Publication Date: 02-16-2026

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) review

Dir. Robert Mulligan

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★½

Remembering Robert Duvall

1931 – 2026

Gregory Peck portrays Atticus Finch in the movie adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, a role for which he won an Oscar. Highly deserving because his role in this film is not only packed full of responsibility and loyalty, but he portrays one of the most iconic book characters of all time. To Kill a Mockingbird is considered a literature classic. It was written by Harper Lee, and published in 1960 with this film to follow two years later.

The book is almost an essential read to high schools across America. It is a powerful, honest coming-of-age novel about three youths growing up in the racially divided town of Maycomb, Alabama. It captures the time where blacks were equal, but not treated like it. They were still left out and treated unfairly. This is depicted well in the court scene of the movie.

The film leaves out a lot of emotion from the crowd and jury in the court scene. Atticus is defending Tom Robinson after being accused of raping a young woman named Mayella Ewell. Her father is the despicably nasty Robert Ewell who is not only extremely racist, but an abusive drunk who thinks he is doing the town a favor by wrongfully convicting a black man but really just causing more notoriety to a town not deserving.

The emotion in the courtroom was empty. It should’ve at least focused on more people rather than Jem, Scout, and Dill. As you can see, I’m not making an effort to state the plot because I feel people reading this have read or seen the film. If not, a short quick character analysis will do no harm.

Aside from that, the film is delightful and colorful even in it’s black and white state. It still has a charm that newer books lack. Reading the book for the first time in my freshman English class felt very fitting because I felt I needed to read the book.

In the early stages of the book and the movie, the children’s fascination stems from a creepy old house down the road. The house belongs to Arthur “Boo” Radley (Robert Duvall in his acting debut). Nicknamed because of his unknown personality and rare appearances, the children make up stories and try to assume what goes on in that shack. He is almost shunned out like he is a black man in a town of whites.

It’s not until soon after Atticus discovers the kid’s fascination with the house that he utters a very meaningful and memorable quote; “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

That quote, along with many others, makes To Kill a Mockingbird a wonderful book, a thorough movie adaptation, and a great story.

Starring: Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, and Robert Duvall. Directed by: Robert Mulligan.