To Kill a Mockingbird

This month’s Silver Screen presentation features one of the most influential stories of the 1960s. Directed by Robert Mulligan and scripted by Horton Foote, this adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, semi-autobiographical novel, was lauded by viewers and critics alike. The poignant story has become an iconic part of American culture, telling an enduring, ever-relevant tale of racism, integrity and the fight for justice against overwhelming odds. Gregory Peck is Depression-era lawyer Atticus Finch, defending a falsely-accused African-American client (Brock Peters) in a racist small Southern town. Finch’s children, Jem (Philip Alford) and Scout (Mary Badham), learn much about their town’s fears and prejudices through the proceedings in the courtroom, and much about their own fears and prejudices through their curious encounters with the mysterious Boo Radley (Robert Duvall), a neighbour. Mulligan elicits shining performances from his actors, “achieving a bewitching indication of the excitement and thrill of being a child” (New York Times). Peck, in perhaps the best role of his legendary career, won the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film also received Oscars for Art Direction and Adapted Screenplay. B&W, 35mm. 129 mins.