Plot
The film's young protagonists, Scout (
Mary Badham) and her brother Jem (
Phillip Alford), live in the fictional town of Maycomb,
Alabama, during the 1930s. The story covers three years, during which Scout and Jem undergo changes in their lives. They begin as innocent children, who spend their days happily playing games with each other and spying on the town
bogeyman, Boo Radley (
Robert Duvall). Through their father's (
Gregory Peck) work as a lawyer, they begin to learn of the
racism and evil prevalent in their town, and mature painfully as they are exposed to it.
[edit]Production
Phillip Alford, who played the role of Jem, did not initially want to audition for the part. However, when his mother informed him that he would miss a half day of school, he immediately decided to go to them. Additionally, he became upset during the filming of the scene at the breakfast table, when
Mary Badham, who played Scout, had trouble performing the scene properly. By way of retaliating, during the scene where Jem rolls Scout in a tire, he intentionally rolled the tire toward an equipment truck.
[1] According to Kim Hamilton, who played the part of Helen Robinson in the movie, Gregory Peck was the consummate gentleman. She recalled a scene where her character collapses after hearing the news of her husband's death, and Peck, as Atticus, picks her up and carries her into the house. "He was such a gentleman," she says. "I never forgot that."
[edit]Soundtrack
- "Main Title" 3:21
- "Remember Mama" 1:08
- "Atticus Accepts The Case - Roll in the Tire" 2:06
- "Creepy Caper - Peek-A-Boo" 4:10
- "Ewell's Hatred" 3:33
- "Jem's Discovery" 3:47
- "Tree Treasure" 4:23
- "Lynch Mob" 3:04
- "Guilty Verdict" 3:10
- "Ewell Regret It" 2:11
- "Footsteps in the Dark" 2:07
- "Assault in the Shadows" 2:28
- "Boo Who" 3:00
- "End Title" 3:25
[edit]Critical response
Gregory Peck's performance became synonymous with the role and character of Atticus Finch.
Alan J. Pakula remembered hearing from Peck when he was first approached with the role: "He called back immediately. No maybes. The fit was among the most natural things about a most natural film. I must say the man and the character he played were not unalike."
[2] Peck later said in an interview that he was drawn to the role because the book reminded him of growing up in
La Jolla, California.
[3] "Hardly a day passes that I don't think how lucky I was to be cast in that film," Peck said in a 1997 interview. "I recently sat at a dinner next to a woman who saw it when she was 14 years old, and she said it changed her life. I hear things like that all the time."
[4] The 1962 softcover edition of the novel opens with the following: "The Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama reminds me of the California town I grew up in. The characters of the novel are like people I knew as a boy. I think perhaps the great appeal of the novel is that it reminds readers everywhere of a person or a town they have known. It is to me a universal story - moving, passionate and told with great humor and tenderness. Gregory Peck"
Upon Peck's death in 2003,
Brock Peters, who played Tom Robinson in the film version, quoted Harper Lee at Peck's eulogy, saying, "Atticus Finch gave him an opportunity to play himself." Peters concluded his eulogy stating, "To my friend Gregory Peck, to my friend Atticus Finch, vaya con Dios."
[5] Peters remembered the role of Tom Robinson when he recalled, "It certainly is one of my proudest achievements in life, one of the happiest participations in film or theater I have experienced."
[6] Peters remained friends not only with Peck but with Mary Badham throughout his life.
[edit]Awards and honors
In 2007, Hamilton was honored by the
Harlem community for her part in the movie. She is the last surviving African-American adult who had a speaking part in the movie. When told of the award, she said, "I think it is terrific. I'm very pleased and very surprised."
[13][edit]Academy Awards
[edit]Golden Globe Awards
[edit]Differences from the novel
The film generally focuses on the mystery surrounding Boo Radley and the trial of Tom Robinson, whereas the novel features these as episodes in Scout's childhood development. In addition, several smaller details were changed:
- In the plot with Jem and the tree, in the novel, he and Scout do not see Mr. Nathan Radley cement the tree, whereas in the film, they do.
- The subplot where Jem goes to Mrs. Dubose's home to read to her as she attempts to overcome her opiate addiction is omitted.
- In the novel, Jem goes back to the Radley house to get his pants later that night. In the movie, he goes back right after he loses them. Also, in the novel, Mr. Nathan Radley comes out with his shotgun when he finds them in the yard. In the film, he comes out with it when Jem goes back.
- Aunt Alexandra, Uncle Jack, and several other members of the Finch family mentioned in the novel are either omitted or unmentioned in the film.
- The scene where it snows in Maycomb and Miss. Maudie's house burns down is omitted.
- In the novel, Calpurnia makes an appearance at the trial of Tom Robinson. In the film, she doesn't.
- In the novel, Tom was said to have been shot, "about seventeen times." In the film, it is implied he was only shot once, as Atticus doesn't suggest that anything else occurred. However, he may not have wished to mention this rumor to his children.
- In the novel, Tom was shot by prison guards as he ran toward the fence. In the film he was shot by deputies taking him to prison. The prison guards shot to kill; the deputies shot to stop him.
- In the novel, the Finch children go with Calpurnia to her church while their father is out of town. In the movie, this is omitted.
- Miss Caroline is also omitted from the film, she is only mentioned by name. In the film, Scout's first day of school goes straight to her fight with Walter Cunningham and later to the reason why she doesn't want to go back to school, mentioning to Atticus that Miss Caroline forbade her from reading.
- In the novel, Mrs. Dubose is the one who calls Atticus a "nigger lover" in the presence of Scout and Jem. In the film, Bob Ewell is the one who calls him this and says it directly to his face. Jem is the one of the two children who hears Atticus called this. Scout is present, but she does not hear because she is asleep.
- Mrs. Dubose's character only appears in one scene of the film.
- In the novel, Dill ran from Meridian to the Finches because he hates his new father. This is omitted in the film.
- In the novel, Dill is Mrs. Rachel's nephew, while in the film, he is Mrs. Stephanie Crawford's nephew.
- Rachel is also absent from the movie, however the characters of Mrs. Rachel and Mrs. Stephanie Crawford are combined into one character.
- In the novel, Boo Radley's only line is "Will you take me home?" which he says to Scout in the final chapter. In the film, this line is left out.
- In the film, the role of Mr. Dolphus Raymond is completely left out.
- In the film, Atticus allows Jem to come with him to the Robinson home to inform them of Tom's death. In the novel, this job is given to Calpurnia, although Jem and Dill are with them because Jem was teaching Dill to swim and were reluctantly picked up by Atticus on the way over to the Robinson home.
- There are no fights between Jem and Scout in the film, whereas in the book there are quite a few.
- Tom Robinson's father did not appear in the book.
- The gum that is found in the knothole is not mentioned.
- The night of Mayella's alleged rape is August 21.
- The romance between Dill and Scout is entirely left out.
- In the novel, Atticus tells Scout and Jem, "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird," after they receive air rifles as presents. In the movie, he says this during lunch with Walter Cunningham.
- In the film, the closing scene narrative tells of Boo giving "two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a knife, and our lives." In the novel, it is "two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives," leaving to the reader's imagination, the origin of the knife.
8:32 AM
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