The film, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Robert Mulligan, released on December 25, 1962. The movie was about a black man, Tom Robinson, who gets convicted of false rape. Atticus Finch is called upon to be the lawyer of the case. This movie was popular when it came out, and years after, because it helped start a new equality movement between whites and blacks in America. The movie, To Kill a Mockingbird, has two main characters, Scout and Jem. They live in Alabama with their father, Atticus Finch. The beginning of the movie explains the rumors of a man called Boo Radley, the kid’s neighbor.
He has not been seen in years and is said to be a very bad person. Jem and Scout begin to realize what is happening in their town when their father is assigned to defend a black man in a trial. The man, Tom Robinson, was falsely accused of raping a woman. Jem and Scout are later taunted at school and wherever they go. One night, Atticus stood outside the jail to keep Tom safe. Jem and Scout came to see where their father was and an angry mob of people came to try and kill Tom. The kids saw this and it was Scout who noticed the people in the mob. She started talking to them to see why they were doing it.
When she told Mr. Cunningham to say hi to his son, the mob decided they should leave. Later in the movie, the trial takes place. The woman who said she was raped lies about a lot of things that Tom didn’t do. Tom was able to answer all questions and did not show anything that he had raped her. The final factor came when the woman was hit on the right side of her face. Tom cannot use his left hand to hit and the woman’s father was left handed. It seemed he was not going to jail. When Tom said,”I felt sorry for her” when asked why he helped her, everyone was ot happy that a black man was sorry for a white person.
They decided Tom was guilty and sent to jail. He later tried to run away and was shot and killed. This movie was very popular to most people and got many great reviews for the actors and the standards of the book. In a Cinemablend review, the movie is said to “lives up to the standards set by the book. “(1) The critics also liked the performance of Gregory Peck, who played Atticus Finch. “Gregory Peck’s performance as lawyer Atticus Finch is just as beautiful, natural, and nuanced as the movie itself,” said Amber Burnham (1) from Filmmonthley. om. In a 1962 film review by The Hollywood Reporter, the writer, James Powers, explains how the movie is, “a Southern exposure of the tragedy these unresolved problems visit on all involved. ” (1) This shows how this movie influenced some to begin the fight for equality and that is why it was so popular among lots of Americans.
The film also received many awards and made lots of money. According to IMDb, this film won best writing, screenplay based on material from another medium and was nominated for best picture and best director from the Academy Awards. 1) It also won best original score from the Golden Globes. (1) Gregory Peck won best actor in a leading role from the Academy Awards and best actor in drama from the Golden Globes. (1) These awards show many people liked this movie and it was so successful because it won major awards that only the best movies win. The film also made $13 million in a year according to IMDb. The budget of the movie was two million. (1) This shows many people watched the movie and liked it because it made lots of money in the box office and won major awards for the movie and the actors in it.
This movie was popular to many people in America because it was right around the time when many new revolutions began to start. In the article, “50,000 March on Montgomery,” Simeon Booker, the author, talks about how Martin Luther King Jr. lead lots of people in a march all the way to Montgomery. They tried to do this two weeks ago and the police showed up and did whatever they could to get the marchers to turn back. Now, the group of over 50,000 will do it again (53). This proves this movie was successful because it was in the middle of a huge change for America because Martin Luther King Jr. mpacted many people in their lives because of what he did. He sparked major changes in America right around when this movie was released. Another example of why this movie was successful in the time period is in the article, “The Revolution in the Civil Rights Movement: What’s Happening Now,” the author, Nils R. Douglas, explains how he thinks that all the talk about the changes fading away are “nonsense. ” (443). He says, “What is really happening in the civil rights movement is quite new. A new revolution, a quiet revolution, is taking place. (443).
This article was released in early 1967. This shows that To Kill a Mockingbird came out right in the middle of a new revolution towards equality and so that made it so popular to many people. The article even explained how this was the beginning to a separate revolution in America. That means this movie got lots of people to watch it because many people wanted the next revolution to begin. One scene in the film that showed Mulligan thought the new revolution is beginning is at the lynch mob scene.
The scene begins with Jem, Scout, and Dill trying to find Atticus. They go to the jail, they see a group around Atticus and Tom Robinson. The men are trying to get to Tom and Atticus to kill them. Scout runs up and notices Mr. Cunningham and asks him to say hi to his son for her. When she says this, there is a close up of his face and he lowers his head. The camera then goes back to Scout and she is shown from a low angle to show she seems to have more power. When the camera shows Mr. Cunningham again, he is shot from a high angle.
Throughout the scene you can see more and more of the mob members drop their heads and look around. This shows that this could be the start of a new revolution because they seem to be rethinking their beliefs on the subject. In the end of the scene, Mr. Cunningham decides to get everyone and go home. This also shows Scout as a leader of the new revolution because of what she did. She also saved Tom’s life. The next scene that shows there being a new revolution is at the end of the trial when most of the white folks are gone, Atticus is packing his things and about to leave.
The camera pans to a group of black folks, and a few white, who are standing above and thanking Atticus for what he has gone through to help Tom. This shows the beginning of a new revolution because those people have witnessed what is going on and how severe it is because Tom was found guilty with all the evidence that proves he was not the man who raped Mayella. In conclusion, Robert Mulligan’s movie, To Kill a Mockingbird, helped start a new revolution for equal rights in America. Many people saw the film and it showed what was going on and how severe things in the United States had gotten.