To Kill a Mockingbird is a
1962The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Dr. No launches the James Bond film series, the second longest-running motion picture franchise of all time , running more than 40 years.-Top grossing films :...
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
drama filmA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves,...
based on the
novel of the same nameTo Kill a Mockingbird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful and has become a classic of modern American literature...
by
Harper LeeNelle Harper Lee is an American author known for her 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States for her contribution to literature in 2007.-Early life:...
. It was directed by
Robert MulliganRobert Mulligan was an American film and television director.-Early life and career:Mulligan studied at Fordham University before serving with the United States Marine Corps during World War II...
and stars
Mary BadhamMary Badham is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch in the Oscar-winning 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award...
in the role of Scout and
Gregory PeckGregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1990s...
in the role of Atticus Finch.
In 1995, the film was listed in the
National Film RegistryThe National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
. It also ranks twenty-fifth on the
American Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
's
10th anniversaryAFI's 100 Years…100 Movies — 10th Anniversary Edition was the 2007 updated version of 100 Years… 100 Movies. The original list was first unveiled in 1998....
list of the greatest American movies of all time, and #1 on
AFI's list of best courtroom filmsAFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
. In 2003 the American Film Institute named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th century.
Jean Louise "Scout" Finch (
Mary BadhamMary Badham is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch in the Oscar-winning 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award...
) is a 6 year-old
tomboyA tomboy is a girl who exhibits some characteristics of the gender role of a boy.This social phenomenon typically manifests itself through some of these characteristics:*The wearing of typically masculine-oriented types of clothes....
growing up in the fictional
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its...
town of Maycomb, along with her brother Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch (
Phillip AlfordPhillip Alford is an American actor best known for his role as Jeremy "Jem" Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird.Alford was born Philip Alford in Gadsden, Alabama...
), and their friend Charles Baker "Dill" Harris (
John MegnaJohn Megna was an American actor whose Broadway success at the age of seven in 1960's All the Way Home led to his being cast as Charles Baker 'Dill' Harris, the toothy young summer visitor in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird...
).
To Kill a Mockingbird is a
1962The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Dr. No launches the James Bond film series, the second longest-running motion picture franchise of all time , running more than 40 years.-Top grossing films :...
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
drama filmA drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, crime and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves,...
based on the
novel of the same nameTo Kill a Mockingbird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful and has become a classic of modern American literature...
by
Harper LeeNelle Harper Lee is an American author known for her 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States for her contribution to literature in 2007.-Early life:...
. It was directed by
Robert MulliganRobert Mulligan was an American film and television director.-Early life and career:Mulligan studied at Fordham University before serving with the United States Marine Corps during World War II...
and stars
Mary BadhamMary Badham is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch in the Oscar-winning 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award...
in the role of Scout and
Gregory PeckGregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1990s...
in the role of Atticus Finch.
In 1995, the film was listed in the
National Film RegistryThe National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
. It also ranks twenty-fifth on the
American Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
's
10th anniversaryAFI's 100 Years…100 Movies — 10th Anniversary Edition was the 2007 updated version of 100 Years… 100 Movies. The original list was first unveiled in 1998....
list of the greatest American movies of all time, and #1 on
AFI's list of best courtroom filmsAFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
. In 2003 the American Film Institute named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th century.
Plot
Jean Louise "Scout" Finch (
Mary BadhamMary Badham is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch in the Oscar-winning 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award...
) is a 6 year-old
tomboyA tomboy is a girl who exhibits some characteristics of the gender role of a boy.This social phenomenon typically manifests itself through some of these characteristics:*The wearing of typically masculine-oriented types of clothes....
growing up in the fictional
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its...
town of Maycomb, along with her brother Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch (
Phillip AlfordPhillip Alford is an American actor best known for his role as Jeremy "Jem" Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird.Alford was born Philip Alford in Gadsden, Alabama...
), and their friend Charles Baker "Dill" Harris (
John MegnaJohn Megna was an American actor whose Broadway success at the age of seven in 1960's All the Way Home led to his being cast as Charles Baker 'Dill' Harris, the toothy young summer visitor in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird...
). During the summer, Jem and Dill constantly think of new ways to make Boo Radley (
Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards....
) emerge from his house. Arthur "Boo" Radley is a man who at a young age was arrested for
disorderly conductAlmost every state in the United States has a disorderly conduct law that makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such statutes are often used as "catch-all" crimes...
. Rather than be locked up by the authorities, his father kept him locked up in their house; to this very day, Boo still hasn't come out. Jem and Scout's father is
Atticus FinchAtticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch...
(
Gregory PeckGregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1990s...
), a widower and an
attorneyA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver...
with deeply-held principles. After several lectures from Atticus, the children decide to leave Boo alone.
One day while walking past the Radley house, Jem finds a medal in the knothole of the Radleys' oak tree. Day after day he finds more small trinkets until Mr. Nathan Radley cements the knothole shut. Before going to bed one night, Jem shows Scout the trinkets left in the tree. They begin to suspect that they were left there by Boo.
Atticus is approached by Judge John Taylor (
Paul FixPaul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns...
) who appoints him to the case of Tom Robinson (
Brock PetersBrock Peters was an American actor, best known for playing the role, in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, of Tom Robinson, the black man unjustly convicted of raping a white girl...
). Robinson, a black man, is being accused of raping Mayella Ewell (
Collin WilcoxCollin Wilcox is an American actress, variably credited as Collin Wilcox-Horne or Collin Wilcox-Paxton....
), a white woman. Mayella is the daughter of Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell (
James AndersonJames Anderson , sometimes billed as Kyle James, was an American television and film actor of the 1950s and 1960s. He is probably best known for his role as Robert E. Lee 'Bob' Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird .He made over 120 appearances mostly in TV and several films between 1941 and 1970...
), a man hated by most of the town due to his drinking habits and abusive ways. Atticus desperately tries to have the verdict overturned, but Tom is convicted. Although the Ewells won the case, Bob is left humiliated by Atticus. Later that night, Tom is shot dead while attempting to escape from the police. After Atticus arrives at Tom's house to tell the tragic news to his wife, Bob Ewell shows up and spits in Atticus' face.
On Halloween, Jem and Scout head to a Halloween pageant that Scout is to take part in. On their way home, Jem and Scout are attacked by a man in the dark. After knocking Jem unconscious, the man attacks Scout when another man emerges from the darkness and subdues the children's attacker. The man takes Jem to Atticus with Scout following. Atticus calls Dr. Reynolds and Sheriff Heck Tate (
Frank OvertonFrank Emmons Overton was an American actor.Born in Babylon, New York, he appeared in countless television programs during the early 1950s through the late 1960s. In his Gen...
) over. Dr. Reynolds concludes that Jem has a broken arm and will make a full recovery. The sheriff tells Atticus that he found Bob Ewell dead in the middle of the street with a knife stuck under his ribs. Scout tells Sheriff Tate what she recalls of how they were attacked. When asked who saved them from Ewell, Scout points to the man standing in the corner of the room. After a few moments she comes to realize that their savior was none other than Boo Radley.
, but Sheriff Tate insists that Ewell fell on his own knife (although it is implied that Boo killed him). After finally convincing Atticus that Ewell killed himself, Tate leaves. Scout takes Boo home and realizes while standing on the Radley porch that Boo had given her and her brother so many treasures including their lives, but they never gave him anything in return. Scout returns home and falls asleep in Atticus's arms as he watches over both of his children.
Differences from the novel:
The film generally focuses on the mystery surrounding Boo Radley and the trial of Tom Robinson, whereas the novel features these as episodes in Scout's childhood development. In addition, several smaller details were changed:
- The film shows Jem finding a medal in the hollow of the tree in front of the Radley house. In the novel, Scout found the first treasure.
- Also in the plot with Jem and the tree, in the novel, he and Scout do not see Mr. Nathan Radley cement the tree, whereas in the film, they do.
- The subplot where Jem goes to Mrs. Dubose's home to read to her is omitted.
- In the novel, Jem goes back to the Radley house to get his pants later that night. In the movie, he goes back immediately after he loses them.
- Aunt Alexandra, Uncle Jack, and several other member of the Finch family are either omitted or unmentioned.
- The scene where it snows in Maycomb and Mrs. Maudie's house burns down is omitted.
- In the novel, Calpurnia makes an appearance at the trial of Tom Robinson. In the film, she doesn't.
- In the novel, Tom was said to have been shot, "about seventeen times". In the film, he was apparently only shot once, as Atticus doesn't mention this fact. However, he may not have wished to mention this rumor to his children.
- In the novel Tom was shot by prison guards as he ran toward the fence. In the film he was shot by deputies taking him to prison. The prison guards shot to kill; the deputies shot to stop him.
- In the novel, the trial is held in summer when Dill is still in town. In the film, it's held in fall after Dill goes back to Meridian.
- In the novel, the Finch children go with Calpurnia to her church while their father is out of town. In the movie, this is omitted.
- Miss Caroline is also omitted from the film, she is only mentioned by name. In the film, Scout's first day of school goes straight to her fight with Walter Cunningham and later to the reason why she doesn't want to go back to school, mentioning to Atticus that Miss Caroline forbade her from reading.
- In the novel, Mrs. Dubose is the one who calls Atticus a "nigger-lover" in the presence of Scout and Jem. In the film, Bob Ewell is the one who calls him this and says it directly to his face. Jem is the one of the two children who hears Atticus called this. Scout is present, but she does not hear because she is asleep.
- Mrs. Dubose's character only appears in one scene.
- In the novel, Dill ran from Meridian to the Finches because he hates his new father. This is omitted in the film
- In the novel, Dill is Mrs. Rachel's nephew, in the film he is Mrs. Stephanie Crawford's nephew. Rachel is also absent from the movie, however the characters of Mrs. Rachel and Stephanie Crawford are combined into one character.
- In the novel, Boo Radley's only line is "Will you take me home?" which he says to Scout in the final chapter. In the film, this line is left out.
- In the film the role of Mr. Dolphus Raymond is completely left out.
- In the film the significant and symbolic scene of Jem building the snowman with the black insides is left out.
- In the film Atticus allows Jem to come with him to the Robinson home to inform them of Tom's death. In the novel, this job is given to Calpurnia, although Jem and Dill are with them due to the fact that Jem was teaching Dill to swim and were reluctantly picked up by Atticus on the way over to the Robinson home.
- There are no fights between Jem and Scout in the film, whereas in the book there are quite a few.
- Dill and Scout's romantic relationship is completely omitted in the film.
- Tom Robinson's father did not appear in the book.
- The gum that is found in the knothole is not mentioned.
Cast
- Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1990s...
as Atticus FinchAtticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is a lawyer and resident of the fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, and the father of Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch and Jean Louise "Scout" Finch...
- Mary Badham
Mary Badham is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch in the Oscar-winning 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award...
as Jean Louise "Scout" Finch
- Phillip Alford
Phillip Alford is an American actor best known for his role as Jeremy "Jem" Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird.Alford was born Philip Alford in Gadsden, Alabama...
as Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch
- Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards....
as Arthur "Boo" Radley
- John Megna
John Megna was an American actor whose Broadway success at the age of seven in 1960's All the Way Home led to his being cast as Charles Baker 'Dill' Harris, the toothy young summer visitor in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird...
as Charles Baker "Dill" Harris
- Alice Ghostley
Alice Margaret Ghostley was a Tony Award-winning American actress. She was best known for her roles as Esmeralda on Bewitched , as Cousin Alice on Mayberry R.F.D. and as Bernice Clifton on Designing Women for which she received the Emmy Nomination for Best...
as Aunt Stephanie Crawford
- Brock Peters
Brock Peters was an American actor, best known for playing the role, in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, of Tom Robinson, the black man unjustly convicted of raping a white girl...
as Tom Robinson
- Frank Overton
Frank Emmons Overton was an American actor.Born in Babylon, New York, he appeared in countless television programs during the early 1950s through the late 1960s. In his Gen...
as Sheriff Heck Tate
- Rosemary Murphy
Rosemary Murphy is an American actress of stage, film, and television.Murphy was born in Munich, Germany, the daughter of American parents Mildred and Robert D. Murphy, a diplomat...
as Miss Maudie Atkinson
- Ruth White
Ruth White was an American Emmy Award-winning and movie actress.-Early career:A lifelong resident of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, White graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Literature from Rutgers University in 1935. While pursuing her acting career in nearby New York City, she taught acting and...
as Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
- Estelle Evans
Estelle Evans was a Bahamian actress.She was born in Rolle Town in the Bahamas. After playing Calpurnia in the 1962 version of To Kill a Mockingbird she went on act in several other movies and television shows until her death in 1985.She was the sister of actresses Esther Rolle and Rosanna Carter....
as Calpurnia "Cal"
- Richard Hale as Nathan Radley
- James Anderson
James Anderson , sometimes billed as Kyle James, was an American television and film actor of the 1950s and 1960s. He is probably best known for his role as Robert E. Lee 'Bob' Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird .He made over 120 appearances mostly in TV and several films between 1941 and 1970...
as Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell
- Collin Wilcox
Collin Wilcox is an American actress, variably credited as Collin Wilcox-Horne or Collin Wilcox-Paxton....
as Mayella Violet Ewell
- William Windom
William Windom is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his work on television, including several episodes of The Twilight Zone; playing the character of Glen Morley, a congressman from Minnesota like his own great-grandfather and namesake in The Farmer's Daughter; the character of John...
as Mr. Gilmer
- Paul Fix
Paul Fix was an American film and television character actor, best known for his work in westerns...
as Judge Taylor
- Dan White
Dan White was an American actor, well known for appearing in several Western films.-Early life:Dan White was born to George and Orpha White in Falmouth, Florida, one of twelve siblings. The Whites moved to Lakeland during World War I. By age 14, White was in show business...
as Mob Leader (uncredited)
- Crahan Denton
Crahan Denton was an American stage and television actor.He was born in Washington, USA.From 1945 until his death in 1966, Denton starred in many films, including The Great St...
as Walter Cunningham, Sr.
- Steve Condit as Walter Cunningham, Jr. (uncredited)
- David Crawford as David Robinson
- Kim Hamilton as Helen Robinson (uncredited)
- Kim Stanley
Kim Stanley was an American actress, primarily in theatre but with occasional film performances.Stanley began her acting career in theatre, and subsequently attended the The Actors Studio...
as Jean Louise Finch as an adult (narrator — uncredited)
Production
Phillip AlfordPhillip Alford is an American actor best known for his role as Jeremy "Jem" Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird.Alford was born Philip Alford in Gadsden, Alabama...
, who played the role of Jem, did not initially want to audition for the part. However, when his mother informed him that he would miss a half day of school, he quickly changed his mind. Additionally, he became upset during the filming of the scene at the breakfast table, when
Mary BadhamMary Badham is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch in the Oscar-winning 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award...
, who played Scout, had trouble performing the scene properly. By way of retaliating, during the scene where Jem rolls Scout in a tire, he intentionally rolled the tire toward an equipment truck.
According to Kim Hamilton, who played the part of Helen Robinson in the movie, Gregory Peck was the consummate gentleman. She recalled a scene where her character collapses after hearing the news of her husband's death, and Peck, as Atticus, picks her up and carries her into the house. "He was such a gentleman," she says. "I never forgot that."
Critical response
Gregory Peck's performance became synonymous with the role and character of Atticus Finch. Alan J. Pakula remembered hearing from Peck when he was first approached with the role: "He called back immediately. No maybes. The fit was among the most natural things about a most natural film. 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. "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 with the following: "The Southern town of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 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"
Upon Peck's death in 2003,
Brock PetersBrock Peters was an American actor, best known for playing the role, in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, of Tom Robinson, the black man unjustly convicted of raping a white girl...
, 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.
Awards and honors
The movie was nominated for eight
Academy AwardsThe Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
in 1963, winning three . Other nominations were for Best Picture (Producer, Alan J. Pakula), Best Director (Robert Mulligan ), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Russell Harlan), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Mary Badham), and Best Music, Score — Substantially Original (Elmer Bernstein)
In 1995,
To Kill a Mockingbird was selected for preservation in the United States
National Film RegistryThe National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the
Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books. The head...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The character of Atticus in this movie has been deemed the #1
greatest hero of American filmAFI's 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains is a list of the 100 greatest movie heroes and villains chosen by American Film Institute in June 2003. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series. The series was first presented in a CBS special hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
, as rated by the
American Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
. This movie also ranked #1 on the
AFI's 10 Top 10AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
list of courtroom dramas. It is also
Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards....
's big-screen debut, as the misunderstood recluse Boo Radley. Duvall was cast on the recommendation of
screenwriterScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
Horton FooteAlbert Horton Foote, Jr. was an American playwright and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplays for the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and the 1983 film Tender Mercies, and his notable live television dramas during the Golden Age of Television...
, who met him at
Neighborhood PlayhouseThe Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is an actor training school in New York City, generally associated with the Meisner technique of Sanford Meisner.-History:...
in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
where Duvall starred in a 1957 production of Foote's play,
The Midnight CallerThe Midnight Caller is a play by American playwright Horton Foote. The work was first performed in 1957 as part of a student production at the Neighborhood Playhouse with a cast including Robert Duvall. It had its professional premiere Off-Broadway at the Sheridan Square Playhouse where it opened...
.
The
American Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
named Atticus Finch the greatest movie hero of the 20th century. Additionally, the AFI ranked the movie second on their
100 Cheers100 Years…100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies is a list of the most inspiring movies as determined by the American Film Institute. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series, which has been compiling lists of the greatest movies of all time in various categories since 1998...
list, behind
It's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful Life is an American drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and loosely based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
, and twenty-fifth on the list of
greatest American filmsAFI's 100 Years…100 Movies — 10th Anniversary Edition was the 2007 updated version of 100 Years… 100 Movies. The original list was first unveiled in 1998....
of all time. 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 genre.
In 2007, Hamilton was honored by the
HarlemHarlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, long known as a major African-American residential, cultural, and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands.Harlem has been defined by a series...
community for her part in the movie. She is 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."
Academy Awards
- Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
— Gregory PeckGregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1990s...
- Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
- Set Decoration, Black-and-White — Henry BumsteadLloyd Henry Bumstead was an American cinematic art director and production designer. In a career that spanned over fifty-five years he won two Academy Awards: the first for To Kill a Mockingbird, and the second for The Sting...
, Alexander GolitzenAlexander Golitzen, oversaw art direction on more than 300 movies.Prince Alexander Golitzen was born in Moscow, but fled the country with his family during the Russian Revolution. Travelling via Siberia and China, they arrived in Seattle, where Alexander graduated from high school...
& Oliver EmertOliver Emert was an American set decorator. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film To Kill a Mockingbird.-External links:...
)
- Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
— Horton FooteAlbert Horton Foote, Jr. was an American playwright and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplays for the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and the 1983 film Tender Mercies, and his notable live television dramas during the Golden Age of Television...
- Other nominations were for Best Picture (Producer, Alan J. Pakula), Best Director (Robert Mulligan ), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Russell Harlan), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Mary Badham), and Best Music, Score — Substantially Original (Elmer Bernstein)
Golden Globe Awards
It won three Golden Globes as well
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
Gregory PeckGregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1990s...
- Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television...
for Best Original Score — Motion Picture Elmer BernsteinElmer Bernstein was an American film score composer. He was famous for composing music for The Ten Commandments, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, Meatballs, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Ghostbusters.-Early life:Bernstein was born in New York City, the son of...
- Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television...
for Best Film Promoting International Understanding
Others
The film won an award at the
1963 Cannes Film Festival-Jury:*Armand Salacrou *Rouben Mamoulian *Jacqueline Audry *Wilfrid Baumgartner *François Chavane *Jean De Baroncelli *Robert Hossein...
. In 1995,
To Kill a Mockingbird was entered into the
National Film RegistryThe National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the
Library of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books. The head...
, deemed as "culturally, aesthetically and historically" significant.
American Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- 1998 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
The first of the AFI 100 Years… series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies...
#34
- 2003 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains
AFI's 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains is a list of the 100 greatest movie heroes and villains chosen by American Film Institute in June 2003. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series. The series was first presented in a CBS special hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
- 2005 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.-The List:-List notes:...
#17
- 2006 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers
100 Years…100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies is a list of the most inspiring movies as determined by the American Film Institute. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series, which has been compiling lists of the greatest movies of all time in various categories since 1998...
#2
- 2007 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)
AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies — 10th Anniversary Edition was the 2007 updated version of 100 Years… 100 Movies. The original list was first unveiled in 1998....
#25
- 2008 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 , the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008....
#1 courtroom drama film
See Also
- La Joven (The Young One), the 1960 film by Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker who acquired Mexican citizenship and worked in Mexico, France, and also in his native Spain and the United States...
External links