{"id":85001,"date":"2022-06-07T13:51:01","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T17:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=85001"},"modified":"2022-06-07T13:51:52","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T17:51:52","slug":"the-60th-anniversary-of-the-movie-to-kill-a-mockingbird","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/the-60th-anniversary-of-the-movie-to-kill-a-mockingbird.html","title":{"rendered":"The 60th Anniversary of the Movie \u2018To Kill a Mockingbird\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Jane Hampton Cook tells some background stories about \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird\u201d \u2013 both the book and the movie have become classics. Jane is a presidential historian and author of ten books, including Stories of Faith and Courage from the Revolutionary War<\/a>. Her works can be found at Janecook.com<\/a>. She is also the host of Red, White, Blue and You<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The year 2022 marks the 60th<\/sup> anniversary of the Academy Award-winning 1962 movie To Kill a Mockingbird<\/em>, which was based on the bestselling, award-winning novel by Harper Lee. Told from Lee\u2019s viewpoint as a young girl, this fictitious Depression-era story featured an Alabama father and lawyer who defended a black man falsely accused of a violent crime. This classic book continues to be studied in high schools today.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: portrait of Harper Lee from the first edition of \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird,\u201d 1960. Credit: Truman Capote, Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a search in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> reveals, newspaper coverage of both the book and the movie provides some fun insight into the glitz and glamour of the early 1960s and the role that fatherhood played in inspiring the story.<\/p>\n

This article reported that Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Birmingham Post-Herald (Birmingham, Alabama), 2 May 1961, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reported:<\/p>\n

\u201cNelle Harper Lee of Monroeville [Alabama] could easily be the most surprised authoress in the nation\u2026 Recently, Miss Lee dropped by the newspaper office here to say hello. She expressed surprise that her intriguing first novel had created so much attention.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Though her novel took place in a fictional Alabama town, the neighbors of Lee\u2019s real hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, were abuzz with excitement that one of their own had won the Pulitzer Prize. They were also trying to figure out which of the book\u2019s characters matched the town\u2019s real-life residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cNelle Lee\u2019s friends say for the record that the characters in her novel have counterparts in Monroeville. On the other hand, she won\u2019t deny it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Harper Lee was clearly the grownup version of the book\u2019s main character and narrator, a tomboy named Scout Finch. Lee\u2019s father, an attorney who had turned to real estate law after losing his one and only criminal case defending two black men in 1919, inspired the book\u2019s other main character, Atticus Finch.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said her father, Atty. A. C. Lee, had been kept busy autographing copies of Nelle\u2019s book for Monroeville neighbors.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said the neighbors were asking him to sign his name \u2018Atticus Finch,\u2019 the fictional lawyer-father whose advice to his young daughter provided the title for \u2018To Kill a Mockingbird.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Gregory Peck in a publicity photo for the film \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird,\u201d 1962. Credit: Universal Pictures; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The excitement of a young woman from Alabama winning the New York-based Pulitzer was soon eclipsed by something even more glamorous: a Hollywood movie. Harper Lee and Monroeville, Alabama, received a very significant visitor: famed actor Gregory Peck, who was cast to play the role of Atticus Finch in the upcoming film version of To Kill a Mockingbird<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Birmingham Post-Herald (Birmingham, Alabama), 6 January 1962, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reported:<\/p>\n

\u201cGregory Peck dropped in on Harper Lee and her family in Monroeville yesterday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe veteran actor will star in and co-produce the film version of Miss Lee\u2019s Pulitzer Prize winning work, \u2018To Kill a Mockingbird.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I like to ease into a role by really knowing the part,\u2019 Peck told Miss Lee upon his arrival from New York.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By this time, Peck had played leading parts in a variety of successful films, such as Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s Spellbound<\/em>, followed by David and Bathsheba<\/em>, The Snows of Kilimanjaro<\/em>, Roman Holiday<\/em>, and Moby Dick<\/em>. Despite Peck\u2019s fame he was relatable, according to members of the Lee family.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Alice Lee [Harper\u2019s sister] said Mr. Peck was a very charming man and \u2018very much down-to-earth. He walked around town soaking up the atmosphere.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Soon filming began on a set in Los Angeles, California. From Peck\u2019s perspective, playing Atticus Finch was natural to him for a simple reason: he was playing the role of a father.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
San Diego Union (San Diego, California), 16 February 1962, page 15<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to this article:<\/p>\n

\u201cGreg [Gregory Peck] said that after a few days of shooting on \u2018To Kill a Mockingbird\u2019 he is sure this is the easiest role he has ever had, and he laughed when he said it.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I play the father of two children,\u2019 he said [Peck was the father of five children], \u2018and that comes very natural to me.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Mary Badham, who plays my daughter, is the most charming little girl and I think both she and Philip Alford, who plays my son, will be very good.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Both child actors were from Alabama.<\/p>\n

That same month, Harper Lee visited the set and had good things to say about the production.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Corpus Christi Times (Corpus Christi, Texas), 9 February 1962, page 13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This article reported:<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Lee was invited to Hollywood to look at preparations to film her Pulitzer Prize novel, \u2018To Kill a Mockingbird,\u2019 which will star Gregory Peck.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018I know that authors are supposed to knock Hollywood and complain about how their works are treated here,\u2019 she said, \u2018but I just can’t manage it.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Everybody has been so darned nice to me and everything is being done with such care that I can\u2019t find anything to complain about.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cShe likes the movie script, and the set of the Southern home she wrote about \u2018looked so real that I wanted to sit down in a rocking chair and fan myself.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: poster for the U.S. theatrical release of the 1962 film \u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird,\u201d an adaptation of Harper Lee\u2019s 1960 novel of the same name, with actor Gregory Peck. Credit: Universal Pictures; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The movie was released in December 1962 and received rave reviews.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
Daytona Beach Morning Journal (Daytona Beach, Florida), 19 December 1962, page 19<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to this article:<\/p>\n

\u201c[The film] \u2018To Kill a Mockingbird\u2019 is taken almost intact from the endearing Harper Lee novel about [a] Depression-year life in a small Alabama town.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article praised the acting capability of the two children who played key roles in the movie, including the main character, Scout.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth youngsters are perfect.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They weren\u2019t the only ones described as spot-on perfect for their parts.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo is Gregory Peck, playing his most credible role in years as the right-minded Atticus.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Peck went on to win the Academy Award for best actor in a leading role for his portrayal of Atticus. To Kill a Mockingbird<\/em>, both the book and the movie, have become classics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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