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To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

 -  Crime | Drama | Mystery  -  16 March 1963 (USA)
8.4
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Ratings: 8.4/10 from 132,882 users  
Reviews: 392 user | 104 critic

Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the Depression-era South, defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his kids against prejudice.

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(novel), (screenplay)
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Title: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

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Top 250 #70 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 12 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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John Megna ...
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Estelle Evans ...
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Mayella Violet Ewell (as Collin Wilcox)
James Anderson ...
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Mr. Gilmer - Prosecutor
Crahan Denton ...
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Storyline

Based on Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning book of 1961. Atticus Finch is a lawyer in a racially divided Alabama town in the 1930s. He agrees to defend a young black man who is accused of raping a white woman. Many of the townspeople try to get Atticus to pull out of the trial, but he decides to go ahead. How will the trial turn out - and will it change any of the racial tension in the town ? Written by Colin Tinto <cst@imdb.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

children | trial | lawyer | alabama | 1930s | See more »

Taglines:

If you have read the novel, you will relive every treasured moment. . .If not, a deeply moving experience awaits you! See more »

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Certificate:

Approved | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

16 March 1963 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Matar a un ruiseñor  »

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Westrex Recording System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The first scene that Gregory Peck shot showed him returning home from his character's law office while his children ran to greet him. Harper Lee was a guest on the set that day, and Peck noticed her crying after the scene was filmed. "Why are you crying?" Peck asked. Peck had looked just like her late father, the model for Atticus, Lee explained; Peck even had a little round pot belly like her father's. "That's not a pot belly, Harper," Peck told her, "That's great acting." See more »

Goofs

When sitting on the porch with the Judge, Gregory Peck is shown sitting on the porch swing with his left arm on the arm-rest. However, during the solo shots of the judge it is obvious that no-one is sitting on the swing - no arm on the arm-rest and the swing's chains are loose. See more »

Quotes

Scout: Jem is up in a tree, he said he won't come down until you agree to play football with the Methodists.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The title is revealed in a child's crayon rubbing. See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Inspectors (1998) See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

An Unforgettable Drama
9 December 1998 | by (Philadelphia, PA, USA) – See all my reviews

Hoo boy, am I a sucker for courtroom dramas. The wrangling of legal points and the investigation into the truth just gets my cinematic blood pumping (I s'pose it's in response to my own dashed hopes of becoming an attorney).

"To Kill a Mockingbird" rises to the top of the pile easily.

Yes, the courtroom proceedings are nail-bitingly engaging. But played out against the tapestry of bigotry and hate make the legal goings-on even more compelling.

The writing here is so beautiful, so lyric, so poetic. The Harper Lee-based screenplay captures wonderfully a time and a place that are absolutely real--where big brothers could solve the universe's problems in an instant and all the treasures of the world could be contained in a cigar box.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" also contains three of the most impressive child performances I have ever witnessed--there's not a false or affected moment in any one of them. Until seeing "Ponette," a movie I would highly recommend, the kids in "Mockingbird" received my best child performance ever awards. "Ponette" has ratcheted them down one notch, but that doesn't diminish the achievement here. The scene in which Scout dispels the mob simply by identifying its individual members is one of the most powerful moments in filmdom.

Peck more than deserved his best actor nod. His quiet dignity is a definite asset. Brock Peters, too, is terrific in what could have been a cliched role.

If you are a moviegoer who has a bias against black and white movies and who has therefore never seen "Mockingbird," I pity you. You've passed on one of Hollywood's most unforgettable experiences.


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