took place in a wide range of films... but let's be honest, it is with this film that the actor reaches the peak of his career, and it is here that he achieves the greatest recognition and relevance as an actor.

The film brings to the screen the slightly autobiographical novel by Harper Lee. Strongly inspired by the figure of her father, and by passages from her childhood, the author conceived a story in which an honest and committed lawyer struggles to defend a black prisoner, convinced of his innocence in the face of accusations of rape and aggression against a white minor. Of course, it all takes place in the American South, where racial prejudice runs rampant, as everyone knows. In the midst of all this, a sub-plot also develops, involving a reclusive, mentally weak neighbor, who creates a liking for the lawyer's daughter.

I'll start by saying that I've never read the original book, so I'm not sure if the movie does justice to its content. However, when preparing this text, I concluded that the writer watched some footage at the invitation of the production and participated in the works with her collaboration, which leaves me with the conviction that the film sought to respect the literary work. Directed by Robert Mulligan, the film is a very convincing drama, but it takes a while to get into gear and to captivate our attention, which is initially invited to focus on children, on the way they behave and interact with the world around then. It will be, moreover, through the eyes of one of them, that we will observe the events.

As I said, it is in this film that Gregory Peck reaches the highest point of his career, giving us an inspired, profound and emotional interpretation of the main character. He was one of the most relevant actors of his time and there are a number of other films where he shines and deserves a closer look from us, but this is where he immortalizes himself. Without coincidence, this is where the actor receives his Oscar for Best Actor, after being nominated four times. Despite being very young, Mary Badham's performance and a silent appearance by a young Robert Duvall are also worth noting.

Technically, the film is quite discreet and gives the audience plenty of room to focus on the story told. There are no great visual gimmicks, there are no noteworthy effects, but we have excellent black-and-white cinematography with occasional artistic notes and a good filming work. The editing was also very well done, and gave the film a pleasant pace. It takes a while to really become interesting, but if we give the film the opportunity it requires, it will give us an enjoyable story, which we will gladly follow until the end. The soundtrack also deserves praise for its apparent ingenuity, as well as the opening credits and its graphics and visuals.

CinemaSerf

Gregory Peck is small-town lawyer "Atticus Finch" who is drafted in on a seemingly routine case defending a black man "Tom Robinson" (Brock Peters), accused of raping a young white girl. I say routine, because no-one in their town of "Maycomb" doubts the verdict the jury will return. What ensues is a testament to Peck's Oscar-winning acting abilities as he must get to the truth amongst a community where that is the least of anyone's concerns. Racism, bigotry and hatred are rife and soon, after he resists their repeated attempts to go with the flow, these odious emotions are pointed at him and his two young children "Jem" (Philip Alford) and "Scout" (Mary Badham). By way of a side-story, the kids are obsessed with a mysterious house in which lives the enigmatic "Boo Radley" (Robert Duvall), a lad with learning difficulties that is rarely, if ever, seen during daylight hours. The courtroom drama leads events to turn positively sinister; the scene with the two children returning home through the woods from their fancy dress party has to be amongst the most effectively tense pieces of cinema ever made. Clearly the story addresses the specific issues pertaining to the depression-era attitudes in America's southern states, but the potency of the original Harper Lee story; and the expertly crafted characterisations from all here ensure that scenario is transferable to many others around the world, and even now resonate succinctly. Rarely do the nuances of a novel like this transfer well to cinema, but Robert Mulligan and Horton Foote have done a sterling job at adapting this most human of stories that ought to be compulsory viewing - even now, 60 years after it was made.

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To Kill a Mockingbird

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Cast

Mary Badham

Gregory Peck

Phillip Alford

John Megna

Frank Overton

Brock Peters

Rosemary Murphy

Ruth White

Estelle Evans

Paul Fix

Box office

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