Robert Mulligan's -To Kill a Mockingbird-1963

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...’til you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

That has got to among the best lines ever spoken by a lawyer in any movie, and should all by itself earn this movie a place of honor among the all time classics. This movie though adds quite a bit more to the mix making it art, in the way that a perfect afternoon can shine on in your memory forever. There will be many experiences you won’t want to forget if you watch this film.

The inspiration for the movie was the book of the same name by Harper Lee, and it made the transition to the screen by way of Horton Foote’s adaptation, which, along with Gregory Peck’s performance, and the art direction, won Academy awards in 1963. There were many other nominations.


DIRECTING

The director, Robert Mulligan had already made a name for himself in television, and had made at least one movie that had a deep impact on me when I first saw it, Fear Strikes Out, 1957, a movie about Jimmy Pearsall. For me it created a life long love of baseball, and the teams , filled with real people that played it. He also directed Tony Curtis in The Great Imposter and would later direct Clara’s Heart. His specialty seems to have been showing audiences the true nature of the world he depicted, with an element of poetry and magic, getting to the essence of the story, without falling prey to the lure of the big star names and Hollywood Glitz. One of the strengths of this particular flick was the casting, when he went in search of real Southern Children to play the parts in this film. The studio wanted Rock Hudson for the lead role. Gregory Peck was the choice of the director, who saw all the attributes needed to create Atticus Finch, the role that would earn Peck his only Oscar for a performance. And he chose Foote to write the award winning screenplay, as well.

MUSIC

The composer who wrote the score was Elmer Bernstein, a guy who had worked with Mulligan on other projects, the Rat Race and Fear Strikes Out. The music provides a lyrical compliment to this film that manages to capture and enhance the magic of the story beautifully. It was nominated but did not receive an Oscar for best original score. Elmer Bernstein is probably best known for his score for The Magnificent Seven.

The Academy Awards for this film went to Peck for his performance as Attticus Finch, best art direction, and best writing. The photography , the lighting, and set design all figure in. The clincher for the art award can be seen in the very opening credits where the children’s world is represented by a series of small objects, as they are collected by children, each piece tiny, but made large and important as seen through the eyes of a child. It is not an accident that a white colored mabel rolls and gentle bumps a black mabel. Each piece of child gear here will have an important real or symbolic meaning in the film. It is truly a work of art, enhanced by a child humming as she draws.

If you are looking for a defining genre to describe this movie, there are several that fit. Drama is the all-encompassing category, but it is also a photo album of life in small town in the late depression South, a courtroom drama, and above all, a movie about the discoveries and mysteries of childhood. It is a movie that moves a little slowly, but never noticeably so, towards the finish. It is not chock full of action, has no real special effects, and has no sex or violence (overtly), but it is still engrossing, even riveting at times.

I remember reading the book, but had not seen the movie for many years. When I first saw the movie, I was too young to appreciate the intricacies of the plot, and the only scene I remembered from the movie was the courtroom scene. The passion in this film is an inner fire, a light that burns brightly as the author (the narrator) tells the story of a period in her growing up, in Monroeville Alabama. But what I remembered, although that was clearly not the most important thing, is that a white jury found an innocent black man ‘guilty ‘, and that he died as a result of it.


THE CHILD’S VIEW

The truly amazing aspect of this movie is that this view of life through a child’s eyes reveals a level of fully aware intelligence, faced with some very ugly aspects of humanity. Yet the movie retains throughout that innocent and perfect world of childhood where the true heroes are not really found in movie houses but in your own family, if you are lucky. The children in this movie did not have television, video games or other distractions. They had to make their own fun. They lived in a world that was stable, at least at the core of it, in a world where they fit . They did not feel alienated from the small town world they inhabited. But they had as the shining center of their world a father who, with quiet dignity and impeccable integrity, embodies all that they know is good, proven by his words and his actions.

The progress of the lives of the two children follows an almost leisurely path, at first an early childhood view of imagination as the children make up stories , as many of us did, to explain those things they observed everyday, for which they could find no ready explanation. Their imagination was piqued by the neighbor secluded from the world, Boo Radley. He was the center of a sort of self-inflicted terror, as the children embellished stories that were rumored in the neighborhood. Then , very gently, a different sort of picture begins to form, as the great and horrible Boo starts to leave little “gifts” for them, proof that he noticed them and cared.

The response of the children to the legal situation and the ensuing courtroom scene is, however, done in a way that implied that these kids were learning a hard lesson about life, and they learned it without a lengthy lecture on morality or truth, or justice, (except in one scene in the courtroom). They learned some tawdry details about life among “poor white trash”, and they learned that honesty, compassion and integrity, and the best of being human was not relegated to the white race alone, a fact that was reinforced by their black housekeeper Calpurnia. They see a black man found guilty of a crime he did not commit, but they also feel the racist overtones of the Southern town in which they live in other ways. Did they understand the tawdry elements of the fabricated rape scene, and the loneliness that caused the problem from the start? I have my doubts, but it was enough that the children were there in the courtroom, and knew without a doubt that their father was telling the truth. Perhaps the hormonal overtones would be allowed to sink in later. If more had been made of their response to this, the innocent quality of this film, and therefore its impact would have been lost. It was a brilliant bit of directing on the part of Mulligan and crew.

The coming of age aspect of the children rests solely with the older boy. Scout (the author) was to retain her childlike perception throughout the movie. But we watch Jem’s eyes widen with admiration as he learns that his peace-loving father is regarded as the “best shot” in the county. We watch him insist on standing at his father’s side , dragging his sister and friend with him, as he stands guard against an angry lynching mob outside the jailhouse. And we see an awareness of the harsher realities of southern bigotry as he watches his father wipe his face, spit upon by a man who his son knows irrefutably is the evil villain of the story. He knows his father could have responded in anger, and he knows his father knows he is watching as he refrains from violence, leaving the man forever defeated by his own meanness. Finally we see Jem fight off an attacker and defend his sister in a final brutal scene, an act of heroism worthy of his father.

THE HEROES


There are several in this movie. First and foremost, is Atticus Finch, the lawyer who dares to defend a Black man in a trial, who is accused of beating and raping a white woman. The fact that he loses the case was a reflection on racist bigotry in the South, something that is hard to overcome even yet, I believe. That he still remains the champion, the hero of justice and equality is proven as the gallery of black people all stand in respect as he leaves the courtroom. This is an unforgettable film moment, one of the best ever filmed in my opinion.

The other obvious hero, of course is Boo Radley, the mysterious neighbor whose isolation from the world is never fully explained. Was he deaf, mute, retarded or in some other way different , an albino perhaps, so odd that he could not be let out during the day? Did the Radley’s hide him because he was “dangerous” or did they hide him because he was an embarrassment to them? Did he connect with the Finch children because he was in his mind and heart a child like them? Did he save them because he knew their attacker, and did he kill him because he was evil? Or was it an instinctual, impulsive act that hinted of the story that he had stabbed his father with a pair of scissors and had to be locked away? This is one mystery that seems to have an answer only in the shining and beautiful face of Boo Radley himself (Robert Duvall) very near the end of the movie.

The third hero of this movie is the older brother Jem, who protects his sister, tries to protect and stand by his father, and who understands that as a man, it is his duty to do so. He represents of all the characters,(except perhaps his father) the best of the South. He is a boy with enough sense to understand that the world is not always as others describe it to him, or as he might want it to be, but with enough sensitivity to want to make it right. We watch the revelations appear on his face, one by one. It was a performance that was given little appreciation at the time, but in my estimation was outstanding.

Another hero in this movie is Tom Robinson, who , in one brilliant scene simply embodies goodness, integrity and sympathy. He is an uncomplicated man, yet sensitive enough to feel sorry for someone else, in spite of the fact that it would be an act that would be deliberately misinterpreted and used against him. He was also so firmly aware of the real world he lived in, so much so, that in the end he had no faith in the justice he deserved. He became a martyr to his own innocence, although that may not be obvious to everyone who views this film.

In addition, Scout herself shows some heroic attributes. And the sheriff in the final scene, shows himself to be a man with some integrity.

THE SOUTH OF THE TIMES

Another aspect of this flick that deserves comment, is the way that the small town is portrayed, with good and bad side by side, much as it is in reality everywhere. The black people in the film are shown as more noble in spirit than most, if not all, of their white trash neighbors. It was important to realize that at least one of the ignorant white folks proved to have some integrity (Cunningham) even if it took a naive little girl to bring him to his senses, as he turns the lynch mob away from the jail. The children however, do not really focus on racism and bigotry as the repositories of meanness in their world, at least at first. They also see the old Mrs Dubose as a resident evil (and her part of their growing up was cut from the film, unfortunately. ) and the mysterious Boo Radley as a threat much closer to home, until the trial draws closer and Scout is in trouble at school for scrapping with other kids over her Daddy defending “n*ggers”.

I wonder if in reality those “country” folks coming to lynch Tom Robinson would have been wearing the bed linens in full Klan regalia? Obviously no one wanted to go there, and probably didn’t need to. I have to give credit here to the director that took a piece with the potential for melodrama , violence and hatred, and turned it instead to a piece that would have us contemplating its implications for decades. Even Harper Lee agrees that it has lost nothing of the spirit of her original novel.

THE DVD includes a full length commentary by the director and the producer of this film (released 6 months before he was killed in bizarre accident) , a documentary film called “Fearful Symmetry” which includes interviews with most of the major performers including Peck, Mary Badham , Philip Alford, Brock Peters, and Collin Wilcox Paxton. It was very interesting and informative-I recommend taking the extra time to get into this movie at depth.



The PLOT


***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***SPOILER ALERT***

I will tell you the whole story just to refresh your memory. Remember it is not the story, but how it is told with the film that counts.

The movie opens with the grown narrator telling her story, as “Scout” Finch, who givers us a snapshot of j=her hometown Monroeville Alabama, in the time of her growing up, in the late Depression era. We first meet her calling her father, who she calls “Atticus” not ‘Daddy’, to take the food payment from a poor white farmer, for legal services rendered. The household consists of Atticus, a widowed lawyer, Jem, an older brother about 10 or 11, and Scout, about to enter school for the first time, and Calpurnia, the black housekeeper. Jem is not happy, because Atticus says he’s too old to play football with him.

But he is soon distracted when a new kid, Dill Harris , enters the neighborhood, on a summer visit to one of their neighbors, his aunt. Through their explanations to Dill, we understand just how these children view their world.

First there is Mr. Cunningham, poor but honest, part of the ignorant country folk. Atticus correctly recognizes his pride, and shame at having to pay in food instead of money, early showing a humane side that recognizes and offers human dignity as a gift t to all who know him.

Then we hear the children’s view of the locked up son of the neighbor, part truth it seems and part fantasy. Boo only comes out at night. One day he stabbed his father in the leg with scissors he was using to make a scrapbook. They wanted to take him away to an institution, but the Radley’s pride requires that he be kept at home. Much mythology is made of this, a fantastic story built from the fertile imagination of the children.

We also meet the neighbors, the mean and hateful old Mrs Dubose (who gets short shrift in the movie version,) Miss Maudy, the interested and friendly neighbor, Dill’s Aunt , and Calpurnia, the housekeeper who keeps the household running, and assists in raising the children as well.

Soon another event begins to intrude on the lives of Atticus Finch, when the judge comes to aks lawyer Finch to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of beating and raping a white woman. Finch does not hesitate to take on what he knows will be a controversial and unpopular chore of a man he will believe (and prove) to be innocent.

The children are overwhelmed with curiosity, and are drawn to the courtroom, first to see the cellar where Boo languished before his parents brought him home, and then become curious about what their Daddy is doing, attending the arraignment with his client Tom Robinson. After this, Jem and Scout become involved in the event, and cannot be protected from the truth, and some of the ugliness that will come forward. They also have their first view of the truly evil father of the wronged Mayella, Bob Ewell.

The fact that he says “What kinda man are you, you got chillun of your own?” has brought them into the picture, once and forever.

The lives of the children go on during the summer, a richly textured picture of life in the small town. Like most children they manage to scare and dare each other to try feats requiring great courage, even one night trying to sneak into the Radley house to get a glimpse of Boo. Don’t miss the scene of the kids spitting on the hinges of the squeaky gate to silence it. It is a priceless picture of pre-adolescent ingenuity.


From this daring event, things subtly begin to change in their ideas about Boo, although it is not at first obvious. Is he a monster 6 1'2 feet tall, with Frankenstein scars and a mean disposition? Well for one thing, Jem starts to find little items hidden in a knot in a beautiful old tree (the likes of which can ONLY be found in the South). These are the treasures of childhood.

Scout’s first sojourn into a different world occurs her first day of school, when she has to wear a dress for the first time. Her discomfort in this foreign costume is humorously obvious. And she gets into a fight with another kid, Walter (Cunningham) the very first day. They take this kid home for lunch. Watch Attticus as he listens to these kids talk. It is another magical moment in cinema. It is here where we learn the meaning of the title.

One day after this there is a “mad dog” spotted, which meant only one thing..rabies. These dogs could not be treated and they were dangerous, and had to be destroyed. Another Atticus Finch skill is revealed as he takes one good shot, and Jem discovers he’s considered the best shot in the county. It also signals a sinister change about to happen, this time bigger than the homespun fantasies that live in children’s imaginations.

Then some time passes and the trial draws near. Tom Robinson is brought back to the county, having been sent elsewhere because he was not safe from local vigilantes in the hometown jail. Atticus goes to stand guard outside the jail, and Jem, Scout and Dill run after him. This is another important event, as the blood hungry crowd is turned from their task only by the children. Scout remembers and addresses respectfully , Mr. Cunningham , by name. Shamed by his part, suddenly aware of the evil he was talked into doing, he draws the others away.

The trial itself is a magnificent statement of equality and justice while Atticus is talking, his words proven and reinforced by the actions and words of his client. It is a bitter statement on racism and bigotry when Atticus Finch is not talking. The children sit up in the balcony with the “colored folk” who watch the proceedings quietly. I for one, was devastated when the jury found Tom guilty, but completely thrilled when the upstairs gallery stood in a show of respect for the man who defended one of their own. It is an awesome moment.

If you didn’t realize it at the time, the fact that this movie goes on a piece should give you a clue that this is only part of the meaning of this story. Bob Ewell, who was publicly humiliated in court is not through yet. When Tom Robinson is killed trying to escape, he spits in Atticus’ face, and sneers at the children.

The final event in the movie is the most disturbing of this entire film, and it is one for which I was unprepared the first time I saw it. The children are coming home from a Halloween pageant, Jem dutifully escorting his baby sister, who has managed to forget where she put her dress and is hampered by walking home in a ham suit. Suddenly they are attacked, and in the melee, Scout is pushed down, and Jem in fighting, is knocked unconscious. Scout watches through the eye-holes in her costume as someone rescues Jem, and carries him to safety in the Finch home. The attacker has been killed by the rescuer-who is Boo Radley, a shy and beautiful man, who never says a word.


THE CAST


Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch-a richly deserved Oscar award for this devastatingly handsome man. Peck was known for the roles he was able to choose once he attained stardom. His integrity, which is apparently also a true vision of his own character, simply shines in this movie. He is the father which everyone remembers or wants to remember. And his performance as a lawyer made the practice of law seem to be above all an honorable profession. Harper Lee was so touched by his performance, that she presented Peck with her daddy’s real watch, a gift more precious than the Oscar he would receive.

John Megna as Dill Harris-This child is perhaps the homeliest boy to ever appear as a child actor. If not he was darn close. He is modeled after a real life friend of Harper Lee’s in childhood, Truman Capote. I have not ever heard how he responded to this portrayal of himself, but I would love to know!

Frank Overton as Sheriff Heck Tate-This is a friend of Atticus Finch, and a man who does his duty no matter how onerous it may seem. His shining moment comes at the end of the film where he decides to call the death of Bob Ewell an accident. His face was a familiar character in a lot of movies.

Rosemary Murphy as Miss Maudie Anderson.-This fine stage actress adds just the right touch of mature female refinement, making her the representative of many Southerners who were not bigoted or racists by nature. Although I always hoped a romance would develop, her friendship and presence was enough of a voice to give her great credibility.

Ruth White as Ms Dubose neighbor-as the cranky old neighbor, this amazing actress put in a lot of hours for a part that was mostly cut from the film. Her part was as a woman who had been addicted to morphine, was dying and was trying to get “off the stuff” so she could die with dignity. In the cut part, Jem learns much by being assigned by Atticus to read to her.

Brock Peters as Tom Robinson-(the defendant)This was an amazing performance, easily as good as any others in this film. What an incredible actor, and performance, full of emotion and unspoken volumes of pain, concern, and above all, humanity. He was simply astounding.

Estelle Evans as Calpurnia Housekeeper.-A quiet role, of a person of great importance in the Finch household. It was important too, to see that Atticus Finch respected her as much or more than any other person, white or black, and appreciated all she did to help him with the care and feeding of his household. She was quiet, all right, until she takes Scout into the kitchen to correct her manners. Her role is another affirming aspect of this movie.

Paul Fix as Judge John Taylor-This guy has been in a million westerns, and star trek, TV movies, you name it. His face will be instantly recognized. His best moment is when he comes to Atticus to request his help in defending Tom Robinson.

Collin Wilcox Paxton as Mayella Violet Ewell-This is a strange performance, and tormented. She showed all the ignorance, loneliness, frustration and rage that must have been seething in that family (and many like hers) for many years. I never quite understood the last screaming jag, though, or her attack on Atticus. She has the same last name so she must be related. I’ll have to ask my ex if he ever heard of this Paxton family member. She did quite a little TV at different times.

James Anderson as Bob Ewell-This is another intense and brilliant performance, from this actor who may have been the best “method” actor around, bar none (yes even Brando). He got so much into this role that the only person who wasn’t afraid of him was the director, who knew better. Peck didn’t like him and Anderson responded with venom towards him and to Brock Peters, as well. Also played a bad guy a lot in Westerns. Maybe he was not acting? You think?


Alice Ghostley as Stephanie Crawford, Dill’s Aunt- a great couple of comic moments from a great comedic actress.

Robert Duvall as Arthur Boo Radley-he never says a word in this, his film debut. The greatness is present from this very first appearance, of the enigmatic simple Boo. Marvelous. Duvall would earn an Oscar for Tender Mercies in 1983, and a nomination for the Apostle. One of my favorite roles for him to date was in a Family Thing, where he and James Earl Jones discover they are brothers, and he confronts southern bigotry head on.

Graham Denton as Wallace Cunningham Senior-a good performance from a familiar face. His ability to show character, and not turn evil with the crowd was an important part of this touching movie.


Richard Hale as Mr. Nathan Radley-not much of a role, but this guy was in a lot of movies for many years.

William Windom as Horace Gilmer, Prosecutor-another impressive performance, and probably not one he likes to think of himself in . His greatest moment comes when he says, a sneer on his face to Tom Robinson, “You ? Felt sorry for a WHITE woman?.”

Mary Badham as Scout (Jean Louise ) Finch-This child was found in the South, although it wasn’t her first appearance on film She was in an episode of Twilight Zone the year before. She was wonderful in this role, because she was a kid, acting like a kid. There was terrific chemistry between her and Gregory Peck as well, as the director remembers her spontaneously falling asleep on his lap. She was the youngest person to ever be nominated for a supporting Oscar, until many years later. Her grown up interview is interesting as well. She didn’t stay in Show Biz long, and seems none the worse for it.

Philip Alford as Jem Finch-this kid is the most underrated of this film. I thought he was wonderful, in acting just like the kid that he was. He had one other appearance on stage before this as well. He claims he didn’t want to go audition, and only did so when he was promised a day off of school. He claims to have been scrapping with Mary Badham most of the shoot, and plotting mischief against her constantly. She was a brat , he still maintains. He too had a relatively short show biz career, and like Mary Badham is none the worse for it.


Steve Cindit as Walter Cunningham Jr. Bless his beautiful blond head, his little speech at the dinner table was the worst performance by a child that I have ever seen, bar none.



FINAL RECOMMENDATION


If you want to see a movie where the lawyer is a GOOD GUY, you definitely need to reward yourself with this movie. If you are interested a finely wrought portrait of the Small town South, this movie is a masterpiece of textures events and characters that reinforce the view as seen by the author of the story as she experienced it herself, as a child. It is beautiful, moving and inspiring. You should watch it whenever you can.