rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1962
Directed by Robert Mulligan; produced by Alan J. Pakula; screenplay by Horton Foote
Starring Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy, Ruth White, Brock Peters, Robert Duvall
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'To Kill a Mockingbird' is one of the great classics from the sixties.
Gregory Peck is Atticus Finch, one of the true heroes from the movies. He is
a lawyer who must defend a black man, accused of raping a white girl.
Although this is an important thing in the story the first hour hardly deals
with that fact. That hour is seen through the eyes of Atticus' kids named
Jem (Phillip Alford) and Scout (Mary Badham). Their mother has died a couple
of years ago.
We hear that Atticus has to defend a black man but at first the movie has
its focus on something else. Among the children in the neighborhood certain
stories go around about a house and the boy who is living there, Boo Bradley
(Robert Duvall). Like every kid Jem and Scout are afraid of the house, but
of course they are curious as well. The way this set-up is used later in the
movie is great.
The trial of the black man is the center of the movie. The sequence is
pretty long and we understand what really has happened. I thought the movie
would play like a Hollywood movie from this point, predictable with its
happy ending, but 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is smarter than that. Although
this is the center of the movie and deals with discrimination and rejection
of people who are different, in this case not white, it doesn't end there.
The final moments of the movie, when the trial is almost forgotten, also
deal with a certain discrimination. Calling this just a courtroom drama
would do the movie no justice. It is more than that. It is a drama, yes, but
also a thriller and a comedy, especially the children take care of that
part.
Produced by Alan J. Pakula and directed by Robert Mulligan this is a great
classic. From start to finish it is perfect, with some very strong
performances. The kids are not annoying, especially in the older movies they
often are, and Mary Badham is really good and for a while she was the
youngest Oscar-nominee. Gregory Peck gives one of his best performances as
well. Don't miss this terrific movie.