Yes indeed-o!

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2015)

Wonderful film version of the classic Harper Lee, correct in practically every detail. The decision to film in black and white, the recreation of Depression Era Alabama, the individual casting, sure-footed direction and above all, the acting itself, in particular by Gregory Peck and the two young child actors (neither of whom, surprisingly, seemed to stay long in films thereafter) playing his children, all come together in this deservedly much-loved film.
The film takes some time to come to the main plot strand, being the trial of the young black man Tom Robinson, but in so doing takes us firmly into the children's world from whose viewpoint the events will be mainly shown and of course subtly introducing the Boo character whose presence will have more resonance later on.
Although the film is measured in its progress, taking as long to get going as Peck's Atticus Finch takes to finish a sentence, nary a shot is wasted, although as a dog-owner myself I could have done without the scene where he shoots dead the rabid dog menacing the neighbourhood, but many others stay in the memory, like when Atticus (with Scout's unwitting assistance) defends Robinson against a lynch-mob, Robinson's emotionally-charged testimony in court, the "victim's" redneck father spitting in Atticus's face and of course the climactic scene when the children's saviour is revealed at the end.
Peck deservedly won the Oscar for his commanding performance as the imperturbable Atticus and as I said earlier I don't think I've ever seen better child-acting by the three here. A subtly evocative and provocative movie showing Holloywood film-making at its best, one can't help but think it may have had some impact on public opinion in the then Civil Rights debate in early 60's America.