It’s hard to summon enough superlatives to describe To Kill a Mockingbird, which I consider one of Hollywood’s greatest classic movies. I suppose it would have been difficult to go wrong, considering the book it came from continues to be a huge success. In my opinion, though, the movie transcended the book. The timeless story of a good man standing up for what is right is dynamic on the page, but it becomes even larger on film.

Artfully directed by Robert Mulligan, the movie was filmed on the Universal Studios backlot. Due to set decorator Henry Bumstead’s efforts, the set didn’t look like yet another Hollywood creation. It was made to look like Macomb County, Alabama, with the help of houses scheduled to be destroyed to make way for the Pasadena Freeway. Bumstead found the Craftsman-style houses just in time and moved them to the Universal lot to recreate the specific world that was the South in the 1930s.

The perfect set is in keeping with the exemplary cast. Gregory Peck, who embodied the part of dignified Southern lawyer and father Atticus Finch as if he were born to play him, was joined by unknowns Mary Badham and Phillip Althorp as his children Scout and Jem. Also in the mix was Macomb visitor Dill, an odd-looking little boy based on author Harper Lee’s childhood friend, Truman Capote. John Megna’s Dill visits Macomb County during the summer and it’s through his, Scout and Jem’s perspectives that the story unfolds. It’s also through their eyes that we’re introduced to the town boogeyman, played by Robert Duvall in his first film role. But Duvall’s Boo Radley isn’t the only supposed monster in town. Robert E. Lee “Bob” Ewell and his daughter Mayella Ewell (played by James Anderson and Collin Wilcox), who wrongly accuse black man Tom Robinson (played by Brock Peters) of rape, are frightening in a much more substantial way.

I know most people wouldn’t consider this a Halloween movie, but for me, the final moments of the film invoke that spirit. I won’t ruin the ending; I’ll just say that it’s scary in the way that only old-fashioned story-telling can be. There are no special effects; the characters have just been so well developed by the end, you feel like you’re right there with them in Macomb County. You can’t help but sit on the edge of your seat as they move through harrowing circumstances. In the end, however, you find safe haven along with them on their faded but cozy Alabama front porch.

Movie trivia and goofs from To Kill a Mockingbird

• Alice Ghostley also made her movie debut in Mockingbird.

• Rock Hudson was Universal’s first choice for the role of Atticus Finch. Jimmy Stewart also was offered the part, but believed the script was “too liberal” and feared the film would be controversial.

• Mockingbird writer Harper Lee picked the name Finch because it was her mother’s maiden name.
• Mary Badham ruined almost every take when the family was eating at the table. Phillip Alford didn’t like eating the same meal repeatedly, and thought Mary was a brat in general, so when he rolled her in the tire down the street, he intentionally aimed it at an equipment truck to try to hurt her.
• The American Film Institute voted Atticus Finch the top screen hero of the last 100 years. They also ranked Mockingbird as #2 on their list of the 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time and as the #25 Greatest Movie of All Time.

• The pennies in the cigar box in the film’s opening are dated 1962, but the story is set in 1932.

• When the marble rolls during the opening credits, several members of the camera crew can be seen reflected in it.

• When Old Man Radley startles the children when he comes to put cement in the tree, Jem and Scout suddenly appear a few feet farther back than they were just a second before.

• The defense table is set next to the jury box during the trial. In real life, the jury always sits on the prosecution’s side of the courtroom.

DVD extras from the collector’s edition of To Kill a Mockingbird (on two discs)

• Scene access
• Interactive menus
• Cast and crew interview
• Movie trivia
• Featurette: Movie by Gregory Peck’s daughter Cecilia that chronicles both her father’s speaking engagements and his later years
• Featurette: Fearful Symmetry: The Making of To Kill a Mockingbird
• Audio commentary by director Robert Mulligan and producer Alan Pakula
• Original trailer
• Subtitles

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If you enjoyed this movie review, check out our movie trivia quiz about the star of To Kill a Mockingbird, Gregory Peck.

More Tricky Movie Trivia classic movie reviews:

• The Enchanted Cottage
• My Man Godfrey
• Now, Voyager
• All About Eve
• Born Yesterday

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1. What was his first movie?

2. In which 1944 film was Gregory Peck nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role but didn’t win?

3. There were two movies in which Peck played a sea captain that were released in the 1950s. Can you name them?

4. Which actress made her movie debut in Roman Holiday, starring opposite Gregory Peck?

5. Of all Peck’s film roles, which did he publicly say was his favorite?

6. which Gregory Peck movie thriller released in 1962 was also re-released in 1991 and featured Peck in a cameo role?

7. Which two movies did Peck produce in the 1970s?

8. Other than producing, Gregory Peck’s film career was on the wane in the 1970s. What film was considered his comeback picture as an actor?

9. Which former co-star’s housekeeper and dog did Peck take into his after the co-star’s death in 1990?

10. What was Gregory Peck’s final movie in which he was not the subject? (He starred in several projects that either focused on him or for which he was narrator.)

Scroll down to see the answers.

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Answers

1. Gregory Peck’s first movie was Days of Glory, which was set during the 1941 Nazi invasion of Russia and released in 1944 by RKO Radio Pictures.

2. He was nominated for the Best Actor category for The Keys of the Kingdom, in which he played a young priest sent to China to build a Catholic parish.

3. The two classic movies in which Gregory Peck played sea captains were Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951) and Moby Dick (1956).

4. Audrey Hepburn made her movie debut in the classic movie Roman Holiday.

5. Gregory Peck’s favorite movie role was To Kill a Mockingbird. He lit up Tinseltown with his performance in this movie, for which he won an Academy Award.

6. Cape Fear was the thriller that was released both in 1962 and 1991. In the second version, Nick Nolte played Sam Bowden, the character Gregory Peck played in the 1962 release. Gregory Peck played the attorney of villain Max Cady (Robert De Niro).

7. He produced The Trial of the Catonsville Nine (1972) and The Dove (1974).

8. His comeback picture in the 1970s was The Omen (1976).

9. Gregory Peck took in Ava Gardner’s housekeeper and dog after Ava died in 1990.

10. Gregory Peck’s final movie in which he was not the subject was a remake of Moby Dick.

How did you do on this movie trivia quiz about classic Gregory Peck movies? If you didn’t get the answers to most of the questions, don’t worry; you’re not alone. Some of them were hard!

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