To Kill a Mockingbird
Short description
Robert Mulligan directed this 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee's novel, set in the Depression-era town of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer raising his two children, takes on the defense of Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of assaulting a white woman. The story unfolds largely through the eyes of Atticus's young daughter Scout and her older brother Jem, whose games with their friend Dill and curiosity about a reclusive neighbor give way to their first real encounter with the prejudice around them. The screenplay is by Horton Foote, and Lee herself is credited as a producer alongside Alan J. Pakula and Mulligan.
Gregory Peck plays Atticus, with Mary Badham as Scout, Phillip Alford as Jem, John Megna as Dill, Frank Overton as Sheriff Heck Tate and Brock Peters as Tom Robinson. The film was made for about 2 million dollars and runs 129 minutes. It sits fourth in the directing career listed here, between Come September and The Stalking Moon.
Audiences rate it highly, with 8.2 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 351,000 votes and 8 out of 10 on TMDB. A critics' rating of 9.1 out of 10 from 70 reviews places it above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on Harper Lee's novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird' (1960). Until 2015, it was the only published novel by the writer.
- Philip Alford, who played Jem, did not want to audition for the role. He only agreed after his mother told him that, in that case, he would be able to skip school with a legitimate excuse.
- The interior of the courthouse is an exact replica of the interior of the courthouse in Harper Lee’s hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Photographers from 'Universal' Studios specifically traveled there before filming.
- The initial candidate for the role of Atticus Finch was actor Rock Hudson.
- The film ranks second on the American Film Institute's 2006 list of "the most outstanding films of all time."
- During one of the early scenes, Harper Lee visited the set. The scene of Atticus Finch's return home brought Harper Lee to tears – Gregory Peck was so similar to her father. Incidentally, 'Finch' was her father Lee's middle name.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
