To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) is the cinematic adaption of the celebrated Harper Lee novel, which is a coming-of-age story of Louise “Scout” Finch, and her brother Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama in the Depression-era 1930s. Their widowed father Atticus is town’s highly principled lawyer. Atticus is asked to defend a black man, Tom Robinson against an accusation of rape of a white girl, Mayella Ewell. The film, which provided a career-defining role for Gregory Peck, shows the struggle against a prejudiced legal system as Atticus fights for an innocent man wrongly accused of a crime. The film continues to be a teaching tool for children and young adults and is considered an American masterpiece.

For more information, see the Pacem in Terris 50th Anniversary Film Series flyer.