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To Kill a Mockingbird
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Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch stands beside Philip Alford and Mary Badham in a jail scene from To Kill a Mockingbird, facing a seated group of men in hats. Estelle Evans as Calpurnia stands with hands on hips beside Phillip Alford as Jem Finch and Mary Badham as Scout Finch on a porch in To Kill a Mockingbird. (From left to right) Phillip Alford, Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, and John Megna in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch stands in a crowded courtroom in a scene from the film To Kill a Mockingbird, with spectators watching from benches and a balcony.
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Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch stands beside Philip Alford and Mary Badham in a jail scene from To Kill a Mockingbird, facing a seated group of men in hats.
To Kill a Mockingbird Gregory Peck (center left) as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).

To Kill a Mockingbird

film by Mulligan [1962]
Written by
Lee Pfeiffer
Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. His book The Essential Bond: An Authorized Guide to the World of 007 (written with...
Lee Pfeiffer
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ā€¢History

To Kill a Mockingbird, American dramatic film, released in 1962, that was adapted from Harper Leeā€™s coming-of-age novel that addressed racism and injustice. Deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significantā€ to Americaā€™s film heritage, the Library of Congress honoured it with inclusion in the National Film Registry.

(Read Martin Scorseseā€™s Britannica essay on film preservation.)

To Kill a Mockingbird recounts the childhood experiences of six-year-old ā€œScoutā€ Finch (played by Mary Badham) during the Great Depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. When her widowed father (Gregory Peck), a principled and respected attorney, defends a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman, Scout and her brother witness the horrors of racism. They also learn valuable lessons about courage, compassion, tolerance, and prejudice.

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Peckā€™s Academy Award-winning performance as Atticus Finch became an enduring part of cinema history; in 2003 his character was voted the top film hero in a poll conducted by the American Film Institute. Badham, as the tomboyish Scout, earned praise in her first screen role. Scoutā€™s friend, the imaginative, storytelling ā€œDill,ā€ was patterned after Leeā€™s childhood friend, the writer Truman Capote. Robert Duvall made his film debut as ā€œBooā€ Radley, a reclusive neighbour.

Production notes and credits

Cast

  • Gregory Peck (Atticus Finch)
  • Mary Badham (ā€œScoutā€ Finch)
  • Phillip Alford (ā€œJemā€ Finch)
  • Robert Duvall (ā€œBooā€ Radley)
  • John Megna (ā€œDillā€ Harris)
  • Brock Peters (Tom Robinson)

Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)

  • Picture
  • Director
  • Cinematography (black and white)
  • Art directionā€“set decoration (black and white)*
  • Screenplay, adapted*
  • Lead actor* (Gregory Peck)
  • Supporting actress (Mary Badham)
  • Score
Lee Pfeiffer