108 years ago today, the actor Gregory Peck was born in San Diego, California. With his deep voice and his Lincolnesque profile, Peck was always best cast as a man of integrity who was willing to take a stand, even if it meant going against the majority. That made him ideal for the role of attorney Atticus Finch in 1962’s To Kill A Mockingbird.
Today’s scene that I love comes from that film. In this scene, Atticus makes his closing statement in the murder trial of Tom Robinson. While Atticus is speaking to the jury, Gregory Peck is speaking to the audience in the theater (and later, in front of the television). Reportedly, Peck only needed one take to perfectly deliver his speech.
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, we celebrate the 91st birthday of one of the finest American actors out there, Mr. Robert Duvall. Ever since he made his film debut in 1962’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Duvall has been a regular presence in American cinema. He’s an actor who has appeared in some of the best American films ever made (The Godfather, Network, Apocalypse Now, To Kill A Mockingbird, Tender Mercies, and others) and he’s played a wide variety of characters. He’s been everything from a lawyer to a cowboy to a network executive to a professional criminal to a cop and he’s never been less that convincing. He’s got a filmography about which anyone would be jealous. And, at an age when most actors have retired, Duvall is still working and taking the occasional part.
On a personal note, I have to say that, for someone who was born in California, raised in Maryland, and who started his career in New York, Robert Duvall is one of the few actors to have perfected both the Southern and the Southwestern accent. Whenever I see him playing a Texan, I always have to remind myself that he’s not actually from around here.
In honor of Robert Duvall’s birthday, here are….
6 Shots From 6 Robert Duvall Films
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962, dir by Robert Mulligan, DP: Russell Harlan)
MASH (1970, dir by Robert Altman, DP: Harold E. Stine)
Apocalypse Now (1979, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Vittorio Storaro)
True Confessions (1981, dir by Ulu Grosbard, DP: Owen Roizman)
The Apostle (1997, dir by Robert Duvall, DP: Barry Markowitz)
The Judge (2014, dir by David Dobkin, DP: Janusz Kamiński)
So, I guess I should explain why I’m including the classic 1962 film (and best picture nominee), To Kill A Mockingbird, in this series of reviews of films about politicians. After all, while To Kill A Mockingbird dealt with the issue of racism in Alabama in a surprisingly honest manner, it doesn’t feature any elected officials. Nobody shows up playing Gov. Benjamin J. Miller or President Franklin Roosevelt. Instead, this film is about a wise lawyer named Atticus (Gregory Peck), an innocent man named Tom (Brock Peters), a girl named Scout (Mary Badham) and her older brother Jem (Philip Alford), and a mysterious recluse named Boo (Robert Duvall).
However, if you’ve read Harper Lee’s wonderful novel, then you know that Atticus is not just the smartest man in Maycomb, Alabama. He’s also a member of the Alabama state legislature and his political career is a fairly important subplot in the book, with him occasionally having to leave home so he can go down to Montgomery and help to write the budget. (Incidentally, Harper Lee’s father actually was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives.)
In the film, no mention of Atticus being a member of the state legislature is made but I still choose to believe that he was. Because, as played by Gregory Peck, Atticus Finch is exactly the type of man who you would want to think of as serving in government. He’s wise, compassionate, and firm. For much of To Kill A Mockingbird, he is literally the only sane adult in Maycomb. He’s the only attorney willing to defend Tom Robinson when Tom is accused of raping a white girl. When a mob shows up to lynch Tom, Atticus is the only adult willing to stand up to them. (Fortunately, Jem also runs up and shames the mob by reminding them that she goes to school with their children.) And, in court, it is Atticus who proves that Tom is innocent.
When Tom is still convicted, what makes it all the more devastating is that wise and compassionate Atticus doesn’t seem to be surprised as all. If even Atticus feels that there is no hope for a black man to get a fair trial from an all-white jury, the film seems to be saying, then there truly is no hope.
Of course, the film is not just about Atticus. It’s about Scout and Jem and their friend Dill (John Megna) and how the three of them grow up and learn the truth about their world. Watching them from behind the closed doors of his house is the mysterious and reclusive Boo Radley. When Boo shows up towards the end of the film, I always find tears in my mismatched eyes. Boo is played, in his film debut, by Robert Duvall. Duvall doesn’t say a word but he still makes an incredible impression as the shy and withdrawn Boo.
So, I may be cheating a lot by including To Kill A Mockingbird in this series of reviews. Oh well. Who am I to turn down a chance to rewatch it? To Kill A Mockingbird is just a great film.
Through the Shattered Lens 