A great classic by most measures.

Rating: Null/10 (12 December 2003)

'Kill/Mockingbird' is in black and white, has a simple story, and it does not turn out as one would hope. So, why is it so highly regarded? I asked that question on the IMDb classics board. While I received a variety of responses, the two most telling were ... (1) It is a movie that follows the book very closely. (2) It tells a story of a level-headed man who stays calm and does the right thing during a time when racial and other prejudices were in full form.
The title comes from a conversation where Atticus tells his kids that it is OK to shoot Bluejays, but not a Mockingbird because they don't harm anything and just sing nice songs. This can also be applied to the black man who is being tried for rape, and to Boo Radley who is shy but helpful.
SPOILERS follow - Atticus Finch is a lawyer in the small, poor southern town, and is asked to defend the black man accused of rape of a white girl. He carefully builds his case, proves to everyone that the man was innocent, and the girl was in fact likely a victim of abuse from her rotten dad. But in the racially-charged atmosphere the jury convicts him anyway, and he is 'accidently' killed as he is taken to prison. Justice is soon served when the rotten dad dies in an altercation. The bulk of the movie examines relationships between Atticus and his children, and the other townspeople.