To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - full transcript
Small-town Alabama, 1932. Atticus Finch (played by Gregory Peck) is a lawyer and a widower. He has two young children, Jem and Scout. Atticus Finch is currently defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. Meanwhile, Jem and Scout are intrigued by their neighbours, the Radleys, and the mysterious, seldom-seen Boo Radley in particular.
(SCOUT HUMMING)
(SCOUT SIGHING)
(SCOUT CONTINUES HUMMING)
(TICKING)
SCOUT: Bing!
(SCOUT GIGGLING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
JEAN LOUISE:
Maycomb was a tired old town
even in 1932 when
I first knew it.
Somehow, it was hotter then.
Men's stiff collars wilted
by 9:00 in the morning.
Ladies bathed before noon,
after their 3:00 naps
and by nightfall
were like soft teacakes
with frostings of sweat
and sweet talcum.
A day was 24 hours long,
but it seemed longer.
There was no hurry,
for there was nowhere
to go and nothing to buy
and no money to buy it with.
Although Maycomb County
had recently been told
that it had nothing to
fear but fear itself.
That summer I was 6 years old.
Good morning,
Mr. Cunningham.
Good morning, miss.
My daddy's
getting dressed.
Would you like me
to call him for you?
No, miss,
I don't care to bother.
Why, it's no bother,
Mr. Cunningham.
He'll be happy
to see you.
Atticus.
Atticus!
Here's Mr. Cunningham.
Good morning, Walter.
CUNNINGHAM: Good morning,
Mr. Finch.
I didn't want to
bother you none.
I brought you
these hickory nuts
as part of my entailment.
Thank you.
The collards we had
last week were delicious.
Well, morning.
Morning, Walter.
Scout, I think
maybe next time
Mr. Cunningham comes,
you'd better not call me.
I thought you'd
want to thank him.
Oh, I do.
But I think
it embarrasses him
to be thanked.
Why does he bring you
all this stuff?
He is paying me
for some legal work
I did for him.
Why is he paying
you like this?
That's the only
way he can.
He has no money.
Is he poor?
Yes.
Are we poor?
We are, indeed.
Are we as poor as
the Cunninghams?
No, not exactly.
The Cunninghams
are country folks,
farmers.
The Crash hit them
the hardest.
Scout,
call your brother.
SCOUT: Atticus,
Jem's up in the tree.
He says he won't come
down until you agree
to play football
for the Methodists.
Jem?
Son, why don't
you come on down
out of there now
and have your breakfast?
Calpurnia has a good one.
Hot biscuits.
JEM: No, sir.
Not until you agree
to play football
for the Methodists.
Son, I can't do that.
I explained to you,
I'm too old to get
out there.
After all,
I'm the only
father you have.
You wouldn't want me
to go and get my head
knocked off, would you?
I ain't coming down.
Suit yourself.
MAUDIE: Morning.
Good morning,
Miss Maudie.
What's going on
over there?
I'm having
a terrible time,
Miss Maudie.
Jem's staying
up in the tree
until Atticus agrees
to play football for
the Methodists
and Atticus says
he's too old.
Every time I want
him to do something,
he's too old.
He's too old
for anything.
MAUDIE:
He can do plenty of things.
You be good, children.
Mind Cal.
Good morning, Maudie.
Good morning, Atticus.
(CHURCH BELL RINGING)
He won't let me have a gun
and he'll only play
touch football with me,
never tackle.
He can make somebody's
will so airtight you
can't break it.
You count your blessings
and stop complaining,
both of you.
Thank your stars
he has the sense
to act his age.
Jem, he is pretty old.
I can't help that.
Hey.
Hey, yourself.
I'm Charles Baker Harris.
I can read.
You got anything
that needs reading,
I can do it.
How old are you?
Four-and-a-half?
Going on seven.
No wonder, then.
Scout's been reading
since she was born,
and she don't start
school till next month.
You look right puny
for going on seven.
I'm little, but I'm old.
Folks call me Dill.
I'm from Meridian,
Mississippi
and I'm spending
two weeks next door
with my aunt Stephanie.
My mama worked
for a photographer
in Meridian.
She entered my picture
in the Beautiful Child
contest and won $5 on it.
She gave the money to me
and I went to
the picture show
20 times with it.
Our mama's dead but
we've got a daddy.
Where's your daddy?
I haven't got one.
Is he dead?
DILL: No.
Well...
Well, if he's not dead,
you've got one,
haven't you?
(DOOR OPENING)
Hush, Scout.
(WHISPERING)
What did I do?
What did I do?
Uh, Dill,
this is Calpurnia.
Pleased to know you,
Dill.
DILL: Pleased to know you.
My daddy owns
the L and N Railroad.
He's going to let
me run the engine
all the way to New Orleans.
Is that so?
DILL: He says I can
invite anybody...
Shh.
There goes the meanest
man that ever took
a breath of life.
Why is he
the meanest man?
Well, for one thing,
he has a boy named Boo
that he keeps
chained to a bed in
the house over yonder.
Come on.
See, he lives
over there.
Boo only comes
out at night
when you're asleep
and it's pitch dark.
When you wake up at night,
you can hear him.
Once I heard him
scratching on
our screen door
but he was gone
by the time
Atticus got there.
I wonder what
he does in there.
SCOUT:
I wonder what he looks like.
Well,
judging from his tracks,
he's about 6'6" tall.
He eats raw squirrels
and all the cats
he can catch.
There's a long, jagged scar
that runs all the way
across his face.
His teeth are
yellow and rotten.
His eyes are popped,
and he drools most
of the time.
Oh, I don't believe you.
Dill, what are you
doing here?
My Lord, Aunt Stephanie!
You almost gave me
a heart attack.
Dill, I don't want
you playing around
that house over there.
There's a maniac
lives there and
he's dangerous.
See?
I was just trying
to warn him about Boo.
He wouldn't believe me.
You'd just better
believe him,
Mr. Dill Harris.
Tell him about
the time Boo tried
to kill his papa.
I was standing
in my yard one day
when his mama
come out yelling,
"He's killing us all."
Turned out that
Boo was sitting
in the living room
cutting up the paper
for his scrapbook,
and when his daddy
come by,
he reached over
with his scissors,
stabbed him in his leg,
pulled them out
and went right on
cutting the paper.
They wanted to send
him to an asylum.
But his daddy said,
"No Radley is going
to any asylum."
So they locked him
up in the basement
of the courthouse
till he nearly
died of the damp,
and his daddy
brought him back home.
There he is, to this day,
sitting over there
with his scissors.
Lord knows what
he's doing or thinking.
Six, seven, eight,
nine, ten.
(CHURCH BELLS RINGING)
Come on, Scout.
It's 5:00.
Where are you going?
Time to meet Atticus.
Why do you call
your daddy Atticus?
Because Jem does.
But why does he?
I don't know.
He just started to ever
since he began talking.
(WHISPERING)
Wait, stop.
Mrs. Dubose is
on her porch.
Listen, no matter
what she says to you,
don't answer her back.
There's a Confederate
pistol in her lap
under her shawl
and she'll kill you as
quick as look at you.
Come on.
(DOG BARKING)
Hey, Mrs. Dubose.
Don't you say "hey"
to me, you ugly girl.
You say, "Good afternoon,
Mrs. Dubose."
You come over here
when I'm talking to you.
You come over here...
SCOUT: Hey, Atticus.
MRS. DUBOSE:
You listen to me...
Atticus, this is Dill.
How do you do, Dill?
MRS. DUBOSE:
Don't your daddy teach you
to respect old people?
You come back here,
Jean Louise Finch!
Good afternoon,
Mrs. Dubose.
My!
You look like a picture
this afternoon.
He don't say
a picture of what.
My goodness gracious,
look at your flowers.
Have you ever
seen anything
more beautiful?
Mrs. Dubose,
the gardens
at Bellingrath
have nothing to compare
with your flowers.
I don't think they're
as nice as last year.
ATTICUS:
I can't agree with you.
He gets her interested
in something nice
so she forgets
being mean.
I think your yard
is going to be the
showplace of this town.
Well...
Grand seeing you,
Mrs. Dubose.
(CHILDREN MUTTERING)
"I had two cats
"which I brought ashore
"on my first raft.
"And I had a dog."
(CRICKETS CHIRPING)
Atticus, do you think
Boo Radley ever really
comes and looks in
my window at night?
Jem says he does.
This afternoon
when we were over
by their house...
Scout.
I told you and Jem
to leave those
poor people alone.
I want you to stay
away from their house
and stop tormenting them.
Yes, sir.
I think that's all
the reading for tonight,
honey. It's getting late.
What time is it?
8:30.
May I see your watch?
"To Atticus,
my beloved husband."
Atticus, Jem says
this watch is going to
belong to him someday.
That's right.
Why?
Well,
it's customary for the boy
to have his father's watch.
What are you going
to give me?
I don't know that I have
much else of value that
belongs to me.
But there's
a pearl necklace,
there's a ring that
belonged to your mother.
And I've put them away,
and they're to be yours.
Good night, Scout.
Good night.
Good night, Jem.
JEM: Good night.
Jem?
JEM: Yeah.
How old was I
when Mama died?
Two.
And how old were you?
Six.
As old as I am now?
Mmm-hmm.
Was Mama pretty?
Mmm-hmm.
SCOUT: Was Mama nice?
JEM: Mmm-hmm.
Did you love her?
Yeah.
Did I love her?
Yeah.
Do you miss her?
Mmm-hmm
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
JUDGE: Evening, Atticus.
Good evening, Judge.
Rather warm, isn't it?
Yes, indeed.
How's Mrs. Taylor?
She's fine, thank you.
Atticus, you've heard
about Tom Robinson?
Yes, sir.
Grand jury will get around
to charging him tomorrow.
I was thinking
about appointing
you to take his case.
I realize you're
very busy these days
with your practice
and your children need
a great deal of your time.
Yes, sir.
I'll take the case.
I'll send a boy
over for you tomorrow,
when his hearing comes up.
Well, uh,
I'll see you tomorrow,
Atticus.
Yes, sir.
And thank you.
Yes, sir.
Hey, Jem.
I bet you a Gray Ghost
against two Tom Swifts
you wouldn't go
any farther than
Boo Radley's gate.
(EXCLAIMS)
You're scared to,
ain't you?
I ain't scared.
I go past Boo Radley's
house nearly every
day of my life.
Always running.
You hush up, Scout.
Come on, Dill.
Me first!
You gotta let
Dill be first.
No, me.
DILL: Let her be first.
All right, get in.
Hurry up.
All right.
JEM: You ready?
Uh-huh. Let her go.
Scout!
Scout, get away from there!
Scout, come on!
Scout, don't just
lie there. Get up!
Come on, Scout.
Run for your life, Scout!
Come on, Dill.
(PANTING)
Now who's a coward?
You tell them about this
back in Meridian County,
Mr. Dill Harris.
I'll tell you
what let's do.
Let's go down
to the courthouse
and see the room
they locked Boo up in.
My aunt says
it's bat-infested,
and he nearly died
from the mildew.
Come on,
I bet they've got chains
and instruments of
torture down there.
Come on.
Young Finch.
Yes, sir.
If you're looking
for your daddy,
he's inside
the courthouse.
Thank you, sir,
but we're not
looking for...
Thank you,
Mr. Townsend, sir.
What is your daddy doing
in the courthouse?
He's a lawyer
and he has a case.
The grand jury
is charging
his client today.
I heard something about
it last night when
Judge Taylor came over.
Let's go watch.
No, Dill.
He wouldn't like that.
Dill!
JEM: (WHISPERING)
Dill, wait a minute.
(JEM HUSHING)
Is that the courtroom?
(WHISPERING) Yeah.
Shh.
DILL:
I can't see anything.
Shh.
You all lift me
up so I can see
what's going on.
All right.
Make a saddle, Scout.
Not much is happening.
The judge looks
like he's asleep.
I see your daddy
and a colored man.
The colored man...
Shh.
The colored man looks
to me like he's crying.
MAN: And I've seen him...
I wonder what he's
done to cry about.
What's going on?
There's a whole
lot of men sitting
together on one side
and one man keeps pointing
at the colored man
and yelling.
They're taking
the colored man away.
Where's Atticus?
DILL: I can't see
your daddy now, either.
I wonder where
in the world...
Scout, Jem.
What in the world
are you doing here?
Hello, Atticus.
What are you
doing here?
We came down to find
out where Boo Radley
was locked up.
We wanted to
see the bats.
I want you all
back home right away.
Yes, sir.
Run along, now.
I'll see you there
for dinner.
(PEOPLE CONVERSING)
Hey, Atticus.
Mr. Ewell.
Captain, I'm real sorry
they picked you
to defend that nigger
that raped my Mayella.
I don't know why
I didn't kill him myself
instead of going
to the sheriff.
That would've saved
you and the sheriff
and the taxpayers
lots of trouble.
Excuse me, Mr. Ewell,
I'm very busy.
Hey, captain,
somebody told me
just now that
they thought that you
believed Tom Robinson's
story against ours.
And you know
what I said?
(CHUCKLING)
I said,
"You're wrong, man.
You're dead wrong.
"Mr. Finch ain't taking
his story against ours."
They was wrong,
wasn't they?
I've been appointed
to defend Tom Robinson.
And now that
he's been charged,
that's what I intend to do.
You're taking his...
If you'll excuse me,
Mr. Ewell.
What kind of man are you?
You've got children
of your own.
DILL: (WHISPERING)
Hey, Jem.
Jem?
I think we ought
to stay right here in
Miss Stephanie's yard.
You don't have
to come along,
Angel Mae.
SCOUT:
What are you going to do?
We're going to
look in the window
at the Radley house
and see if we can get
a look at Boo Radley.
Come on, Dill.
Jem, please,
I'm scared.
Then go home
if you're scared!
I swear, Scout,
you act more like
a girl all the time.
Come on, Dill.
Wait for me.
I'm coming.
Shh.
We'll go around back,
crawl under the high wire
fence at the rear of
the Radley lot.
I don't believe we can
be seen from there.
(SWING BANGING)
Shh.
(CREAKING)
(WIND BLOWING)
(WHISPERING) Come on.
Come on.
Come on, help me.
Shh.
Don't make a sound.
(GATE CREAKS)
Spit on it.
All right.
(CREAKING)
SCOUT: Jem...
Shh.
Spit some more.
All right.
Come on.
(STEPS CREAKING)
(PLATFORM CREAKING)
(EXCLAIMS)
(GASPS)
Hurry.
(JEM GRUNTING)
Hurry.
(GRUNTING)
Scout.
(DOG BARKING)
(WHISPERING) Quick.
Come over here.
(ALL PANTING)
(COUGHING)
Shh. Shh. Quiet.
(GASPING)
What are you going
to do for pants, Jem?
I don't know.
(DOOR OPENING)
STEPHANIE: Dill?
Dill!
You come on in, now.
Shh.
(WHISPERING)
I'd better go.
Dill?
Coming, Aunt Stephanie.
(DOOR CLOSING)
So long.
I'll see you next summer.
So long.
So long.
STEPHANIE: Dill?
I'm coming.
I'm going back
after my pants.
Please, Jem,
come on in the house.
I can't go in
without my pants.
Then I'm going
to call Atticus.
No, you're not.
Now, listen. Atticus
ain't never whipped me
since I can remember
and I plan to
keep it that way.
Then I'm going with you.
You ain't.
You stay right here.
I'll be back before
you can count to 10.
Jem.
(CRICKETS CHIRPING)
One, two,
three, four...
ATTICUS: Jem.
Scout. Come on in.
Five, six, seven,
eight, nine, ten,
eleven, twelve,
thirteen, fourteen.
(GUN FIRING)
(DOG BARKING)
Jem.
Shh.
(DOOR OPENS)
Shh.
(DOGS BARKING)
STEPHANIE: What was that?
What is it? What happened?
What's going on?
What is it?
Atticus, what is it?
Will somebody
please tell me
what's going on?
Mr. Radley shot
at a prowler out
in his collard patch.
A prowler? Oh, Maudie!
Whoever it was won't
be back anytime soon.
Mr. Radley
must've scared them
out of their wits.
Good night.
Good night.
Good night, Atticus.
(SIGHING) Scared the living
daylights out of me.
I swear, a prowler.
He said a prowler.
ATTICUS: Come on, now.
The excitement is over.
Time for bed.
Scout, Jem.
MAUDIE: Morning.
Good morning, Miss Maudie.
Morning, Calpurnia.
I came to see
Jean Louise ready for
her first day at school.
CALPURNIA: Scout.
Morning, Mrs. Maudie.
All ready for school?
Yes, ma'am.
Scout!
What are you going
to do with yourself
this morning
with both children
at school?
I don't know,
and that's the truth.
I was thinking
about that just now.
Scout?
Scout? Scout!
Did you hear me, Scout?
Now, hurry.
(CHUCKLING)
Hey, everybody,
look at Scout.
Shh.
Come on in here, Scout.
(CONTINUES GIGGLING)
Have your breakfast.
I think your dress is
mighty becoming, honey.
CALPURNIA:
Now don't go tugging
at that dress, Scout.
You want to have it
all wrinkled before
you even get to school?
I still don't see
why I have to wear
a darn old dress.
(CHUCKLING)
You'll get used to it.
I'm ready.
Oh, Jem.
Jem...
It's half an hour
before school starts.
Sit back down and
wait for your sister.
Well, hurry up, Scout.
I'm trying to.
JEM: Come on.
It's your first day.
You want to be late?
I'm ready.
JEM: Come on, let's go.
Bye.
Bye, bye.
(CHUCKLING)
(STUDENTS WHOOPING)
Darn you,
Walter Cunningham!
(STUDENTS SHOUTING)
STUDENTS: Come on, Walter!
Cut that out!
What do you think
you're doing?
(GRUNTING)
He made me start off
on the wrong foot!
I was trying to
explain to that
darn lady teacher
why he didn't have
no money for his lunch
and she got sore at me.
(GRUNTING)
Stop it! Stop it!
Is your daddy
Mr. Walter Cunningham
from Old Sarum?
Come home and have
dinner with us, Walter.
We'd be glad to have you.
Our daddy's a friend
of your daddy's.
Scout here is crazy.
She won't fight you
no more.
ATTICUS: I hope that's
a dinner that you enjoy.
Yes, sir. I don't know
when I've had a roast.
We've been
having squirrels
and rabbits lately.
My pa and I go hunting
in our spare time.
You've got a gun
of your own?
WALTER: Uh-huh.
JEM:
How long have you had a gun?
A year or so.
Can I have the syrup,
please?
Certainly, son.
Cal. Will you bring in
the syrup dish, please?
Yes, sir.
How old were you when
you got your first gun,
Atticus?
Thirteen or fourteen.
I remember when my daddy
gave me that gun.
He told me that I
should never point at
anything in the house.
And that he'd rather
I'd shoot at tin cans
in the backyard.
But he said
that sooner or later
he'd suppose the temptation
to go after birds
would be too much.
That I could shoot all
the blue jays I wanted
if I could hit them.
But to remember it was a sin
to kill a mockingbird.
Why?
ATTICUS:
I reckon because mockingbirds
don't do anything but
make music for us to enjoy.
They don't eat
people's gardens,
don't nest in the corncribs.
They don't do one thing,
but just sing their
hearts out for us.
How did you like school,
Scout?
All right.
Thank you, Cal.
That's for Walter.
What in the Sam Hill
are you doing...
(ATTICUS TAPPING)
But, Atticus,
he's gone and drowned
his dinner in syrup
and now he's pouring it
all over.
CALPURNIA: Scout.
What?
Come out here.
I want to talk to you.
That boy is your company
and if he wants to
eat up that tablecloth,
you'll let him, you hear?
And if you can't act
fit to eat like folks,
you can just sit here
and eat in the kitchen.
ATTICUS: Scout.
Scout.
Scout, what in the world
has got into you?
(CRYING) Not going back.
Now, now.
Not going back.
(SNIFFLING)
Atticus, I'm not going
back to school anymore.
Scout,
it's just the first day.
I don't care.
Everything went wrong.
My teacher got mad
as the devil at me
and said you were teaching
me to read all wrong,
and to stop it.
Then acted like a fool
and tried to give
Walter Cunningham a quarter
when everybody knows
Cunninghams won't take
nothing from nobody.
Any fool could have
told her that.
Well...
Maybe she's just nervous.
After all,
it's her first day, too,
teaching school
and being new here.
(WHINING) Oh, Atticus.
Now, wait a minute.
If you just learn
a single trick, Scout,
you'll get along
a lot better with
all kinds of folks.
You never really
understand a person
until you consider things
from his point of view.
Sir?
Until you climb
inside of his skin
and walk around in it.
But if I keep going
to school, we can't
ever read anymore.
Scout?
Do you know what
a compromise is?
Bending the law?
Uh...
No. It's an agreement
reached by mutual consent.
Here is the way it works.
You concede the necessity
of going to school
and we'll keep
right on reading
the same every night,
just as we always have.
Is that a bargain?
JEAN LOUISE:
There just didn't seem
to be anyone or anything
Atticus couldn't explain.
Though it wasn't a talent
that would arouse
the admiration of
any of our friends,
Jem and I had to admit
he was very good at that.
But that was all
he was good at,
we thought.
(DOG GROWLING)
See, there he is!
Scout, Jem,
come on inside.
Come on, get in.
Mr. Finch? This is Cal.
I swear to God,
there's a mad dog
down the street apiece.
He's coming this way.
(CAR APPROACHING)
There he is.
(CAR ENGINE RUNNING)
He's got it all right,
Mr. Finch.
Stay inside, Son.
Keep him in there, Cal.
(GUN CLICKS)
He's within range, Heck.
(DOG CONTINUES GROWLING)
Take him, Mr. Finch.
No, Mr. Tate.
He can't shoot.
Don't waste time.
For God's sake,
Mr. Finch,
he's got to be
killed right away,
before he starts running.
Look where he is.
I can't shoot that well.
You know it.
ATTICUS: I haven't
shot a gun in years.
I'd feel mighty comfortable
if you did now.
(DOG CONTINUES GROWLING)
(DOG BARKING)
Don't go near that dog,
do you understand?
He's just as dangerous
dead as alive.
Yes, sir.
Atticus?
Yes, Son.
Nothing.
What's the matter, boy?
Can't you talk?
Didn't you know
your daddy is the
best shot in this county?
Hush, Heck.
Let's get back to town.
Remember,
don't go near that dog.
Yes, sir.
I'll send Zeebo out
right away to pick him up.
Hey, Atticus.
Can we go with you?
Can we, please?
Can we?
No. I have to go to
the country on business,
and you'll just get tired.
No, not me.
I won't get tired.
Promise to stay in the car
while I go in and talk
to Helen Robinson?
Mmm-hmm.
And not nag me
about leaving if
you do get tired?
All right, climb in.
Who's Helen Robinson?
She's the wife of
the man I'm defending.
Good evening, David.
Evening.
Evening, Helen.
Evening, Mr. Finch.
I came over
to tell you about
my visit with Tom.
Yes, sir.
And to let you know
that I got a postponement
of the trial.
Give things a chance
to cool down.
Would you tell my daddy
to come out here, please?
(DOOR OPENS)
You nigger lover.
No need to be afraid of him,
Son. He's all bluff.
(ENGINE STARTING)
EWELL: Nigger lover!
There's a lot
of ugly things
in this world, Son.
I wish I could keep
them all away from you.
That's never possible.
Cal, you wait until
I get Scout in bed.
I'll drive you home.
Yes, sir.
Jem, would you mind
staying here with Scout
till I get Cal home?
No, sir.
Night, Jem.
Night, Cal.
(ENGINE STARTING)
(LEAVES RUSTLING)
(ANIMAL SCREECHING)
Atticus! Atticus!
Atticus!
(ANIMAL SCREECHING)
(SWING BANGING)
(SWING CREAKING)
(ANIMAL SCREECHING)
(SWING CREAKING)
(ANIMAL SCREECHING)
JEAN LOUISE:
Atticus had promised me
he would wear me out
if he ever heard of
me fighting anymore.
I was far too old and too big
for such childish things
and the sooner
I learned to hold in,
the better off
everybody would be.
I soon forgot.
Cecil Jacobs made me forget.
What is it, Scout?
Atticus,
do you defend niggers?
Don't say "nigger," Scout.
I didn't say it.
Cecil Jacobs did.
That's why
I had to fight him.
Scout,
I don't want you fighting.
I had to, Atticus, he...
I don't care what
the reasons are.
I forbid you to fight.
Yes, sir.
Anyway, I'm simply
defending a Negro,
Tom Robinson.
Scout,
there are some things
that you're not old enough
to understand just yet.
There's been some
high talk around town
to the effect that
I shouldn't do much
about defending this man.
If you shouldn't
be defending him,
then why are you doing it?
For a number of reasons.
The main one is
that if I didn't,
I couldn't hold
my head up in town.
I couldn't even
tell you or Jem not
to do something again.
Oh, Scout.
You're going to
hear some ugly talk
about this in school.
But I want you to
promise me one thing,
that you won't get
into fights over it,
no matter what
they say to you.
Yes, sir.
What're you doing?
I'm walking
like an Egyptian.
We were studying
about them in school.
Teacher says
we wouldn't be
no place without them.
Is that so?
Cradle of civilization.
They invented embalming
and toilet paper.
That's wrong, Scout.
You dig your feet,
this way.
Look, Jem.
Look, the boy wore
his hair in front of
his eyebrows like you do.
JEM: And the girl
wears bangs like you.
(WHISPERING) These are us.
(CLATTERING)
Jem, are you awake?
(WHISPERING)
Go back to bed.
I can't go to sleep.
Go back to bed.
What you got in the box?
Nothing. Go back to bed.
SCOUT: Come on.
If I show you, will you swear
never to tell anybody?
I swear.
Cross your heart.
(WATCH TICKING)
I found all of these
in the knothole
of that old tree
at different times.
This is a spelling medal.
They used to
award these in school
to spelling winners
before we were born.
And another time
I found this.
(TICKING)
And this.
And Scout...
Something else
I never told you about
that night I went back
to the Radley house.
Something else?
You never told me
anything about that night.
Well...
You know the first
time I was getting
out of my britches?
Uh-huh.
They was all in a tangle,
and I couldn't get them loose.
Well,
when I went back though,
they were folded
across the fence,
sort of like they
was expecting me.
JEAN LOUISE:
It was to be a long time
before Jem and I
talked about Boo again.
School finally ended
and summer came
and so did Dill.
Good morning.
My, you're up
mighty bright and early.
I've been up since 4:00.
CALPURNIA: 4:00?
Yes. I always get up at 4:00.
It's in my blood.
You see,
my daddy was a railroad man
until he got rich.
Now he flies airplanes.
One of these days,
he's just going to swoop
down here at Maycomb,
pick me up,
and take me for a ride.
Who's that in the car
with Sheriff Tate?
Tom Robinson, Son.
Where's he been?
In the Abbotsville jail.
Why?
The sheriff thought
he'd be safer there.
They're bringing him
back here tonight,
because his trial
is tomorrow.
(CRICKETS CHIRPING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Good evening, Heck.
Evening, Mr. Finch.
Come in.
The news has gotten
around the county
about my bringing
Tom Robinson back
to the jail.
I heard there might be
trouble from that bunch
out at Old Sarum.
Cal, if I need you
to stay here tonight,
can you do it?
Yes, sir, I can.
Thank you.
(CUTLERY RATTLING)
I think you'd better
count on staying.
Yes, sir.
(DOOR CLOSING)
(CAR DRIVING AWAY)
What's going on?
Shh. Go back to sleep.
What's going on?
Shh.
JEM: Hey, there's his car.
See, there he is,
over there.
No, Scout, don't go to him.
He might not like it.
I just wanted
to see where he was
and what he was up to.
He's all right.
Let's go back home.
Come on.
(CARS APPROACHING)
(BRAKES SQUEALING)
He in there, Mr. Finch?
He is. He's asleep.
Don't wake him.
You know what we want.
Get aside from that door,
Mr. Finch.
Walter,
I think you ought
to turn right around
and go back home.
Heck Tate's
around here somewhere.
KELLEY: No, he ain't.
Heck and his bunch is out
chasing around Old Sarum
looking for us.
TEX: We knew he was
so we came in this other way.
KELLEY: You ain't never
thought about that,
had you, Mr. Finch?
ATTICUS: I thought about it.
I can't see Atticus.
ATTICUS:
That changes things...
SCOUT: Atticus!
Hey, Atticus.
Jem, go home,
and take Scout and
Dill home with you.
Son, I said, go home.
No, sir.
I'll send him home!
SCOUT: Don't you touch him.
Let him go!
ATTICUS:
That'll do, Scout.
Ain't nobody gonna
do Jem that way.
Now, you get them
out of here, Mr. Finch!
Jem, I want you
to please leave.
No, sir.
Jem.
I tell you,
I ain't going.
Hey, Mr. Cunningham.
I said, hey,
Mr. Cunningham.
How's your entailment
getting along?
Don't you remember me,
Mr. Cunningham?
I'm Jean Louise Finch.
You brought us
some hickory nuts one
early morning, remember?
We had a talk.
I went and got my daddy
to come out and thank you.
I go to school with your boy.
I go to school with Walter.
He's a nice boy.
Tell him "hey" for me,
won't you?
You know something,
Mr. Cunningham?
Entailments are bad.
Entailments...
(COUGHING)
Atticus, I was just
saying to Mr. Cunningham
that entailments were bad
but not to worry.
Takes a long time sometimes.
What's the matter?
I sure meant no harm,
Mr. Cunningham.
No harm taken, young lady.
I'll tell Walter
you said "hey."
Let's clear out of here.
Let's go, boys.
(CAR ENGINES STARTING)
Now, you go home.
All of you.
I'll be there later.
Good luck.
Come on.
TOM: (WHISPERING)
Mr. Finch, are they gone?
They've gone.
They won't bother
you anymore.
(HORSE NEIGHING)
JEM: Morning, Mr. Sykes.
How do you do?
Ever see so many people?
Just like on Saturday.
Where you going?
I can't stand it any longer.
I'm going downtown
to the courthouse to watch.
You'd better not.
You know what
Atticus said.
I don't care if he did.
I'm not going to miss
the most exciting thing
that ever happened
in this town.
(CARRIAGES RUMBLING)
It's packed solid.
They're standing
all along the back.
Reverend.
Yes?
Reverend Sykes,
are you going upstairs?
Yes, I am.
(PEOPLE CONVERSING)
Thanks, Brother Jones,
for holding my seat.
Please be seated.
Come on, children.
It's the Rev.
(CHILD CRYING)
CLERK:
This court is now in session.
Everybody rise.
(GAVEL POUNDING)
TATE:
On the night of August 21,
I was just leaving my office
to go home when Bob...
Mr. Ewell came in.
Very excited, he was,
and he said to get to his
house as quick as I could,
that his girl
had been raped.
I got to my car
and went out there
as fast as I could.
She was pretty well
beat up.
I asked her
if Tom Robinson
beat her like that.
She said, "Yes, he had."
I asked if he'd
taken advantage of her.
She said, "Yes, he did."
That's all there was to it.
GILMER: Thank you.
ATTICUS: Did anybody
call a doctor, Sheriff?
No, sir.
Why not?
I didn't think
it was necessary.
She was pretty well beat up.
Something sure happened,
it was obvious.
Sheriff, you say she
was mighty beat up.
In what way?
She was beaten
around the head.
There were bruises
already coming on her arms.
She had a black eye
starting.
Which eye?
Let's see,
it was her left.
Now, was that...
Was that her left,
facing you, or looking
the way that you were?
Yes, that would make it
her right eye.
It was her right eye,
Mr. Finch. Now I remember.
She was beaten up on
that side of her face.
Which side, again?
Her right side.
She had bruises
on her arms.
And she showed me
her neck.
There were definite
finger marks on
her gullet.
All around
her neck,
at the back
of her throat?
I'd say they were
all around.
JUDGE:
The witness may be seated.
CLERK: Robert E. Lee Ewell.
Place your hand
on the Bible, please.
Do you solemnly swear
to tell the truth,
the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?
I do.
Sit down, please.
Now, Mr. Ewell,
will you tell us,
just in your own words,
what happened on August 21?
Late that night,
I was coming in
from the woods,
with a load of kindling
and I heard
Mayella screaming
as I got to the fence.
So, I dropped my kindling
and run just as fast
as I could,
but I run into the fence.
But when I got loose,
I run up to the window,
and I seen him with
my Mayella.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
(GAVEL POUNDING)
What did you do after
you saw the defendant?
I ran around the house
trying to get in,
but he done run
through the front door,
just ahead of me.
But I seen who it was,
all right.
I seen him!
And I run in the house
and poor Mayella was
lying on the floor,
squalling.
Then I run for Mr. Tate
as quick as I could.
Mmm-hmm.
Thank you, Mr. Ewell.
(PEOPLE LAUGHING)
(LAUGHING)
Would you mind if I just
ask you a few questions,
Mr. Ewell?
No, sir, Mr. Finch,
I sure wouldn't.
Folks were doing a lot
of running that night.
Let's see, now.
You say that you
ran into the house,
you ran to the window,
you ran inside,
you ran to Mayella,
and you ran to Sheriff Tate.
Did you,
during all this running,
run for a doctor?
There wasn't no need to.
I seen who done it.
Now, Mr. Ewell,
you've heard the
sheriff's testimony.
Do you agree
with his description
of Mayella's injuries?
I agree with everything
Mr. Tate said.
Her eye was blacked.
She was mighty beat up.
Mr. Ewell, can you...
Can you read and write?
Yes, Mr. Finch.
I can read and I can write.
Good.
Then will you write
your name, please?
Right there. Show us.
(CROWD MURMURING)
Now what's
so interesting?
You're left-handed,
Mr. Ewell.
What's that got to
do with it, Judge?
I'm a God-fearing man.
That Atticus Finch,
he's trying to take
advantage of me.
You've got to
watch tricky lawyers
like Atticus Finch.
Quiet, sir.
The witness may
take his seat.
CLERK: Mayella Violet Ewell.
Put your hand on
the Bible, please.
Solemnly swear
to tell the truth,
the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?
Sit down, please.
GILMER: Now, Mayella,
suppose you tell us
just what happened, huh?
Well, sir...
(CLEARS THROAT)
Sir,
I was sitting on the porch
and he come along.
There was this old
chifforobe in the yard
and I said,
"You come in here, boy,
and bust up this chifforobe
and I'll give you a nickel."
So, he come on in the yard
and I go in the house
to get him the nickel.
And I turn around,
and before I know it
he's on me.
I fought and hollered,
but he had me around the neck
and he hit me
again and again.
And the next thing I knew,
Papa was in the room,
standing over me, hollering,
"Who done it?"
Thank you, Mayella.
Your witness, Atticus.
Miss Mayella,
is your father good to you?
I mean, is he easy
to get along with?
Does tolerable.
Except when
he's drinking?
(CHURCH BELL RINGING)
When he's riled,
has he ever beaten you?
My pa's never touched
a hair on my head
in my life.
You say that you asked Tom
to come in and chop up a...
What was it?
A chifforobe.
Was that the first time
that you ever asked him
to come inside the fence?
Yes.
Didn't you ever ask
him to come inside
the fence before?
I might have.
But can you remember
any other occasion?
No.
You say,
"He caught me,
he choked me,
"and took advantage of me,"
is that right?
Do you remember him
beating you about the face?
No, I don't
recollect if he hit me.
(STAMMERING)
I mean, yes, he hit me!
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
Thank you.
Will you identify
the man who beat you?
Most certainly will.
Sitting right yonder.
Tom, will you
stand up, please?
Let Miss Mayella
have a good,
long look at you.
Tom, will you catch this,
please?
Thank you.
Now, then, this time,
will you please
catch it with
your left hand?
I can't, sir.
Why can't you?
I can't use my
left hand at all.
I got it caught
in a cotton gin
when I was 12 years old.
All my muscles
were tore loose.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
Is this the man
who raped you?
Most certainly is.
ATTICUS: How?
I don't know how.
He just done it.
You have testified
that he choked you
and he beat you.
You didn't say that
he sneaked up behind you
and knocked you out cold,
but that you turned around
and there he was.
Do you want to tell us
what really happened?
(WHIMPERING)
I've got something to say!
And then I ain't
gonna say no more!
He took advantage of me.
And if you fine,
fancy gentlemen
ain't going to do
nothing about it,
then you're just
a bunch of lousy,
yellow, stinking cowards!
The whole bunch of you!
And your fancy airs
don't come to nothing!
Your "ma'am-ing"
and your "Miss Mayella-ing,"
it don't come to nothing,
Mr. Finch!
(STUTTERING)
Sit down, there.
MAN: Poor girl.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
(GAVEL POUNDING)
Atticus?
Mr. Gilmer?
(CLEARING THROAT)
The State rests, Judge.
CLERK:
Tom Robinson, take the stand.
Put your hand on the Bible.
Do you solemnly swear
to tell the truth,
the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?
I do.
Sit down.
Now, Tom...
Were you acquainted
with Mayella Violet Ewell?
Yes, sir.
I had to pass her place
going to and from
the field every day.
Is there any other way
to go?
No, sir,
none as I know of.
And did she ever
speak to you?
Yes, sir.
I'd tip my hat
when I'd go by.
One day she asked me
to come inside the fence,
bust up a chifforobe
for her.
She gave me the hatchet
and I broke it up.
And then she said,
"I reckon I'll have to
give you a nickel, won't I?"
And I said, "No, ma'am,
there ain't no charge."
Then I went home.
Mr. Finch,
that was way last spring,
way over a year ago.
And did you ever go
on the place again?
Yes, sir.
When?
I went lots of times.
Seemed like every time
I passed by yonder,
she'd have some
little something
for me to do.
Chopping kindling and
toting water for her.
Tom,
what happened to you
on the evening of
August 21 of last year?
Mr. Finch,
I was going home as
usual that evening.
When I passed
the Ewell place,
Miss Mayella
was on the porch,
like she said she was.
She said for me
to come there and
help her a minute.
I went inside the fence
and I looked around
for some kindling
to work on,
but I didn't see nothing.
And then she said
to come in the house,
she has a door
that needs fixing.
So I follows her inside
and looked at the door
and it looked all right.
Then she shut the door.
All the time I was wondering
why it was so quiet like.
Then it come to me,
there was not
a child on the place.
And I said, "Miss Mayella,
where are the children?"
And she said they all
gone to get ice cream.
She said it took
her a slap year to
save seven nickels,
but she done it,
and they all gone to town.
What did you say then?
I said something like,
"Why, Miss Mayella,
it's right nice of
you to treat them."
And she said,
"You think so?"
Well, I said I best be going,
I couldn't do nothing for her.
And she said,
oh, yes, I could.
And I asked her, "What?"
And she said to just step
on the chair yonder
and get that box down
from on top of the chifforobe.
So I done like she told me
and I was reaching
and the next thing I know,
she grabbed me
around the legs.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
She scared me so bad,
I hopped down and
turned the chair over.
That was the only thing,
the only furniture
disturbed in the room,
Mr. Finch, I swear,
when I left it.
And what happened
after you turned
the chair over?
Tom?
You've sworn to tell
the whole truth.
Will you do it?
What happened after that?
Mr. Finch,
I got down off the chair
and I turned around
and she sort of jumped on me.
She hugged me
around the waist.
She reached up and
kissed me on the face.
She said she had never kissed
a grown man before
and she might as well kiss me.
She said for me
to kiss her back.
And I said, "Miss Mayella,
let me out of here."
And I tried to run.
Then Mr. Ewell cussed
at her from the window
and said he's going
to kill her.
(TOM SIGHING)
ATTICUS:
What happened after that?
I was running so fast,
I don't know what happened.
Tom, did you rape
Mayella Ewell?
I did not, sir.
Did you harm her
in any way?
I did not, sir.
Robinson,
you're pretty good at
busting up chifforobes
and kindling with
one hand, aren't you?
Strong enough to
choke the breath
out of a woman
and sling her to the floor?
I've never
done that, sir.
But you're strong
enough to?
I reckon so, sir.
Mmm-hmm.
How come you were
so all-fired anxious
to do that woman's chores?
Looks like she didn't have
nobody to help her.
Like I said...
With Mr. Ewell and seven
children on the place?
You did all this
chopping and work
out of sheer goodness, boy?
(SNICKERING)
You're a mighty
good fellow, it seems.
Did all that
for not one penny.
Yes, sir.
I felt right sorry for her.
She seemed...
(GILMER LAUGHING)
You felt sorry for her?
A white woman?
You felt sorry for her.
To begin with,
this case should never
have come to trial.
The State has not
produced one iota
of medical evidence
that the crime
Tom Robinson is charged with
ever took place.
It has relied instead
upon the testimony
of two witnesses
whose evidence has
not only been called
into serious question
on cross-examination,
but has been
flatly contradicted
by the defendant.
There is circumstantial
evidence to indicate
that Mayella Ewell
was beaten savagely
by someone who led,
almost exclusively,
with his left.
And Tom Robinson
now sits before you,
having taken the oath
with the only good
hand he possesses,
his right.
I have nothing
but pity in my heart
for the chief witness
for the State.
She is the victim
of cruel poverty
and ignorance.
But my pity does
not extend so far
as to her putting
a man's life at stake,
which she has done
in an effort to get
rid of her own guilt.
I say "guilt," gentlemen,
because it was guilt
that motivated her.
She's committed no crime.
She has merely broken
a rigid and time-honored
code of our society.
A code so severe,
that whoever breaks it
is hounded from our midst
as unfit to live with.
She must destroy the evidence
of her offense.
But, what was the evidence
of her offense?
Tom Robinson,
a human being.
She must put Tom Robinson
away from her.
Tom Robinson was to
her a daily reminder
of what she did.
What did she do?
She tempted a Negro.
She was white,
and she tempted a Negro.
She did something
that in our society
is unspeakable.
She kissed a black man.
Not an old uncle,
but a strong,
young Negro man.
No code mattered to her
before she broke it.
But it came crashing down
on her afterwards.
The witnesses for the State,
with the exception
of the sheriff
of Maycomb County,
have presented themselves
to you gentlemen,
to this court,
in the cynical confidence
that their testimony
would not be doubted,
confident that you gentlemen
would go along with them
on the assumption,
the evil assumption
that all Negroes lie,
all Negroes are
basically immoral beings,
all Negro men are
not to be trusted
around our women.
An assumption
that one associates
with minds of their caliber
and which is, in itself,
gentlemen, a lie
which I do not need
to point out to you.
And so,
a quiet, humble,
respectable Negro
who has had
the unmitigated temerity
to feel sorry
for a white woman
has had to put his word
against two white people's.
The defendant
is not guilty,
but somebody in
this courtroom is.
Now, gentlemen,
in this country,
our courts are
the great levelers.
In our courts,
all men are created equal.
I'm no idealist
to believe firmly
in the integrity
of our courts and
in our jury system.
That's no ideal to me.
That is a living,
working reality.
I am confident that
you gentlemen will review
without passion
the evidence
that you have heard,
come to a decision
and restore this man
to his family.
In the name of God,
do your duty.
In the name of God,
believe Tom Robinson.
How long has the jury
been out now, Reverend?
Let's see.
Almost two hours now.
I think that's
an awful good sign,
don't you?
(DOOR OPENS)
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
CLERK: Court's now in session.
Everybody rise.
Gentlemen of the jury,
have you reached a verdict?
FOREMAN: We have, Your Honor.
Will the defendant
please rise and
face the jury?
What is your verdict?
We find the defendant
guilty as charged.
Gentlemen,
this jury is dismissed.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
CLERK: Court's adjourned.
I'll go to see Helen,
first thing tomorrow
morning.
I told her not
to be disappointed,
we'd probably lose this one.
Tom.
Yes, Mr. Finch.
Miss Jean Louise?
Stand up.
Your father's passing.
MAUDIE: Atticus.
I'm sorry, Atticus.
Thank you, Maudie.
(CAR APPROACHING)
Atticus, can I see
you for a minute?
Will you excuse me?
(INAUDIBLE)
Jem?
Yes, ma'am.
I don't know
if it'll help,
but I want to
say this to you.
There are some men
in this world
who were born to do
our unpleasant jobs for us.
Your father's one of them.
Oh, well.
What's the matter,
Atticus?
Tom Robinson is dead.
They were taking him to
Abbotsville for safekeeping.
Tom broke loose and ran.
The deputy
called out to him to stop.
Tom didn't stop.
He shot at him to wound him
and missed his aim.
Killed him.
The deputy says,
"Tom just ran
like a crazy man."
The last thing I told him
was not to lose heart,
that we'd ask for an appeal.
We had such a good chance.
We had more
than a good chance.
I have to go out
and tell his family.
Would you look after
the children, Maudie?
Atticus, you want me
to go with you?
No, Son. I think I'd
better go up there alone.
Atticus.
I'm going with you.
All right, Son.
Hello, Mr. Finch.
I'm Spence, Tom's father.
Hello, Spence.
Is Helen here?
Yes, sir.
She's inside, lying down,
trying to get a little sleep.
We've been talking
about the appeal,
Mr. Finch.
How long you think
it will take?
Spence...
There isn't going
to be any appeal.
Not now. Tom is dead.
Dead?
Helen.
(CRYING)
(HELEN SOBBING)
Boy,
go inside and
tell Atticus Finch
I said, "Come out here."
Go on, boy.
(DOOR CREAKING)
(CAR DRIVING AWAY)
JEAN LOUISE:
By October, things had
settled down again.
I still looked for Boo
every time I went by
the Radley place.
This night, my mind was
filled with Halloween.
There was to be a pageant
representing our county's
agricultural products.
I was to be a ham.
Jem said that
he would escort me
to the school auditorium.
Thus began our
longest journey together.
Scout?
SCOUT: Yeah?
Will you come on?
Everybody's gone!
I can't go home
like this!
I'm going. It's almost
10:00 and Atticus will
be waiting for us.
All right, I'm coming.
But I feel like a fool,
walking home like this.
It's not my fault
you lost your dress.
I didn't lose it.
I just can't find it.
Where are your shoes?
I can't find them, either.
You can get them tomorrow.
But tomorrow is Sunday.
You can get the janitor
to let you in. Come on.
Here, Scout, let me
hold on to you before
you break your neck.
You don't have to hold me.
Shh.
What's the matter?
Hush a minute, Scout.
(WIND BLOWING)
I thought I heard something.
Ah!
Come on.
Wait.
Are you trying
to scare me?
JEM: Shh.
You know I'm too old.
Be quiet.
(DOGS HOWLING)
I heard an old dog then.
It's not that.
I hear it when
we're walking along.
When we stop,
I don't hear it anymore.
Oh, yeah,
my costume rustling.
Halloween got you.
I hear it now.
I'll bet it's just
old Cecil Jacobs
trying to scare us.
Cecil Jacobs
is a big wet hen!
(LEAVES RUSTLING)
Come on.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(MAN 1 GROWLING)
(GASPS)
(MAN 1 GRUNTING)
Run, Scout! Run, Scout!
Run, run!
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(MAN 1 GRUNTING)
(JEM PANTING)
(JEM GASPING)
(MAN 2 GRUNTING)
(SCOUT SCREAMING)
(MAN 1 GRUNTING)
(MAN 1 GASPING)
(MAN 1 GROANING)
(DOOR CLOSING)
Scout! Scout!
What happened?
I swear I don't know.
I just don't know.
Cal, you go and tell
Dr. Reynolds to come over.
Yes, sir.
You all right?
Yes, sir.
Are you sure?
Yes, sir.
(CHURCH BELL RINGING)
Sheriff Tate, please.
Atticus, is Jem dead?
No, he's unconscious.
We won't know
how badly he's hurt
until the doctor gets here.
Heck, Atticus Finch.
Someone's been after
my children.
DR. REYNOLDS:
He's got a bad break,
so far as I can tell.
Like somebody tried
to wring his arm off.
(VEHICLE APPROACHING)
I'll be right back,
Atticus.
TATE: How's the boy, Doc?
He'll be all right.
Sheriff Tate.
(SIGHING)
What is it, Heck?
Bob Ewell's
lying on the ground,
under that tree down yonder
with a kitchen knife
stuck up under his ribs.
He's dead, Mr. Finch.
You sure?
Yes, sir.
He's not gonna bother
these children anymore.
Miss Scout,
do you think you could
tell us what happened?
I don't know.
All of a sudden
somebody grabbed me,
knocked me down on the ground.
Jem found me then.
Then Mr. Ewell, I reckon,
grabbed him again,
and Jem hollered.
Then somebody grabbed me.
Mr. Ewell, I guess.
Somebody grabbed him.
Then I heard someone
panting and coughing.
And I saw someone
carrying Jem.
Who was it?
There he is, Mr. Tate.
He'll tell you his name.
Hey, Boo.
ATTICUS:
Miss Jean Louise,
Mr. Arthur Radley.
I believe
he already knows you.
Heck, let's go out
on the front porch.
Would you like to say
good night to Jem,
Mr. Arthur?
You can pet him, Mr. Arthur.
He's asleep.
You couldn't if he
was awake, though.
He wouldn't let you.
Go ahead.
SCOUT: Come sit in
the swing, Mr. Arthur.
(MUTTERING)
I guess that
the thing to do is...
Good Lord,
I must be losing my memory.
I can't remember
whether Jem is 12 or 13.
Anyway, it'll have to come
before the County court.
Of course,
it is a clear-cut case
of self-defense.
I'll run down
to the office...
Mr. Finch,
do you think
Jem killed Bob Ewell?
Is that what you think?
Your boy never
stabbed him.
Bob Ewell fell
on his knife.
He killed himself.
There's a black man
dead for no reason
and now the man responsible
for it is dead.
Let the dead bury
the dead this time,
Mr. Finch.
I never heard tell
it was against the law
for any citizen
to do his utmost
to prevent a crime
from being committed,
which is exactly
what he did.
But maybe you'll tell
me that it's my duty
to tell the town
all about it,
not to hush it up.
You know what
will happen then.
All the ladies in Maycomb,
including my wife,
will be knocking on his door
bringing angel food cakes.
To my way of thinking,
taking the one man
who's done you and
this town a big service
and dragging him,
with his shy ways,
into the limelight,
to me, that's a sin.
It's a sin
and I'm not about
to have it on my head.
I may not be much,
Mr. Finch,
but I'm still
Sheriff of Maycomb County
and Bob Ewell
fell on his knife.
Good night, sir.
(CAR ENGINE STARTING)
Mr. Tate was right.
What do you mean?
It would be sort
of like shooting
a mockingbird, wouldn't it?
Thank you, Arthur.
Thank you
for my children.
JEAN LOUISE:
Neighbors bring
food with death
and flowers with sickness,
and little things in between.
Boo was our neighbor.
He gave us two soap dolls,
a broken watch and chain,
a knife
and our lives.
One time, Atticus said
you never really knew a man
until you stood in his shoes
and walked around in them.
Just standing on
the Radley porch
was enough.
The summer that had begun
so long ago had ended
and another summer
had taken its place,
and a fall,
and Boo Radley had come out.
I was to think of
these days many times,
of Jem and Dill and Boo Radley
and Tom Robinson
and Atticus.
He would be in
Jem's room all night.
And he would be there
when Jem waked up
in the morning.
(SCOUT SIGHING)
(SCOUT CONTINUES HUMMING)
(TICKING)
SCOUT: Bing!
(SCOUT GIGGLING)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
JEAN LOUISE:
Maycomb was a tired old town
even in 1932 when
I first knew it.
Somehow, it was hotter then.
Men's stiff collars wilted
by 9:00 in the morning.
Ladies bathed before noon,
after their 3:00 naps
and by nightfall
were like soft teacakes
with frostings of sweat
and sweet talcum.
A day was 24 hours long,
but it seemed longer.
There was no hurry,
for there was nowhere
to go and nothing to buy
and no money to buy it with.
Although Maycomb County
had recently been told
that it had nothing to
fear but fear itself.
That summer I was 6 years old.
Good morning,
Mr. Cunningham.
Good morning, miss.
My daddy's
getting dressed.
Would you like me
to call him for you?
No, miss,
I don't care to bother.
Why, it's no bother,
Mr. Cunningham.
He'll be happy
to see you.
Atticus.
Atticus!
Here's Mr. Cunningham.
Good morning, Walter.
CUNNINGHAM: Good morning,
Mr. Finch.
I didn't want to
bother you none.
I brought you
these hickory nuts
as part of my entailment.
Thank you.
The collards we had
last week were delicious.
Well, morning.
Morning, Walter.
Scout, I think
maybe next time
Mr. Cunningham comes,
you'd better not call me.
I thought you'd
want to thank him.
Oh, I do.
But I think
it embarrasses him
to be thanked.
Why does he bring you
all this stuff?
He is paying me
for some legal work
I did for him.
Why is he paying
you like this?
That's the only
way he can.
He has no money.
Is he poor?
Yes.
Are we poor?
We are, indeed.
Are we as poor as
the Cunninghams?
No, not exactly.
The Cunninghams
are country folks,
farmers.
The Crash hit them
the hardest.
Scout,
call your brother.
SCOUT: Atticus,
Jem's up in the tree.
He says he won't come
down until you agree
to play football
for the Methodists.
Jem?
Son, why don't
you come on down
out of there now
and have your breakfast?
Calpurnia has a good one.
Hot biscuits.
JEM: No, sir.
Not until you agree
to play football
for the Methodists.
Son, I can't do that.
I explained to you,
I'm too old to get
out there.
After all,
I'm the only
father you have.
You wouldn't want me
to go and get my head
knocked off, would you?
I ain't coming down.
Suit yourself.
MAUDIE: Morning.
Good morning,
Miss Maudie.
What's going on
over there?
I'm having
a terrible time,
Miss Maudie.
Jem's staying
up in the tree
until Atticus agrees
to play football for
the Methodists
and Atticus says
he's too old.
Every time I want
him to do something,
he's too old.
He's too old
for anything.
MAUDIE:
He can do plenty of things.
You be good, children.
Mind Cal.
Good morning, Maudie.
Good morning, Atticus.
(CHURCH BELL RINGING)
He won't let me have a gun
and he'll only play
touch football with me,
never tackle.
He can make somebody's
will so airtight you
can't break it.
You count your blessings
and stop complaining,
both of you.
Thank your stars
he has the sense
to act his age.
Jem, he is pretty old.
I can't help that.
Hey.
Hey, yourself.
I'm Charles Baker Harris.
I can read.
You got anything
that needs reading,
I can do it.
How old are you?
Four-and-a-half?
Going on seven.
No wonder, then.
Scout's been reading
since she was born,
and she don't start
school till next month.
You look right puny
for going on seven.
I'm little, but I'm old.
Folks call me Dill.
I'm from Meridian,
Mississippi
and I'm spending
two weeks next door
with my aunt Stephanie.
My mama worked
for a photographer
in Meridian.
She entered my picture
in the Beautiful Child
contest and won $5 on it.
She gave the money to me
and I went to
the picture show
20 times with it.
Our mama's dead but
we've got a daddy.
Where's your daddy?
I haven't got one.
Is he dead?
DILL: No.
Well...
Well, if he's not dead,
you've got one,
haven't you?
(DOOR OPENING)
Hush, Scout.
(WHISPERING)
What did I do?
What did I do?
Uh, Dill,
this is Calpurnia.
Pleased to know you,
Dill.
DILL: Pleased to know you.
My daddy owns
the L and N Railroad.
He's going to let
me run the engine
all the way to New Orleans.
Is that so?
DILL: He says I can
invite anybody...
Shh.
There goes the meanest
man that ever took
a breath of life.
Why is he
the meanest man?
Well, for one thing,
he has a boy named Boo
that he keeps
chained to a bed in
the house over yonder.
Come on.
See, he lives
over there.
Boo only comes
out at night
when you're asleep
and it's pitch dark.
When you wake up at night,
you can hear him.
Once I heard him
scratching on
our screen door
but he was gone
by the time
Atticus got there.
I wonder what
he does in there.
SCOUT:
I wonder what he looks like.
Well,
judging from his tracks,
he's about 6'6" tall.
He eats raw squirrels
and all the cats
he can catch.
There's a long, jagged scar
that runs all the way
across his face.
His teeth are
yellow and rotten.
His eyes are popped,
and he drools most
of the time.
Oh, I don't believe you.
Dill, what are you
doing here?
My Lord, Aunt Stephanie!
You almost gave me
a heart attack.
Dill, I don't want
you playing around
that house over there.
There's a maniac
lives there and
he's dangerous.
See?
I was just trying
to warn him about Boo.
He wouldn't believe me.
You'd just better
believe him,
Mr. Dill Harris.
Tell him about
the time Boo tried
to kill his papa.
I was standing
in my yard one day
when his mama
come out yelling,
"He's killing us all."
Turned out that
Boo was sitting
in the living room
cutting up the paper
for his scrapbook,
and when his daddy
come by,
he reached over
with his scissors,
stabbed him in his leg,
pulled them out
and went right on
cutting the paper.
They wanted to send
him to an asylum.
But his daddy said,
"No Radley is going
to any asylum."
So they locked him
up in the basement
of the courthouse
till he nearly
died of the damp,
and his daddy
brought him back home.
There he is, to this day,
sitting over there
with his scissors.
Lord knows what
he's doing or thinking.
Six, seven, eight,
nine, ten.
(CHURCH BELLS RINGING)
Come on, Scout.
It's 5:00.
Where are you going?
Time to meet Atticus.
Why do you call
your daddy Atticus?
Because Jem does.
But why does he?
I don't know.
He just started to ever
since he began talking.
(WHISPERING)
Wait, stop.
Mrs. Dubose is
on her porch.
Listen, no matter
what she says to you,
don't answer her back.
There's a Confederate
pistol in her lap
under her shawl
and she'll kill you as
quick as look at you.
Come on.
(DOG BARKING)
Hey, Mrs. Dubose.
Don't you say "hey"
to me, you ugly girl.
You say, "Good afternoon,
Mrs. Dubose."
You come over here
when I'm talking to you.
You come over here...
SCOUT: Hey, Atticus.
MRS. DUBOSE:
You listen to me...
Atticus, this is Dill.
How do you do, Dill?
MRS. DUBOSE:
Don't your daddy teach you
to respect old people?
You come back here,
Jean Louise Finch!
Good afternoon,
Mrs. Dubose.
My!
You look like a picture
this afternoon.
He don't say
a picture of what.
My goodness gracious,
look at your flowers.
Have you ever
seen anything
more beautiful?
Mrs. Dubose,
the gardens
at Bellingrath
have nothing to compare
with your flowers.
I don't think they're
as nice as last year.
ATTICUS:
I can't agree with you.
He gets her interested
in something nice
so she forgets
being mean.
I think your yard
is going to be the
showplace of this town.
Well...
Grand seeing you,
Mrs. Dubose.
(CHILDREN MUTTERING)
"I had two cats
"which I brought ashore
"on my first raft.
"And I had a dog."
(CRICKETS CHIRPING)
Atticus, do you think
Boo Radley ever really
comes and looks in
my window at night?
Jem says he does.
This afternoon
when we were over
by their house...
Scout.
I told you and Jem
to leave those
poor people alone.
I want you to stay
away from their house
and stop tormenting them.
Yes, sir.
I think that's all
the reading for tonight,
honey. It's getting late.
What time is it?
8:30.
May I see your watch?
"To Atticus,
my beloved husband."
Atticus, Jem says
this watch is going to
belong to him someday.
That's right.
Why?
Well,
it's customary for the boy
to have his father's watch.
What are you going
to give me?
I don't know that I have
much else of value that
belongs to me.
But there's
a pearl necklace,
there's a ring that
belonged to your mother.
And I've put them away,
and they're to be yours.
Good night, Scout.
Good night.
Good night, Jem.
JEM: Good night.
Jem?
JEM: Yeah.
How old was I
when Mama died?
Two.
And how old were you?
Six.
As old as I am now?
Mmm-hmm.
Was Mama pretty?
Mmm-hmm.
SCOUT: Was Mama nice?
JEM: Mmm-hmm.
Did you love her?
Yeah.
Did I love her?
Yeah.
Do you miss her?
Mmm-hmm
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
JUDGE: Evening, Atticus.
Good evening, Judge.
Rather warm, isn't it?
Yes, indeed.
How's Mrs. Taylor?
She's fine, thank you.
Atticus, you've heard
about Tom Robinson?
Yes, sir.
Grand jury will get around
to charging him tomorrow.
I was thinking
about appointing
you to take his case.
I realize you're
very busy these days
with your practice
and your children need
a great deal of your time.
Yes, sir.
I'll take the case.
I'll send a boy
over for you tomorrow,
when his hearing comes up.
Well, uh,
I'll see you tomorrow,
Atticus.
Yes, sir.
And thank you.
Yes, sir.
Hey, Jem.
I bet you a Gray Ghost
against two Tom Swifts
you wouldn't go
any farther than
Boo Radley's gate.
(EXCLAIMS)
You're scared to,
ain't you?
I ain't scared.
I go past Boo Radley's
house nearly every
day of my life.
Always running.
You hush up, Scout.
Come on, Dill.
Me first!
You gotta let
Dill be first.
No, me.
DILL: Let her be first.
All right, get in.
Hurry up.
All right.
JEM: You ready?
Uh-huh. Let her go.
Scout!
Scout, get away from there!
Scout, come on!
Scout, don't just
lie there. Get up!
Come on, Scout.
Run for your life, Scout!
Come on, Dill.
(PANTING)
Now who's a coward?
You tell them about this
back in Meridian County,
Mr. Dill Harris.
I'll tell you
what let's do.
Let's go down
to the courthouse
and see the room
they locked Boo up in.
My aunt says
it's bat-infested,
and he nearly died
from the mildew.
Come on,
I bet they've got chains
and instruments of
torture down there.
Come on.
Young Finch.
Yes, sir.
If you're looking
for your daddy,
he's inside
the courthouse.
Thank you, sir,
but we're not
looking for...
Thank you,
Mr. Townsend, sir.
What is your daddy doing
in the courthouse?
He's a lawyer
and he has a case.
The grand jury
is charging
his client today.
I heard something about
it last night when
Judge Taylor came over.
Let's go watch.
No, Dill.
He wouldn't like that.
Dill!
JEM: (WHISPERING)
Dill, wait a minute.
(JEM HUSHING)
Is that the courtroom?
(WHISPERING) Yeah.
Shh.
DILL:
I can't see anything.
Shh.
You all lift me
up so I can see
what's going on.
All right.
Make a saddle, Scout.
Not much is happening.
The judge looks
like he's asleep.
I see your daddy
and a colored man.
The colored man...
Shh.
The colored man looks
to me like he's crying.
MAN: And I've seen him...
I wonder what he's
done to cry about.
What's going on?
There's a whole
lot of men sitting
together on one side
and one man keeps pointing
at the colored man
and yelling.
They're taking
the colored man away.
Where's Atticus?
DILL: I can't see
your daddy now, either.
I wonder where
in the world...
Scout, Jem.
What in the world
are you doing here?
Hello, Atticus.
What are you
doing here?
We came down to find
out where Boo Radley
was locked up.
We wanted to
see the bats.
I want you all
back home right away.
Yes, sir.
Run along, now.
I'll see you there
for dinner.
(PEOPLE CONVERSING)
Hey, Atticus.
Mr. Ewell.
Captain, I'm real sorry
they picked you
to defend that nigger
that raped my Mayella.
I don't know why
I didn't kill him myself
instead of going
to the sheriff.
That would've saved
you and the sheriff
and the taxpayers
lots of trouble.
Excuse me, Mr. Ewell,
I'm very busy.
Hey, captain,
somebody told me
just now that
they thought that you
believed Tom Robinson's
story against ours.
And you know
what I said?
(CHUCKLING)
I said,
"You're wrong, man.
You're dead wrong.
"Mr. Finch ain't taking
his story against ours."
They was wrong,
wasn't they?
I've been appointed
to defend Tom Robinson.
And now that
he's been charged,
that's what I intend to do.
You're taking his...
If you'll excuse me,
Mr. Ewell.
What kind of man are you?
You've got children
of your own.
DILL: (WHISPERING)
Hey, Jem.
Jem?
I think we ought
to stay right here in
Miss Stephanie's yard.
You don't have
to come along,
Angel Mae.
SCOUT:
What are you going to do?
We're going to
look in the window
at the Radley house
and see if we can get
a look at Boo Radley.
Come on, Dill.
Jem, please,
I'm scared.
Then go home
if you're scared!
I swear, Scout,
you act more like
a girl all the time.
Come on, Dill.
Wait for me.
I'm coming.
Shh.
We'll go around back,
crawl under the high wire
fence at the rear of
the Radley lot.
I don't believe we can
be seen from there.
(SWING BANGING)
Shh.
(CREAKING)
(WIND BLOWING)
(WHISPERING) Come on.
Come on.
Come on, help me.
Shh.
Don't make a sound.
(GATE CREAKS)
Spit on it.
All right.
(CREAKING)
SCOUT: Jem...
Shh.
Spit some more.
All right.
Come on.
(STEPS CREAKING)
(PLATFORM CREAKING)
(EXCLAIMS)
(GASPS)
Hurry.
(JEM GRUNTING)
Hurry.
(GRUNTING)
Scout.
(DOG BARKING)
(WHISPERING) Quick.
Come over here.
(ALL PANTING)
(COUGHING)
Shh. Shh. Quiet.
(GASPING)
What are you going
to do for pants, Jem?
I don't know.
(DOOR OPENING)
STEPHANIE: Dill?
Dill!
You come on in, now.
Shh.
(WHISPERING)
I'd better go.
Dill?
Coming, Aunt Stephanie.
(DOOR CLOSING)
So long.
I'll see you next summer.
So long.
So long.
STEPHANIE: Dill?
I'm coming.
I'm going back
after my pants.
Please, Jem,
come on in the house.
I can't go in
without my pants.
Then I'm going
to call Atticus.
No, you're not.
Now, listen. Atticus
ain't never whipped me
since I can remember
and I plan to
keep it that way.
Then I'm going with you.
You ain't.
You stay right here.
I'll be back before
you can count to 10.
Jem.
(CRICKETS CHIRPING)
One, two,
three, four...
ATTICUS: Jem.
Scout. Come on in.
Five, six, seven,
eight, nine, ten,
eleven, twelve,
thirteen, fourteen.
(GUN FIRING)
(DOG BARKING)
Jem.
Shh.
(DOOR OPENS)
Shh.
(DOGS BARKING)
STEPHANIE: What was that?
What is it? What happened?
What's going on?
What is it?
Atticus, what is it?
Will somebody
please tell me
what's going on?
Mr. Radley shot
at a prowler out
in his collard patch.
A prowler? Oh, Maudie!
Whoever it was won't
be back anytime soon.
Mr. Radley
must've scared them
out of their wits.
Good night.
Good night.
Good night, Atticus.
(SIGHING) Scared the living
daylights out of me.
I swear, a prowler.
He said a prowler.
ATTICUS: Come on, now.
The excitement is over.
Time for bed.
Scout, Jem.
MAUDIE: Morning.
Good morning, Miss Maudie.
Morning, Calpurnia.
I came to see
Jean Louise ready for
her first day at school.
CALPURNIA: Scout.
Morning, Mrs. Maudie.
All ready for school?
Yes, ma'am.
Scout!
What are you going
to do with yourself
this morning
with both children
at school?
I don't know,
and that's the truth.
I was thinking
about that just now.
Scout?
Scout? Scout!
Did you hear me, Scout?
Now, hurry.
(CHUCKLING)
Hey, everybody,
look at Scout.
Shh.
Come on in here, Scout.
(CONTINUES GIGGLING)
Have your breakfast.
I think your dress is
mighty becoming, honey.
CALPURNIA:
Now don't go tugging
at that dress, Scout.
You want to have it
all wrinkled before
you even get to school?
I still don't see
why I have to wear
a darn old dress.
(CHUCKLING)
You'll get used to it.
I'm ready.
Oh, Jem.
Jem...
It's half an hour
before school starts.
Sit back down and
wait for your sister.
Well, hurry up, Scout.
I'm trying to.
JEM: Come on.
It's your first day.
You want to be late?
I'm ready.
JEM: Come on, let's go.
Bye.
Bye, bye.
(CHUCKLING)
(STUDENTS WHOOPING)
Darn you,
Walter Cunningham!
(STUDENTS SHOUTING)
STUDENTS: Come on, Walter!
Cut that out!
What do you think
you're doing?
(GRUNTING)
He made me start off
on the wrong foot!
I was trying to
explain to that
darn lady teacher
why he didn't have
no money for his lunch
and she got sore at me.
(GRUNTING)
Stop it! Stop it!
Is your daddy
Mr. Walter Cunningham
from Old Sarum?
Come home and have
dinner with us, Walter.
We'd be glad to have you.
Our daddy's a friend
of your daddy's.
Scout here is crazy.
She won't fight you
no more.
ATTICUS: I hope that's
a dinner that you enjoy.
Yes, sir. I don't know
when I've had a roast.
We've been
having squirrels
and rabbits lately.
My pa and I go hunting
in our spare time.
You've got a gun
of your own?
WALTER: Uh-huh.
JEM:
How long have you had a gun?
A year or so.
Can I have the syrup,
please?
Certainly, son.
Cal. Will you bring in
the syrup dish, please?
Yes, sir.
How old were you when
you got your first gun,
Atticus?
Thirteen or fourteen.
I remember when my daddy
gave me that gun.
He told me that I
should never point at
anything in the house.
And that he'd rather
I'd shoot at tin cans
in the backyard.
But he said
that sooner or later
he'd suppose the temptation
to go after birds
would be too much.
That I could shoot all
the blue jays I wanted
if I could hit them.
But to remember it was a sin
to kill a mockingbird.
Why?
ATTICUS:
I reckon because mockingbirds
don't do anything but
make music for us to enjoy.
They don't eat
people's gardens,
don't nest in the corncribs.
They don't do one thing,
but just sing their
hearts out for us.
How did you like school,
Scout?
All right.
Thank you, Cal.
That's for Walter.
What in the Sam Hill
are you doing...
(ATTICUS TAPPING)
But, Atticus,
he's gone and drowned
his dinner in syrup
and now he's pouring it
all over.
CALPURNIA: Scout.
What?
Come out here.
I want to talk to you.
That boy is your company
and if he wants to
eat up that tablecloth,
you'll let him, you hear?
And if you can't act
fit to eat like folks,
you can just sit here
and eat in the kitchen.
ATTICUS: Scout.
Scout.
Scout, what in the world
has got into you?
(CRYING) Not going back.
Now, now.
Not going back.
(SNIFFLING)
Atticus, I'm not going
back to school anymore.
Scout,
it's just the first day.
I don't care.
Everything went wrong.
My teacher got mad
as the devil at me
and said you were teaching
me to read all wrong,
and to stop it.
Then acted like a fool
and tried to give
Walter Cunningham a quarter
when everybody knows
Cunninghams won't take
nothing from nobody.
Any fool could have
told her that.
Well...
Maybe she's just nervous.
After all,
it's her first day, too,
teaching school
and being new here.
(WHINING) Oh, Atticus.
Now, wait a minute.
If you just learn
a single trick, Scout,
you'll get along
a lot better with
all kinds of folks.
You never really
understand a person
until you consider things
from his point of view.
Sir?
Until you climb
inside of his skin
and walk around in it.
But if I keep going
to school, we can't
ever read anymore.
Scout?
Do you know what
a compromise is?
Bending the law?
Uh...
No. It's an agreement
reached by mutual consent.
Here is the way it works.
You concede the necessity
of going to school
and we'll keep
right on reading
the same every night,
just as we always have.
Is that a bargain?
JEAN LOUISE:
There just didn't seem
to be anyone or anything
Atticus couldn't explain.
Though it wasn't a talent
that would arouse
the admiration of
any of our friends,
Jem and I had to admit
he was very good at that.
But that was all
he was good at,
we thought.
(DOG GROWLING)
See, there he is!
Scout, Jem,
come on inside.
Come on, get in.
Mr. Finch? This is Cal.
I swear to God,
there's a mad dog
down the street apiece.
He's coming this way.
(CAR APPROACHING)
There he is.
(CAR ENGINE RUNNING)
He's got it all right,
Mr. Finch.
Stay inside, Son.
Keep him in there, Cal.
(GUN CLICKS)
He's within range, Heck.
(DOG CONTINUES GROWLING)
Take him, Mr. Finch.
No, Mr. Tate.
He can't shoot.
Don't waste time.
For God's sake,
Mr. Finch,
he's got to be
killed right away,
before he starts running.
Look where he is.
I can't shoot that well.
You know it.
ATTICUS: I haven't
shot a gun in years.
I'd feel mighty comfortable
if you did now.
(DOG CONTINUES GROWLING)
(DOG BARKING)
Don't go near that dog,
do you understand?
He's just as dangerous
dead as alive.
Yes, sir.
Atticus?
Yes, Son.
Nothing.
What's the matter, boy?
Can't you talk?
Didn't you know
your daddy is the
best shot in this county?
Hush, Heck.
Let's get back to town.
Remember,
don't go near that dog.
Yes, sir.
I'll send Zeebo out
right away to pick him up.
Hey, Atticus.
Can we go with you?
Can we, please?
Can we?
No. I have to go to
the country on business,
and you'll just get tired.
No, not me.
I won't get tired.
Promise to stay in the car
while I go in and talk
to Helen Robinson?
Mmm-hmm.
And not nag me
about leaving if
you do get tired?
All right, climb in.
Who's Helen Robinson?
She's the wife of
the man I'm defending.
Good evening, David.
Evening.
Evening, Helen.
Evening, Mr. Finch.
I came over
to tell you about
my visit with Tom.
Yes, sir.
And to let you know
that I got a postponement
of the trial.
Give things a chance
to cool down.
Would you tell my daddy
to come out here, please?
(DOOR OPENS)
You nigger lover.
No need to be afraid of him,
Son. He's all bluff.
(ENGINE STARTING)
EWELL: Nigger lover!
There's a lot
of ugly things
in this world, Son.
I wish I could keep
them all away from you.
That's never possible.
Cal, you wait until
I get Scout in bed.
I'll drive you home.
Yes, sir.
Jem, would you mind
staying here with Scout
till I get Cal home?
No, sir.
Night, Jem.
Night, Cal.
(ENGINE STARTING)
(LEAVES RUSTLING)
(ANIMAL SCREECHING)
Atticus! Atticus!
Atticus!
(ANIMAL SCREECHING)
(SWING BANGING)
(SWING CREAKING)
(ANIMAL SCREECHING)
(SWING CREAKING)
(ANIMAL SCREECHING)
JEAN LOUISE:
Atticus had promised me
he would wear me out
if he ever heard of
me fighting anymore.
I was far too old and too big
for such childish things
and the sooner
I learned to hold in,
the better off
everybody would be.
I soon forgot.
Cecil Jacobs made me forget.
What is it, Scout?
Atticus,
do you defend niggers?
Don't say "nigger," Scout.
I didn't say it.
Cecil Jacobs did.
That's why
I had to fight him.
Scout,
I don't want you fighting.
I had to, Atticus, he...
I don't care what
the reasons are.
I forbid you to fight.
Yes, sir.
Anyway, I'm simply
defending a Negro,
Tom Robinson.
Scout,
there are some things
that you're not old enough
to understand just yet.
There's been some
high talk around town
to the effect that
I shouldn't do much
about defending this man.
If you shouldn't
be defending him,
then why are you doing it?
For a number of reasons.
The main one is
that if I didn't,
I couldn't hold
my head up in town.
I couldn't even
tell you or Jem not
to do something again.
Oh, Scout.
You're going to
hear some ugly talk
about this in school.
But I want you to
promise me one thing,
that you won't get
into fights over it,
no matter what
they say to you.
Yes, sir.
What're you doing?
I'm walking
like an Egyptian.
We were studying
about them in school.
Teacher says
we wouldn't be
no place without them.
Is that so?
Cradle of civilization.
They invented embalming
and toilet paper.
That's wrong, Scout.
You dig your feet,
this way.
Look, Jem.
Look, the boy wore
his hair in front of
his eyebrows like you do.
JEM: And the girl
wears bangs like you.
(WHISPERING) These are us.
(CLATTERING)
Jem, are you awake?
(WHISPERING)
Go back to bed.
I can't go to sleep.
Go back to bed.
What you got in the box?
Nothing. Go back to bed.
SCOUT: Come on.
If I show you, will you swear
never to tell anybody?
I swear.
Cross your heart.
(WATCH TICKING)
I found all of these
in the knothole
of that old tree
at different times.
This is a spelling medal.
They used to
award these in school
to spelling winners
before we were born.
And another time
I found this.
(TICKING)
And this.
And Scout...
Something else
I never told you about
that night I went back
to the Radley house.
Something else?
You never told me
anything about that night.
Well...
You know the first
time I was getting
out of my britches?
Uh-huh.
They was all in a tangle,
and I couldn't get them loose.
Well,
when I went back though,
they were folded
across the fence,
sort of like they
was expecting me.
JEAN LOUISE:
It was to be a long time
before Jem and I
talked about Boo again.
School finally ended
and summer came
and so did Dill.
Good morning.
My, you're up
mighty bright and early.
I've been up since 4:00.
CALPURNIA: 4:00?
Yes. I always get up at 4:00.
It's in my blood.
You see,
my daddy was a railroad man
until he got rich.
Now he flies airplanes.
One of these days,
he's just going to swoop
down here at Maycomb,
pick me up,
and take me for a ride.
Who's that in the car
with Sheriff Tate?
Tom Robinson, Son.
Where's he been?
In the Abbotsville jail.
Why?
The sheriff thought
he'd be safer there.
They're bringing him
back here tonight,
because his trial
is tomorrow.
(CRICKETS CHIRPING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Good evening, Heck.
Evening, Mr. Finch.
Come in.
The news has gotten
around the county
about my bringing
Tom Robinson back
to the jail.
I heard there might be
trouble from that bunch
out at Old Sarum.
Cal, if I need you
to stay here tonight,
can you do it?
Yes, sir, I can.
Thank you.
(CUTLERY RATTLING)
I think you'd better
count on staying.
Yes, sir.
(DOOR CLOSING)
(CAR DRIVING AWAY)
What's going on?
Shh. Go back to sleep.
What's going on?
Shh.
JEM: Hey, there's his car.
See, there he is,
over there.
No, Scout, don't go to him.
He might not like it.
I just wanted
to see where he was
and what he was up to.
He's all right.
Let's go back home.
Come on.
(CARS APPROACHING)
(BRAKES SQUEALING)
He in there, Mr. Finch?
He is. He's asleep.
Don't wake him.
You know what we want.
Get aside from that door,
Mr. Finch.
Walter,
I think you ought
to turn right around
and go back home.
Heck Tate's
around here somewhere.
KELLEY: No, he ain't.
Heck and his bunch is out
chasing around Old Sarum
looking for us.
TEX: We knew he was
so we came in this other way.
KELLEY: You ain't never
thought about that,
had you, Mr. Finch?
ATTICUS: I thought about it.
I can't see Atticus.
ATTICUS:
That changes things...
SCOUT: Atticus!
Hey, Atticus.
Jem, go home,
and take Scout and
Dill home with you.
Son, I said, go home.
No, sir.
I'll send him home!
SCOUT: Don't you touch him.
Let him go!
ATTICUS:
That'll do, Scout.
Ain't nobody gonna
do Jem that way.
Now, you get them
out of here, Mr. Finch!
Jem, I want you
to please leave.
No, sir.
Jem.
I tell you,
I ain't going.
Hey, Mr. Cunningham.
I said, hey,
Mr. Cunningham.
How's your entailment
getting along?
Don't you remember me,
Mr. Cunningham?
I'm Jean Louise Finch.
You brought us
some hickory nuts one
early morning, remember?
We had a talk.
I went and got my daddy
to come out and thank you.
I go to school with your boy.
I go to school with Walter.
He's a nice boy.
Tell him "hey" for me,
won't you?
You know something,
Mr. Cunningham?
Entailments are bad.
Entailments...
(COUGHING)
Atticus, I was just
saying to Mr. Cunningham
that entailments were bad
but not to worry.
Takes a long time sometimes.
What's the matter?
I sure meant no harm,
Mr. Cunningham.
No harm taken, young lady.
I'll tell Walter
you said "hey."
Let's clear out of here.
Let's go, boys.
(CAR ENGINES STARTING)
Now, you go home.
All of you.
I'll be there later.
Good luck.
Come on.
TOM: (WHISPERING)
Mr. Finch, are they gone?
They've gone.
They won't bother
you anymore.
(HORSE NEIGHING)
JEM: Morning, Mr. Sykes.
How do you do?
Ever see so many people?
Just like on Saturday.
Where you going?
I can't stand it any longer.
I'm going downtown
to the courthouse to watch.
You'd better not.
You know what
Atticus said.
I don't care if he did.
I'm not going to miss
the most exciting thing
that ever happened
in this town.
(CARRIAGES RUMBLING)
It's packed solid.
They're standing
all along the back.
Reverend.
Yes?
Reverend Sykes,
are you going upstairs?
Yes, I am.
(PEOPLE CONVERSING)
Thanks, Brother Jones,
for holding my seat.
Please be seated.
Come on, children.
It's the Rev.
(CHILD CRYING)
CLERK:
This court is now in session.
Everybody rise.
(GAVEL POUNDING)
TATE:
On the night of August 21,
I was just leaving my office
to go home when Bob...
Mr. Ewell came in.
Very excited, he was,
and he said to get to his
house as quick as I could,
that his girl
had been raped.
I got to my car
and went out there
as fast as I could.
She was pretty well
beat up.
I asked her
if Tom Robinson
beat her like that.
She said, "Yes, he had."
I asked if he'd
taken advantage of her.
She said, "Yes, he did."
That's all there was to it.
GILMER: Thank you.
ATTICUS: Did anybody
call a doctor, Sheriff?
No, sir.
Why not?
I didn't think
it was necessary.
She was pretty well beat up.
Something sure happened,
it was obvious.
Sheriff, you say she
was mighty beat up.
In what way?
She was beaten
around the head.
There were bruises
already coming on her arms.
She had a black eye
starting.
Which eye?
Let's see,
it was her left.
Now, was that...
Was that her left,
facing you, or looking
the way that you were?
Yes, that would make it
her right eye.
It was her right eye,
Mr. Finch. Now I remember.
She was beaten up on
that side of her face.
Which side, again?
Her right side.
She had bruises
on her arms.
And she showed me
her neck.
There were definite
finger marks on
her gullet.
All around
her neck,
at the back
of her throat?
I'd say they were
all around.
JUDGE:
The witness may be seated.
CLERK: Robert E. Lee Ewell.
Place your hand
on the Bible, please.
Do you solemnly swear
to tell the truth,
the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?
I do.
Sit down, please.
Now, Mr. Ewell,
will you tell us,
just in your own words,
what happened on August 21?
Late that night,
I was coming in
from the woods,
with a load of kindling
and I heard
Mayella screaming
as I got to the fence.
So, I dropped my kindling
and run just as fast
as I could,
but I run into the fence.
But when I got loose,
I run up to the window,
and I seen him with
my Mayella.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
(GAVEL POUNDING)
What did you do after
you saw the defendant?
I ran around the house
trying to get in,
but he done run
through the front door,
just ahead of me.
But I seen who it was,
all right.
I seen him!
And I run in the house
and poor Mayella was
lying on the floor,
squalling.
Then I run for Mr. Tate
as quick as I could.
Mmm-hmm.
Thank you, Mr. Ewell.
(PEOPLE LAUGHING)
(LAUGHING)
Would you mind if I just
ask you a few questions,
Mr. Ewell?
No, sir, Mr. Finch,
I sure wouldn't.
Folks were doing a lot
of running that night.
Let's see, now.
You say that you
ran into the house,
you ran to the window,
you ran inside,
you ran to Mayella,
and you ran to Sheriff Tate.
Did you,
during all this running,
run for a doctor?
There wasn't no need to.
I seen who done it.
Now, Mr. Ewell,
you've heard the
sheriff's testimony.
Do you agree
with his description
of Mayella's injuries?
I agree with everything
Mr. Tate said.
Her eye was blacked.
She was mighty beat up.
Mr. Ewell, can you...
Can you read and write?
Yes, Mr. Finch.
I can read and I can write.
Good.
Then will you write
your name, please?
Right there. Show us.
(CROWD MURMURING)
Now what's
so interesting?
You're left-handed,
Mr. Ewell.
What's that got to
do with it, Judge?
I'm a God-fearing man.
That Atticus Finch,
he's trying to take
advantage of me.
You've got to
watch tricky lawyers
like Atticus Finch.
Quiet, sir.
The witness may
take his seat.
CLERK: Mayella Violet Ewell.
Put your hand on
the Bible, please.
Solemnly swear
to tell the truth,
the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?
Sit down, please.
GILMER: Now, Mayella,
suppose you tell us
just what happened, huh?
Well, sir...
(CLEARS THROAT)
Sir,
I was sitting on the porch
and he come along.
There was this old
chifforobe in the yard
and I said,
"You come in here, boy,
and bust up this chifforobe
and I'll give you a nickel."
So, he come on in the yard
and I go in the house
to get him the nickel.
And I turn around,
and before I know it
he's on me.
I fought and hollered,
but he had me around the neck
and he hit me
again and again.
And the next thing I knew,
Papa was in the room,
standing over me, hollering,
"Who done it?"
Thank you, Mayella.
Your witness, Atticus.
Miss Mayella,
is your father good to you?
I mean, is he easy
to get along with?
Does tolerable.
Except when
he's drinking?
(CHURCH BELL RINGING)
When he's riled,
has he ever beaten you?
My pa's never touched
a hair on my head
in my life.
You say that you asked Tom
to come in and chop up a...
What was it?
A chifforobe.
Was that the first time
that you ever asked him
to come inside the fence?
Yes.
Didn't you ever ask
him to come inside
the fence before?
I might have.
But can you remember
any other occasion?
No.
You say,
"He caught me,
he choked me,
"and took advantage of me,"
is that right?
Do you remember him
beating you about the face?
No, I don't
recollect if he hit me.
(STAMMERING)
I mean, yes, he hit me!
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
Thank you.
Will you identify
the man who beat you?
Most certainly will.
Sitting right yonder.
Tom, will you
stand up, please?
Let Miss Mayella
have a good,
long look at you.
Tom, will you catch this,
please?
Thank you.
Now, then, this time,
will you please
catch it with
your left hand?
I can't, sir.
Why can't you?
I can't use my
left hand at all.
I got it caught
in a cotton gin
when I was 12 years old.
All my muscles
were tore loose.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
Is this the man
who raped you?
Most certainly is.
ATTICUS: How?
I don't know how.
He just done it.
You have testified
that he choked you
and he beat you.
You didn't say that
he sneaked up behind you
and knocked you out cold,
but that you turned around
and there he was.
Do you want to tell us
what really happened?
(WHIMPERING)
I've got something to say!
And then I ain't
gonna say no more!
He took advantage of me.
And if you fine,
fancy gentlemen
ain't going to do
nothing about it,
then you're just
a bunch of lousy,
yellow, stinking cowards!
The whole bunch of you!
And your fancy airs
don't come to nothing!
Your "ma'am-ing"
and your "Miss Mayella-ing,"
it don't come to nothing,
Mr. Finch!
(STUTTERING)
Sit down, there.
MAN: Poor girl.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
(GAVEL POUNDING)
Atticus?
Mr. Gilmer?
(CLEARING THROAT)
The State rests, Judge.
CLERK:
Tom Robinson, take the stand.
Put your hand on the Bible.
Do you solemnly swear
to tell the truth,
the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?
I do.
Sit down.
Now, Tom...
Were you acquainted
with Mayella Violet Ewell?
Yes, sir.
I had to pass her place
going to and from
the field every day.
Is there any other way
to go?
No, sir,
none as I know of.
And did she ever
speak to you?
Yes, sir.
I'd tip my hat
when I'd go by.
One day she asked me
to come inside the fence,
bust up a chifforobe
for her.
She gave me the hatchet
and I broke it up.
And then she said,
"I reckon I'll have to
give you a nickel, won't I?"
And I said, "No, ma'am,
there ain't no charge."
Then I went home.
Mr. Finch,
that was way last spring,
way over a year ago.
And did you ever go
on the place again?
Yes, sir.
When?
I went lots of times.
Seemed like every time
I passed by yonder,
she'd have some
little something
for me to do.
Chopping kindling and
toting water for her.
Tom,
what happened to you
on the evening of
August 21 of last year?
Mr. Finch,
I was going home as
usual that evening.
When I passed
the Ewell place,
Miss Mayella
was on the porch,
like she said she was.
She said for me
to come there and
help her a minute.
I went inside the fence
and I looked around
for some kindling
to work on,
but I didn't see nothing.
And then she said
to come in the house,
she has a door
that needs fixing.
So I follows her inside
and looked at the door
and it looked all right.
Then she shut the door.
All the time I was wondering
why it was so quiet like.
Then it come to me,
there was not
a child on the place.
And I said, "Miss Mayella,
where are the children?"
And she said they all
gone to get ice cream.
She said it took
her a slap year to
save seven nickels,
but she done it,
and they all gone to town.
What did you say then?
I said something like,
"Why, Miss Mayella,
it's right nice of
you to treat them."
And she said,
"You think so?"
Well, I said I best be going,
I couldn't do nothing for her.
And she said,
oh, yes, I could.
And I asked her, "What?"
And she said to just step
on the chair yonder
and get that box down
from on top of the chifforobe.
So I done like she told me
and I was reaching
and the next thing I know,
she grabbed me
around the legs.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
She scared me so bad,
I hopped down and
turned the chair over.
That was the only thing,
the only furniture
disturbed in the room,
Mr. Finch, I swear,
when I left it.
And what happened
after you turned
the chair over?
Tom?
You've sworn to tell
the whole truth.
Will you do it?
What happened after that?
Mr. Finch,
I got down off the chair
and I turned around
and she sort of jumped on me.
She hugged me
around the waist.
She reached up and
kissed me on the face.
She said she had never kissed
a grown man before
and she might as well kiss me.
She said for me
to kiss her back.
And I said, "Miss Mayella,
let me out of here."
And I tried to run.
Then Mr. Ewell cussed
at her from the window
and said he's going
to kill her.
(TOM SIGHING)
ATTICUS:
What happened after that?
I was running so fast,
I don't know what happened.
Tom, did you rape
Mayella Ewell?
I did not, sir.
Did you harm her
in any way?
I did not, sir.
Robinson,
you're pretty good at
busting up chifforobes
and kindling with
one hand, aren't you?
Strong enough to
choke the breath
out of a woman
and sling her to the floor?
I've never
done that, sir.
But you're strong
enough to?
I reckon so, sir.
Mmm-hmm.
How come you were
so all-fired anxious
to do that woman's chores?
Looks like she didn't have
nobody to help her.
Like I said...
With Mr. Ewell and seven
children on the place?
You did all this
chopping and work
out of sheer goodness, boy?
(SNICKERING)
You're a mighty
good fellow, it seems.
Did all that
for not one penny.
Yes, sir.
I felt right sorry for her.
She seemed...
(GILMER LAUGHING)
You felt sorry for her?
A white woman?
You felt sorry for her.
To begin with,
this case should never
have come to trial.
The State has not
produced one iota
of medical evidence
that the crime
Tom Robinson is charged with
ever took place.
It has relied instead
upon the testimony
of two witnesses
whose evidence has
not only been called
into serious question
on cross-examination,
but has been
flatly contradicted
by the defendant.
There is circumstantial
evidence to indicate
that Mayella Ewell
was beaten savagely
by someone who led,
almost exclusively,
with his left.
And Tom Robinson
now sits before you,
having taken the oath
with the only good
hand he possesses,
his right.
I have nothing
but pity in my heart
for the chief witness
for the State.
She is the victim
of cruel poverty
and ignorance.
But my pity does
not extend so far
as to her putting
a man's life at stake,
which she has done
in an effort to get
rid of her own guilt.
I say "guilt," gentlemen,
because it was guilt
that motivated her.
She's committed no crime.
She has merely broken
a rigid and time-honored
code of our society.
A code so severe,
that whoever breaks it
is hounded from our midst
as unfit to live with.
She must destroy the evidence
of her offense.
But, what was the evidence
of her offense?
Tom Robinson,
a human being.
She must put Tom Robinson
away from her.
Tom Robinson was to
her a daily reminder
of what she did.
What did she do?
She tempted a Negro.
She was white,
and she tempted a Negro.
She did something
that in our society
is unspeakable.
She kissed a black man.
Not an old uncle,
but a strong,
young Negro man.
No code mattered to her
before she broke it.
But it came crashing down
on her afterwards.
The witnesses for the State,
with the exception
of the sheriff
of Maycomb County,
have presented themselves
to you gentlemen,
to this court,
in the cynical confidence
that their testimony
would not be doubted,
confident that you gentlemen
would go along with them
on the assumption,
the evil assumption
that all Negroes lie,
all Negroes are
basically immoral beings,
all Negro men are
not to be trusted
around our women.
An assumption
that one associates
with minds of their caliber
and which is, in itself,
gentlemen, a lie
which I do not need
to point out to you.
And so,
a quiet, humble,
respectable Negro
who has had
the unmitigated temerity
to feel sorry
for a white woman
has had to put his word
against two white people's.
The defendant
is not guilty,
but somebody in
this courtroom is.
Now, gentlemen,
in this country,
our courts are
the great levelers.
In our courts,
all men are created equal.
I'm no idealist
to believe firmly
in the integrity
of our courts and
in our jury system.
That's no ideal to me.
That is a living,
working reality.
I am confident that
you gentlemen will review
without passion
the evidence
that you have heard,
come to a decision
and restore this man
to his family.
In the name of God,
do your duty.
In the name of God,
believe Tom Robinson.
How long has the jury
been out now, Reverend?
Let's see.
Almost two hours now.
I think that's
an awful good sign,
don't you?
(DOOR OPENS)
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
CLERK: Court's now in session.
Everybody rise.
Gentlemen of the jury,
have you reached a verdict?
FOREMAN: We have, Your Honor.
Will the defendant
please rise and
face the jury?
What is your verdict?
We find the defendant
guilty as charged.
Gentlemen,
this jury is dismissed.
(PEOPLE MURMURING)
CLERK: Court's adjourned.
I'll go to see Helen,
first thing tomorrow
morning.
I told her not
to be disappointed,
we'd probably lose this one.
Tom.
Yes, Mr. Finch.
Miss Jean Louise?
Stand up.
Your father's passing.
MAUDIE: Atticus.
I'm sorry, Atticus.
Thank you, Maudie.
(CAR APPROACHING)
Atticus, can I see
you for a minute?
Will you excuse me?
(INAUDIBLE)
Jem?
Yes, ma'am.
I don't know
if it'll help,
but I want to
say this to you.
There are some men
in this world
who were born to do
our unpleasant jobs for us.
Your father's one of them.
Oh, well.
What's the matter,
Atticus?
Tom Robinson is dead.
They were taking him to
Abbotsville for safekeeping.
Tom broke loose and ran.
The deputy
called out to him to stop.
Tom didn't stop.
He shot at him to wound him
and missed his aim.
Killed him.
The deputy says,
"Tom just ran
like a crazy man."
The last thing I told him
was not to lose heart,
that we'd ask for an appeal.
We had such a good chance.
We had more
than a good chance.
I have to go out
and tell his family.
Would you look after
the children, Maudie?
Atticus, you want me
to go with you?
No, Son. I think I'd
better go up there alone.
Atticus.
I'm going with you.
All right, Son.
Hello, Mr. Finch.
I'm Spence, Tom's father.
Hello, Spence.
Is Helen here?
Yes, sir.
She's inside, lying down,
trying to get a little sleep.
We've been talking
about the appeal,
Mr. Finch.
How long you think
it will take?
Spence...
There isn't going
to be any appeal.
Not now. Tom is dead.
Dead?
Helen.
(CRYING)
(HELEN SOBBING)
Boy,
go inside and
tell Atticus Finch
I said, "Come out here."
Go on, boy.
(DOOR CREAKING)
(CAR DRIVING AWAY)
JEAN LOUISE:
By October, things had
settled down again.
I still looked for Boo
every time I went by
the Radley place.
This night, my mind was
filled with Halloween.
There was to be a pageant
representing our county's
agricultural products.
I was to be a ham.
Jem said that
he would escort me
to the school auditorium.
Thus began our
longest journey together.
Scout?
SCOUT: Yeah?
Will you come on?
Everybody's gone!
I can't go home
like this!
I'm going. It's almost
10:00 and Atticus will
be waiting for us.
All right, I'm coming.
But I feel like a fool,
walking home like this.
It's not my fault
you lost your dress.
I didn't lose it.
I just can't find it.
Where are your shoes?
I can't find them, either.
You can get them tomorrow.
But tomorrow is Sunday.
You can get the janitor
to let you in. Come on.
Here, Scout, let me
hold on to you before
you break your neck.
You don't have to hold me.
Shh.
What's the matter?
Hush a minute, Scout.
(WIND BLOWING)
I thought I heard something.
Ah!
Come on.
Wait.
Are you trying
to scare me?
JEM: Shh.
You know I'm too old.
Be quiet.
(DOGS HOWLING)
I heard an old dog then.
It's not that.
I hear it when
we're walking along.
When we stop,
I don't hear it anymore.
Oh, yeah,
my costume rustling.
Halloween got you.
I hear it now.
I'll bet it's just
old Cecil Jacobs
trying to scare us.
Cecil Jacobs
is a big wet hen!
(LEAVES RUSTLING)
Come on.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
(MAN 1 GROWLING)
(GASPS)
(MAN 1 GRUNTING)
Run, Scout! Run, Scout!
Run, run!
(BOTH GRUNTING)
(MAN 1 GRUNTING)
(JEM PANTING)
(JEM GASPING)
(MAN 2 GRUNTING)
(SCOUT SCREAMING)
(MAN 1 GRUNTING)
(MAN 1 GASPING)
(MAN 1 GROANING)
(DOOR CLOSING)
Scout! Scout!
What happened?
I swear I don't know.
I just don't know.
Cal, you go and tell
Dr. Reynolds to come over.
Yes, sir.
You all right?
Yes, sir.
Are you sure?
Yes, sir.
(CHURCH BELL RINGING)
Sheriff Tate, please.
Atticus, is Jem dead?
No, he's unconscious.
We won't know
how badly he's hurt
until the doctor gets here.
Heck, Atticus Finch.
Someone's been after
my children.
DR. REYNOLDS:
He's got a bad break,
so far as I can tell.
Like somebody tried
to wring his arm off.
(VEHICLE APPROACHING)
I'll be right back,
Atticus.
TATE: How's the boy, Doc?
He'll be all right.
Sheriff Tate.
(SIGHING)
What is it, Heck?
Bob Ewell's
lying on the ground,
under that tree down yonder
with a kitchen knife
stuck up under his ribs.
He's dead, Mr. Finch.
You sure?
Yes, sir.
He's not gonna bother
these children anymore.
Miss Scout,
do you think you could
tell us what happened?
I don't know.
All of a sudden
somebody grabbed me,
knocked me down on the ground.
Jem found me then.
Then Mr. Ewell, I reckon,
grabbed him again,
and Jem hollered.
Then somebody grabbed me.
Mr. Ewell, I guess.
Somebody grabbed him.
Then I heard someone
panting and coughing.
And I saw someone
carrying Jem.
Who was it?
There he is, Mr. Tate.
He'll tell you his name.
Hey, Boo.
ATTICUS:
Miss Jean Louise,
Mr. Arthur Radley.
I believe
he already knows you.
Heck, let's go out
on the front porch.
Would you like to say
good night to Jem,
Mr. Arthur?
You can pet him, Mr. Arthur.
He's asleep.
You couldn't if he
was awake, though.
He wouldn't let you.
Go ahead.
SCOUT: Come sit in
the swing, Mr. Arthur.
(MUTTERING)
I guess that
the thing to do is...
Good Lord,
I must be losing my memory.
I can't remember
whether Jem is 12 or 13.
Anyway, it'll have to come
before the County court.
Of course,
it is a clear-cut case
of self-defense.
I'll run down
to the office...
Mr. Finch,
do you think
Jem killed Bob Ewell?
Is that what you think?
Your boy never
stabbed him.
Bob Ewell fell
on his knife.
He killed himself.
There's a black man
dead for no reason
and now the man responsible
for it is dead.
Let the dead bury
the dead this time,
Mr. Finch.
I never heard tell
it was against the law
for any citizen
to do his utmost
to prevent a crime
from being committed,
which is exactly
what he did.
But maybe you'll tell
me that it's my duty
to tell the town
all about it,
not to hush it up.
You know what
will happen then.
All the ladies in Maycomb,
including my wife,
will be knocking on his door
bringing angel food cakes.
To my way of thinking,
taking the one man
who's done you and
this town a big service
and dragging him,
with his shy ways,
into the limelight,
to me, that's a sin.
It's a sin
and I'm not about
to have it on my head.
I may not be much,
Mr. Finch,
but I'm still
Sheriff of Maycomb County
and Bob Ewell
fell on his knife.
Good night, sir.
(CAR ENGINE STARTING)
Mr. Tate was right.
What do you mean?
It would be sort
of like shooting
a mockingbird, wouldn't it?
Thank you, Arthur.
Thank you
for my children.
JEAN LOUISE:
Neighbors bring
food with death
and flowers with sickness,
and little things in between.
Boo was our neighbor.
He gave us two soap dolls,
a broken watch and chain,
a knife
and our lives.
One time, Atticus said
you never really knew a man
until you stood in his shoes
and walked around in them.
Just standing on
the Radley porch
was enough.
The summer that had begun
so long ago had ended
and another summer
had taken its place,
and a fall,
and Boo Radley had come out.
I was to think of
these days many times,
of Jem and Dill and Boo Radley
and Tom Robinson
and Atticus.
He would be in
Jem's room all night.
And he would be there
when Jem waked up
in the morning.