Hollywood has made many socially conscious films. One film that stands out is To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s based on the Harper Lee novel about racial prejudice in the south. It’s main character is Atticus Finch. He is a strong willed principled attorney, played by Gregory Peck.
The film takes place in Macomb, Georgia. It’s about a black man, Tom Robinson, played by Brock Peters, falsely accused of rape. Atticus Finch is asked by the sheriff, to defend him. Atticus agrees without hesitation. Until the trial, Finch encounters hostility, from the townspeople. When the trial starts, he is straightforward, with no theatrics. Atticus Finch questions the two chief witnesses, the sheriff and Mayella Ewell, Tom Robinson’s accuser. Atticus Finch manages to tear down their testimony, especially Mayella Ewell’s. Despite his best efforts, the jury convicts Tom Robinson of rape. While he is being transported, he is shot while trying to escape. After being told this horrible news, Atticus goes to Tom Robinson’s house, to tell his wife. When Atticus Finch is getting ready to leave, he is confronted by Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella Ewell. He says vile things to Atticus Finch, but he doesn’t say anything. When Bob Ewell spits in Finch’s face, he just wipes it away with his handkerchief. He then gets in his car, and drives away.
A secondary storyline involves Atticus’s children. They are always spying on their neighbor, a mysterious man named Boo Radley. The children are curious one night, and go over to his property by crawling under the fence. When they are running away after shots are fired, Jem, Atticus’ son gets caught, and is rescued by his sister, scout. Atticus knows the children did something wrong, but never says anything. They never see Boo Radley again, until the conclusion of the film. The children are leaving a Halloween party and are attacked. Boo Radley defends the children, and kills their attacker. The sheriff decides he is going to not mention Boo Radley, saving the children’s lives, because he doesn’t want anymore negative publicity. The story ends with Boo, becoming friends with Atticus’ children.
Gregory Peck was acting in films for several years, before he won the academy award for his role as Atticus Finch. He is very powerful as Finch, the man driven to do what’s right. Atticus Finch is a widower, who does anything to protect his family. One particular scene is when a rabid dog is wandering the neighborhood. He tells his children to go inside. He gets a rifle and shoots the dog. Another is when his daughter, Scout, gets into a fight at school. She says one of the children, called Atticus a horrible name. He just tells her never to say the name. Peck’s character doesn’t yell or intimidate the witnesses. He just asks straightforward questions of them. When he questions Tom Robinson about his version of events, he doesn’t want to talk about it. Peck looks at him and reminds him that he is under oath. Robinson relents and recounts the event. Peck shows his character’s ability to fight hatred and malice. This is shown throughout the movie, but one scene stands out. It is when Atticus Finch is spat on by Mayella Ewell’s father, Bob Ewell, played with utmost malice, by James Anderson. He just reaches for his handkerchief, and wipes away the spit. He looks him in the eye and walks away. It is a testament to Gregory Peck’s acting style, that he plays the character as a likeable man and not as an angry attorney, who shows his frustration.
Atticus Finch’s daughter, Scout, played by Mary Badham, narrates the story. The actress is very good throughout the film. She has one very compelling scene, at the jailhouse. A lynchmob comes to take Atticus’ client. He is there and won’t allow them to take him. As they move toward Atticus, Scout recognizes the leader of the mob, Walter Cunningham Sr, a poor farmer; who paid for her father’s legal advice, with crops. She calls him by name, and asks about his son; who had dinner with the Finch family. He is so overcome with shame and embarrassment, that he tells the mob to go home, which it does. Mary Badham does this scene very well, and it Shows that she has her father’s principles.
Brock Peters is Tom Robinson. He shows the audience the confusion and fear of a man, who doesn’t know why he was charged; or why he was held for a year before his trial. A good scene is when Gregory Peck ask him to catch a ball with his right hand. He does, and then he is asked to catch it with his left hand. He explains that he can’t, because of a childhood accident. His pained expression on his face, when he is found guilty, says everything about an innocent man having his life ruined by a lie.
Frank Overton plays Sheriff Heck Tate. He gives an understated performance, of a lawman, who wants to go along to get along. Sheriff Tate knows what the outcome will be, but wants to have everything done legally.
The movie’s beginning credits show various items, related to the film, in a shoebox. It’s an effective way by the director, Robert Mulligan, of foreshadowing. There are a couple of impactful scenes in the movie. When Atticus Finch is questioning Mayella Ewell, she becomes very angry, but not at Gregory Peck’s character, but at the townsfolk, because they look down on her. The camera goes to an extreme closeup, making the scene very compelling. The scene that sums up To Kill a Mockingbird, is after Atticus has lost his case. The black residents, of Macomb, Alabama, who attended the trial, stand up when Atticus Finch is leaving the courtroom, to show respect. This is a very powerful and moving scene.
To Kill a Mockingbird, paints a disturbing picture of racial inequality in a small southern town. Nearly half of this film, takes place in the courtroom, but it isn’t a courtroom drama. The movie is also about fatherhood and family life. Atticus Finch stands in stark contrast to Mayella Ewell’s father, a vile drunk. Atticus Finch, by standing against the prejudices of the town, and being an admirable father figure, stands out as a remarkable character in film history. Hollywood did an admirable job of getting a message out about inequality and showing a great crusader in Atticus Finch.