Sometimes Silence Speaks Volumes.

Rating: Null/10 (12 December 2002)

A small-town lawyer (Gregory Peck, Oscar-winning) defends a young black man accused of rape in depression-era Alabama in this outstanding and thought-provoking motion picture. Peck tries to show his two young children (one Oscar-nominated Mary Badham) that prejudice has no place in a world that we all share together. He also proves that the way a person looks does not show who the person really is inside. Robert Mulligan (Oscar-nominated) finally found his niche as a director as he had struggled throughout his career with interesting, but somewhat obscure productions that never found a cinematic audience. "To Kill a Mockingbird" was vastly important for 1962 America as racial unrest and the Civil Rights Movement dominated the headlines. The film is a smart production that stood very tall against other competition from the year of its release ("Lawrence of Arabia" and "The Longest Day") and still stands tall as one of the finest films the American cinema has ever developed. 5 stars out of 5.