To Kill a Mockingbird - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[kenzi]

After being offered the role of Atticus Finch, Gregory Peck quickly read Harper Lee's novel in one sitting and called director Robert Mulligan immediately afterwards to say that he would gladly play it.

[wesley]

Writer Harper Lee owned a percentage of the production, and spent about three weeks on the production set at Universal Studios.

[camila]

Gregory Peck starred in Twelve O'Clock High, the movie. Frank Overton was one of the stars of 12 O'Clock High, the television series.

[jeffrey]

The "Melon" color Crayola crayon seen in the cigar box in the opening credits was not introduced as a color until 1949, although the film is set in 1932.

[marc]

Horton Foote was initially reluctant to adapt the novel into a screenplay, as he felt that he would be unable to do it justice.

[ronnie]

The piano in Elmer Bernstein's score was played by John Williams.

[christina]

Features Mary Badham's only Oscar nominated performance.

[leo]

Cast members Mary Badham (Scout), Robert Duvall (Boo), Frank Overton (Heck Tate), Collin Wilcox Paxton (Mayella), and William Windom (Mr. Gilmer) appeared on The Twilight Zone (1959).

[ronnie]

Sharp-eyed viewers will notice that the Radley house, despite it's rotted condition, is of a much grander design than the others, reflecting the family's premiere status in the community before the scandal of son Arthur's transgressions.

[jesus]

Robert Mulligan's way of handling his child cast members was to let them play together, while keeping the cameras as unobtrusive as possible.

[frederick]

Robert Duvall and John Megna appeared in The Godfather: Part II (1974), but shared no scenes, for two reasons: Megna played the young Hyman Roth in the scenes with Robert De Niro, and his scenes were deleted from the theatrical version of the film. They were restored for a television airing.

[melinda]

Gregory Peck journeyed to Monroeville, Al, with Robert Mulligan and Alan J. Pakula to meet Harper Lee's ailing father. True to the story, Amasa Lee really had been a widower who raised his children by himself, and at the same time was ready to defend a black man accused of crimes he did not commit. The experience of meeting the actual man aided Peck's performance immeasurably.

[chad]

According to Brock Peters, the producers were reluctant to cast him, because he had been typecast as a villain.

[lynn]

The rifle Atticus Finch used to shoot the 'mad dog' is a military Krag-Jorgensen (cal. .30-40) that is 'sporterized' (i.e. the front stock is cut down). That weapon is circa 1898 - in a movie time based in 1932. Many were sold as surplus in the early 1900's.

[camila]

Despite the novel's winning the Pulitzer Prize, the studios were not interested in securing the film rights, since they felt that it lacked action and romance (with the absence of a love story), and that the villain does not get a big comeuppance. Producer Alan J. Pakula disagreed, however, and persuaded Director Robert Mulligan, his producing partner at that time, that it would make a good film for their Pakula-Mulligan Productions. Together, they were able to convince Gregory Peck, who readily agreed to the role.

[frederick]

It was noted that Jem is 4 years older than Scout at the beginning of the film which would make Jem ten. Atticus mentions at the end he couldn't remember if Jem is 12 or 13. This is not a goof as Scout says "the summer that had begun so long ago had ended and another summer had taken its place and a fall" so it is about 1 1/2 years later and Jem could be 12.

[leo]

Atticus Finch was voted as the #1 screen hero of the last 100 years by the American Film Institute (AFI) in its special, "100 Years, 100 Movies, 100 Heroes & Villains".

[carla]

The courthouse that was copied for this film still stands in Monroeville, Alabama, and is now a museum dedicated to the book, this movie, and the life of Nelle Harper Lee, and the people represented in this work. Additionally, the town of Monroeville (population, approximately seven thousand) produces a community play based on the book, held on the grounds of the courthouse, and inside the courtroom, every year. The play receives rave reviews, an achievement given that there are no trained actors in it, and has been performed by the Monroeville cast at The Kennedy Center, and in Israel. Tickets typically sell out just a few hours after going on sale. The town contains several historic markers bearing information on Lee and Truman Capote. The courthouse is no longer used for actual court proceedings. Much of it is not air-conditioned nor heated, a function of its old age. A new courthouse stands adjacent to it in the town's square.

[jessie]

Mary Badham (Scout) and Gregory Peck (Atticus) became close during filming, and kept in contact for the rest of his life. Peck always called her "Scout", her character role.

[jessica]

With the death of Rosemary Murphy (Maudie Atkinson) on July 5, 2014, Robert Duvall (Arthur "Boo" Radley) is the film's last surviving adult cast member.