Classic Movie Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) A

After watching the excellent movie, Capote, I decided to see this movie which is based on the book that Harper Lee was writing while Capote was gathering information on the story about a killings in Kansas  . . . which ultimately led to his writing of IN COLD BLOOD.  Harper Lee accompanied Capote to Kansas at that time.  http://movieandtvreviewsforgrownups.blogspot.com/search?q=capote

The first thing that struck me about To Kill A Mockingbird was the difference from today in cinematography, character development, emotion and music that accompanied the film.  It was of a different era.  50 year has made a big difference in movie making.  See the STORY OF FILM. http://movieandtvreviewsforgrownups.blogspot.com/search?q=THE+STORY+OF+FILM. 

But MOCKINGBIRD was good for it's time . . . at the beginning of the 60's when real racial conflicts were just starting in the United States.

Set a small Alabama town in the 1930s, the story focuses on scrupulously honest, highly respected lawyer Atticus Finch, played by Gregory Peck. (Who I think always played the same part in all his films).  Finch puts his career on the line when he agrees to represent Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), a black man accused of rape. The trial and the events surrounding it are seen through the eyes of Finch's six-year-old daughter Scout. I understand that the book that the film was based on was written for young adolescents. The end of the trial is predicable, considering the times (1930's). To Kill a Mockingbird won Academy Awards for Best Actor (Peck), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Art Direction.