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To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)

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Average Rating: 8.8/10
Reviews Counted: 47
Fresh: 44 | Rotten: 3

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 1

No consensus yet.

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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 152,318

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Movie Info

Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiographical novel was translated to film in 1962 by Horton Foote and the producer/director team of Robert Mulligan and Alan J. Pakula. Set a small Alabama town in the 1930s, the story focuses on scrupulously honest, highly respected lawyer Atticus Finch, magnificently embodied by Gregory Peck. 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

Unrated, 2 hr. 10 min.

Drama, Classics

Directed By: Robert Mulligan

Written By: Horton Foote

In Theaters: Dec 25, 1962 Wide

On DVD: Apr 28, 1998

Universal International Pictur

To Kill A Mockingbird Trailer & Photos

Cast

Gregory Peck
Atticus Finch
Mary Badham
Jean Louise "Scout" Fin...
Philip Alford
Jem Finch
Robert Duvall
Boo Radley
Frank Overton
Sheriff Heck Tate
Rosemary Murphy
Miss Maudie Atkinson
Brock Peters
Tom Robinson
Ruth White
Mrs. Dubose
John Megna
Dill Harris
Estelle Evans
Calpurnia
Paul Fix
Judge Taylor
Alice Ghostley
Stephanie Crawford
William Windom
Gilmer
Richard Hale
Mr. Radley
James Anderson
Bob Ewell
Tex Armstrong
Man
David Crawford
Tom Robinson Jr.
Graham Denton
Walter Cunningham
Charles E. Fredericks
Court Clerk
Kim Hamilton
Helen Robinson
Nancy Marshall
Schoolteacher
Paulene Myers
Jessie
Collin Wilcox Paxton
Mayella Ewell
Hugh Sanders
Dr. Reynolds
Kim Stanley
Narrator
Kelly Thordsen
Burly Man
Bill Walker
Rev. Sykes
Dan White
Collin Wilcox
Guy Wilkerson
Jury Foreman
Jester Hairston
Spence Robinson
Steve Condit
Walter Cunningham
Phillip Alford

Critic Reviews for To Kill A Mockingbird

All Critics (49) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (3) | DVD (26)

To Kill a Mockingbird is a time capsule, preserving hopes and sentiments from a kinder, gentler, more naive America.

July 25, 2011 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comments (15)

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Harper Lee's child's-eye view of southern bigotry gains something in its translation to the screen by Robert Mulligan, who knows exactly where to place the camera to catch a child's subjective experience.

July 25, 2011 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Minor shortcomings in a rewarding film.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Top Critic

Universally recognized as a classic, and the label is well deserved.

June 20, 2002 Full Review Source: ReelViews

| Comment

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

Harper Lee's highly regarded first novel has been artfully and delicately translated to the screen.

February 13, 2001 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment

Variety

Top Critic

One of those rare instances when a movie perfectly captures the essence of its source material without compromising it in any way.

January 23, 2012 Full Review Source: Creative Loafing

| Comment

Matt Brunson

Creative Loafing

One of Hollywood's finest achievements, To Kill A Mockingbird is truly timeless.

July 25, 2011 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

Since its release, this intelligent, atmospheric film has been warmly received by audiences responding not only to their own childhood, but also to the heroic image portrayed by Peck, a shining example of citizenship and affectionate fatherhood.

July 25, 2011 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

A terrific central performance by Gregory Peck makes for an outstanding big screen adaptation of Harper Lee's classic novel.

July 25, 2011 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy

| Comment

Wesley Lovell

Oscar Guy

So much of the novel's reckless atmosphere is missing...

October 29, 2010 Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm

| Comments (9)

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Gregory Peck is ideal casting as Atticus, for his Lincoln-like integrity and intelligence perfectly serve the role.

July 21, 2010 Full Review Source: Cinemania

| Comment

Dan Jardine

Cinemania

Uneven film whose strong point is anti-racism.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Classic Film and Television

| Comment (1)

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

To Kill a Mockingbird should make admirers of the novel weep many times over.

October 26, 2009 Full Review Source: Film and Felt

| Comment

Gabe Leibowitz

Film and Felt

Gregory Peck delivers an Oscar-winning performance as a righteous lawyer in one of the best American films of the 1960s, a Depression-era chronicle of race, prejudice, and justice--and coming of age.

March 1, 2008 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

This one is always just off the boil.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comments (23)

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Universal's two-disc [Legacy Series] re-release ... delivers the film in a mostly spotless print with the correct 1.85:1 (anamorphic) aspect ratio.... Topping the [extras] list are two feature-length documentaries that delve into the film and its star....

April 4, 2006 Full Review Source: DVDJournal.com

| Comment

Mark Bourne

DVDJournal.com

With the Tom Robinson plot intertwining with Scout and Jem's education in the ugly flaws of a world they're only beginning to comprehend, today the film offers an extra accumulated layer of 'meaning.'

April 4, 2006 Full Review Source: DVDJournal.com

| Comment

Mark Bourne

DVDJournal.com

A classic adaptation of an American classic. Storytelling doesn't get much better than this.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

| Comment

Empire Magazine

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for To Kill A Mockingbird

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Trivia: Scout and Jem's fanciful summer friend Dil was based on Truman Capote.

July 7, 2007

Bob Stinson

Super Reviewer

Film version of Harper Lee's classic, To Kill a Mockingbird is one of cinema's greatest classics. The book is one of my all time favourite novels, and this screen adaptation does it justice. Director Robert Mulligan directs a phenomenal cast of actors, most notably Gregory Peck in the role of Atticus Finch. Gregory

February 5, 2012

Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

Super Reviewer

To Kill A Mockingbird Quotes

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1. Jean Louise "Scout" Finch: Hey, Boo.
– Submitted by Becca H (2 months ago)
1. Atticus Finch: I remember when my daddy gave me that gun. He told me that I should never point it at anything in the house, and that he'd rather I'd shoot at tin cans in the backyard. But he said that sooner or later he supposed the temptation to go after birds would be too much, and that I could shoot all the blue jays I wanted, if I could hit 'em, but to remember it was a sin to kill a mockingbird.
– Submitted by Andrew A (6 months ago)
1. Narrator: Neighbors bring food with death, and flowers with sickness, and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a knife, and our lives.
– Submitted by Chad E (6 months ago)
1. Rev. Sykes: Jean Louise. Jean Louise, stand up. Your father's passing.
– Submitted by Randal P (7 months ago)
1. Atticus Finch: Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley.
– Submitted by J.C. N (8 months ago)

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