To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

To Kill a Mockingbird was nominated for Best Picture of 1962, one of the more noble choices the Academy has made over the years. So many people have read the miraculous book on which this film was based, and the movie version itself is frequently cited as one of the best ever made. It's almost as if watching this film has the power to ennoble a viewer through its message. This film should almost be required viewing, and the book should certainly be required reading.

You're probably already familiar with the story. Lawyer Atticus Finch, played by Gregory Peck (who was always good but never better than this), defends a wrongly accused black man against charges of raping a white woman. He and his family, a boy named Jem and a girl nicknamed Scout, then must face the consequences of Atticus' bravery. The courtroom scenes, in particular, are tense; you can feel the heat in that stuffy room as each witness seems to bring a new, heightened level of intensity to the story. Certainly, we as viewers know how the trial should turn out, yet we also know that this is Depression-era Southern justice at work, so we aren't surprised by the verdict or what happens after everyone leaves the courthouse.

This is a film about childhood, really, about the ways that we arrive at an awareness of the world while we are children. Much of the early part of the film is devoted to games and play and to the stories that kids tell, the legends and myths that they pass along; it's also about those seminal moments of childhood, like the first day of school. Scout, as the narrator of the movie, seems to understand some things well beyond what her age would suggest. She's played by Mary Badham, who brings out the tomboyish aspects of the character to full effect; whatever the boys do, she wants to join them. Badham has gotten much critical attention for her performance, and rightly so, particularly for the tenderness of the scenes between her and Peck.

However, I think Badham is matched if not exceeded by the acting of Phillip Alford as Jem. He portrays a young man just becoming conscious of the world in which he lives. His facial expressions as he watches his father shoot a mad dog or deliver a closing argument or even walk away after a man spits in his face: they're all revelatory. Alford is almost a blank slate emotionally at the beginning of the movie, but by the end, he has gotten so much wiser just through his observations. By the way, I also enjoyed John Megna's job as "Dill," the young boy visiting his aunt (my beloved Alice Ghostley) for a few weeks each summer; he's very funny, particularly when he's telling the stories (perhaps lies?) about his father.

In a way, we really watch all of the events of the movie through the children's eyes. I know that the grown-up Scout is the narrator, and all of the events are retrospective in nature. However, Scout and Jem are really the characters whose actions propel the story forward. It it through them that we learn about the trial and about "Boo" Radley (a young Robert Duvall), who plays a pivotal role in the outcome of the movie. The film itself reinforces this focus in the opening credits, as a child opens a cigar box with a watch, a medal, two carved soap figurines, and a few other items. That cigar box, we later learn, is Jem's, and it's where he keeps his most prized possessions, many of them left in the hollow of a tree by Boo. The film keeps returning to the two of them (and their summertime friend Dill) and how they react to the events they are watching unfold. In the hands of two less capable child actors, this film could have been less successful, but in their film debuts, both children (natives of Alabama) shine.

I also want to point out the quiet dignity that Brock Peters brings to his role of the accused Tom Robinson. Peters was always a reliable actor, good in every part. He's so effective in To Kill a Mockingbird because he lets you see a man who knows that the truth is unlikely to help him. The sweat that forms on his forehead during his testimony gets me every time. He struggles so to speak the words that he knows won't prevent him from being condemned to death. It's a small role, to be sure, but pivotal to the movie. Peck wouldn't be as powerful as Atticus if not for Peters' strength as Tom.

I need to discuss Peck's performance as Atticus Finch, certainly one of the most understated yet strong roles ever committed to film. Peck's Atticus is everyone's notion of the ideal father, and who wouldn't want him to be your lawyer if you had to go to trial? He's a widower forced to take care of his two children with only a housekeeper's help. Still, he manages to stay up late each night to read with his daughter, and he never leaves Jem's bedside when the boy's arm is broken. The summation he provides in court always makes me cry; it's a powerful statement of what justice should be. Even though, as I stated earlier, you know the outcome of the trial is predetermined, you still hope that the twelve white men on the jury will take heed. The other great male performance that year was given by Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia, and I only wish that the Academy could have given both men awards. I love O'Toole's T.E. Lawrence, and I still cannot believe he's never won a competitive Oscar, but how could anyone deny Peck the award for Best Actor after watching him in To Kill a Mockingbird?

I've never known anyone who's seen this movie who doesn't love or at least admire it. Even Charlene on Designing Women described it as her favorite movie. That's pretty high praise, even if it is from a fictional character. If you've never watched it, you should, just to see if you agree with the consensus. The college where I teach produced a theatrical version of To Kill a Mockingbird a few semesters ago, and you'd think that a live performance would bring a sense of immediacy to the proceedings. However, as good as the production was (and my college has a reputation for doing some fantastic work), it just couldn't compare to the book or to this film.

Oscar Wins: Actor (Peck), Adapted Screenplay, and Art Direction (Black and White)

Other Oscar Nominations: Picture, Director, Supporting Actress (Badham), Cinematography (Black and White), and Substantially Original Music Score