To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)

Atticus Finch, Harper Lee's famed small-town attorney, is played by Gregory Peck, who brings his legendary dignity to the part. Horton Foote's screenplay was an immediate classic, with lawyer Finch rising above the blatant bigotry of Depression-era Alabama to defend a handicapped black man (Brock Peters) wrongfully accused of rape by a lonely, young white lady.

Scout (Mary Badham), Finch's 6-year-old daughter, sees his quiet courage and is embraced by an emerging generation of lawyers as the ideal of both moral clarity and unwavering belief in the rule of law.

When the accuser's drunken, unbelieving father glares at him and says, “What kind of man are you?” The underlying answer is simple: both the confident lawyer and the honorable human being we all aspire to be.

Trivia: Three Oscar wins. Finch was Lee’s mother’s maiden name.

Director: Robert Mulligan | Stars: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy