Atticus Finch is modeled on Harper Lee's own father, Amasa Lee, an attorney whose 1923 defense of a black client inspired the novel's trial. Gregory Peck met with Amasa Lee - then 82 years old - and formed a strong bond with him. Unfortunately Lee died during filming, so his daughter Harper gave Peck his watch and chain. Peck was wearing that same watch and chain at the Academy Awards the following year when he won the Oscar for Best Actor.
Atticus Finch was voted as the top screen hero of the last 100 years by the American Film Institute.
Cast members Mary Badham (Scout), Robert Duvall (Boo), Frank Overton (Heck Tate), Collin Wilcox Paxton (Mayella), and William Windom (Mr. Gilmer) all appeared in episodes of the original The Twilight Zone TV series.
Despite the novel winning the Pulitzer Prize, the studios were not interested in buying up the film rights as they deemed it lacking in action, there was no love story and the villain doesn't get a big comeuppance. Producer Alan J. Pakula disagreed however and persuaded director Robert Mulligan that it would make a good film. Together they were able to convince Gregory Peck who readily agreed.
Director Robert Mulligan and producer Alan J. Pakula traveled to Harper Lee's hometown of Monroeville but found it unsuitable for filming. The town had been modernized. Therefore the production team constructed their own ideal version of Monroeville on a backlot at Universal. When Lee saw their recreation, she said it was perfect.
Director Robert Mulligan learned quickly not to rely on excessive takes as he found that the more takes that were required, the less spontaneous and natural his child actors became.
Finch was writer Harper Lee's mother's maiden name.
In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #25 Greatest Movie of All Time.
It has been reported that this film was Gregory Peck's favorite work.
June 2008 Ranked #1 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Courtroom Drama".
Premiered at the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Ranked #2 on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time (2006).
The character of Dill is purportedly based upon Truman Capote, who had been a childhood friend of Harper Lee when he was sent to live with relatives in Lee's hometown each summer. Truman Capote, in turn, based one of his characters in his literary work "Other Voices, Other Rooms" upon his recollection of Harper Lee.
The courthouse that was copied for this film still stands in Monroeville, Ala., and is now a museum dedicated to the book, this movie and the lives of Nelle Harper Lee and the people represented in this work. Additionally, the town of Monroeville (population 7,000) produces a community play based on the book, held on the grounds of the courthouse and inside the courtroom, every year. The play has received rave reviews - an achievement given that there are no trained actors in it - and has been performed by the Monroeville cast at The Kennedy Center and in Israel. Tickets typically sell out just a few hours after going on sale. The town contains several historic markers bearing information on Lee and Capote. The courthouse is no longer used for actual court proceedings - much of it is not air-conditioned nor heated, a function of its old age. A new courthouse stands adjacent to it in the town's square.
The courtroom is a recreation of the interior of the Monroe County Courthouse in Monroeville, Alabama, Harper Lee's hometown. Prior to filming, production designers traveled to Monroeville, took photographs and measurements, and created a near duplicate on soundstages at Universal Studios.
The first scene that Gregory Peck shot showed him returning home from his character's law office while his children ran to greet him. Harper Lee was a guest on the set that day, and Peck noticed her crying after the scene was filmed. "Why are you crying?" Peck asked. Peck had looked just like her late father, the model for Atticus, Lee explained; Peck even had a little round pot belly like her father's. "That's not a pot belly, Harper," Peck told her, "That's great acting."
The watch used in the film was a prop, but Harper Lee gave Gregory Peck her father's watch after the film was completed because he reminded her so much of him.
When he attended the Academy Awards, Gregory Peck was completely convinced that his friend Jack Lemmon would beat him to the Best Actor Oscar for his searing portrayal of an alcoholic in Days of Wine and Roses.