Today's Suggestion Is Robert Duvall's Film Debut, In Which He Speaks Not A Single Word. (He's Also The Sole Surviving Member Of Its Adult Cast.)

Intellectually, I realize that To Kill a Mockingbird was made quite a long time ago. But that last little note -- "Robert Duvall is the film's last surviving adult cast member." -- really put its status as a classic into context for me. (It should also be noted that he's made a number of TV appearances in the six years prior to this legendary adaptation of Harper Lee's work, but this was his first time on the big screen. He took to it, apparently.)

There's not much to be said about Mockingbird, really. Or at least I don't have much to add to the conversation. Most remember it for Peck and for Scout and for what it said (and did not say) about the simultaneously complicated and simplistic times in which it was made; I remember it for launching one of my all-time favorite cinematic careers. Either will do.

Currently streaming on NETFLIX INSTANT.

Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the Depression-era South, defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his children against prejudice.

Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his brilliant performance as the Southern lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape in this film version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The way in which it captures a time, a place, and above all, a mood, makes this film a masterpiece.

Attribution(s): All posters, publicity images, and stills are the property of Universal Pictures and other respective production studios and distributors.