Two soap figurines representing a small girl and a boy, an old watch that still works, gouaches, coins, marbles, a whistle, as many objects out a wooden box. Children who draw a bird. A page that is torn. This is the beautiful opening credits Robert Mulligan's film, perhaps his greatest, To Kill A Mockingbird among us To Kill a Mockingbird.
At that time (1962) where there were still some generic opening in the best case, they fulfilled a dual function: to give the movie title and the names of performers and technicians, but more importantly, reveal at once the heart of the film: its subject, its importance, its soul.
Stephen Frankfurt, credited for this wonderful generic, has captured the essence of the film to perfection. When the drawing of the bird is torn, it is the innocence of childhood is under threat, a danger still unknown that lurks, a contained violence but actual pointing. Only at the very end of the film that one can really understand this sequence of less than three minutes.
If this film became a cult in the United States, it is shown in schools, where all sorts of personalities cite it as a source of influence, this is of course not only because of its generic. So we may mention an excellent novel by Harper Lee used as the basis for the scenario of Horton Foote, an unforgettable performance by Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch (who will be rewarded with an Oscar), children of a rare accuracy and a score of rare beauty Elmer Bernstein.
That's a lot for one movie, but on reflection, it's nice that the facts which are masterpieces.
