details, 20 ee ite TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, with Gregory Peck, Mary ®&d- ham, Phillip Alford, John Megna and Brock Peters. Screenplay by Horton Foote from the novel by Harper Lee. Produced by Alan J. Pakula; directed by Robert Mulli- 88n; released by Universal. e Ww" a movie is made from : a book, comparisons are mevitable. “To Kill a Mocking- bird,” the book, was excellent. I am happy to report that the Movie is also excellent. The film follows the book in all essential translating the drama and sensitivity of Harper Lee’s Words into pictorial eloquence. It is appropriate that the film Was released during Negro his- tory week, since the story is an Indictment against bigotry. * * co Every incident is seen through the eyes of three children; what they don’t see or hear is kept from the audience. In a novel, the author can be a footnote, a Greek chorus; in a movie, he Can only be a camera. In this case, the screen writer tagged along with the kids, so to Speak, shaping the dramatic high- lights out of the children’s ex- Perience. This aproach is not new among novelists or movie Makers, but more often than not, the product falls on its face. But not here. Harper Lee in her novel, Horton Foote in his Screenplay, and Robert Mulligan M his direction understood the children and knew how to weave mn ‘Mockingbird’ i a powerful drama around them. The story covers a few years the childhood of ‘‘Scout,” “Jem” and ‘‘Dill,’”’ the first two the daughter and son respectively of Atticus Finch, played by Greg- Peters (center), the man he (left), as judge, listens. ory Peck, a lawyer in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. Di 1S the six-year-old nephew of a neighbor of the Finch’s. ob * * The time is the thirties. Atticus defends a Negro farmer from a charge of raping a white girl. Before the trial, the children con- _ GREGORY PECK (right), as Atticus Finch; questions Brock front a lynch mob; during the trial, the children are witnesses to injustice, and after the trial, they discover that injustice can lead to tragedy. The audience watches them grow and learn. is defending, while Paul Fix Another major part of the plot, which weaves. continuously through the story, involves the attempts by the children to get a look at a mysterious neighbor. They have never seen him, though they know he lives in the house a few doors away. Their fancies have conjured up IS exce a fiend who lives on cats and other animals and haunts _ the neighborhood at night. He is mentally retarded and eventyally plays an important part. in Scout’s and Jem’s_ education about people. * * * The picture shows how white children, born and raised in the South, can learn that discrimina- . tion and prejudice are evil. They have the good fortune to have a father who believes in equality, who feels he will never be able to teach his children anything if he “doesn’t practice what he preaches by defending a Negro in the face of the possibility of violence to himself and his fam- ily, and almost certain political suicide. There are weakneses to the story which carried over from the book to the screen. Though the story is a powerful blow against inequality, it seemed to lean too heavily on Atticus Finch’s heroism and not enough on the Negro people’s wrath. There was nothing of the evil cunning of racism, only the ig- norance. There was nothing of the anger of the Negroes, only the fear. Finch was too much the ‘great white father,’’ though the South needs more men like him, and I wonder whether the mighty movement for freedom in the South today could have been born out of the atmosphere. de- picted in the film. co * * llent film Gregory Peck, shorn of the Hollywood-lover-type label, is magnificent as the soft-spoken middle-aged widower, Atticus Finch. ‘‘Scout,”’ played by Mary Badham, and “Jem,” played by Phillip Alford, are perfect as At- ticus’s adventurous children.‘ John Megna as “Dill,’’ who boasts, “I’m little, but I’m old,” is precious. FILMS The whole cast, many not pro- fessional actors, were excellent. Special mention should be made of two performances which movie viewers will not soon forget: Brock Peters as Tom Robinson, the accused Negro, and Collin Wilcox, as Mayella Ewell, the ac- cuser. During the trial scene, both performers create powerful characterizations: Peters as an innocent man confronted by the certainty of his conviction, and Wilcox as a girl who lies to cover up her guilt. The. photography, by Russell Harlan, and the music, by Elmer Bernstein, are superb. Don’t miss this picture. —FRED GILMAN U.S. ILLITERATES According to U.S. department of health, education and public wel- fare, there are more than eight million illiterate adults in the United States. Not so noble awards... The following article appeared 4S an editorial in the February, 1963, issue of ‘The Butcher Workman,” official organ of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters & Butcher Workmen of North America (AFL-CIO). e he fame of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish scientist, rests pri- Marily upon his invention of dynamite. In a secondary manh- her, his fame continues as a re- Sult of the awarding each year of Nobel Prizes, including one for literature. We presume we have read all of the infamous books of smut cluding “Lady Chatterly’s Lover,” ‘Peyton Place” and €ven Persia’s ‘‘The Perfumed Garden.” We do not expect to re- felve any prizes as a result of ad- Mitting the sort of ‘‘ornery’’ side of our existence. From a literary standpoint, however, on more than one occasion those who pass out Nobel Prizes were also guilty of exposing their ornery side. William Faulkner seldom wrote about interesting subjects unless he delved to some extent into a verbal garbage can for expres- sion. Mr. Faulkner, God rest his soul, was awarded a Nobel Prize for literature. : John. Steinbeck is the latest novelist who is back from Sweden after accepting his award as a jNobel! Prize winner for ‘‘The - Winter of Our Discontent.’’ It’s a pretty corny novel in the matter of the use of indecent language. We are happy, however, that Mr: Steinbeck was selected be- cause we remember his ‘‘Grapes of Wrath’? as unwinding a tale in which he exposed the brutality that is used when it comes to gentlemen farmers having their crops harvested by wandering bindle stiffs. * ok * “The Winter of Our Discontent” however, to us, seems not only corny but disrobes a female char- acter from the very tins of her polished toes to the hair crown- ing her beautiful head. All this is well and good, but if the Nobel Prize in literature is to go to those who write about sex in its rawest form, we want to nominate next year’s winner. We suggest that Henry Miller should be rolled before those who -award the prizes in a golden chariot for his contribution to literature of ‘Tropic of Cancer” and “Tropic of Capricorn.” These Nobel awards to novelists in reality are not so noble! Milestones ‘pea my couver’s. popular folk- a song group, The Mile- ae underscored the old Tuth Sunday evening in the abel Auditorium, that a ng expressing the hopes and eSbirations of working people _ WORTH __ READING The Sino - Question : Indian Boundary i, issued by Foreign é nee Press, Peking. Price Pacis book contains 16 large Rene as well as 140 pages of —Ttten data. In addition, each ‘ &P includes a written explana- 10n is precise, documented and ne Miative source of informa- _- 9 this question of increas- 8 importance for world peace. is worth a dozen speeches. The event was a peace party with some 250 guests attend- ing under the sponsorship of the B.C. Peace Council. Plans for bringing the vital issues of peace and ‘no nuclear w€a- pons for Canada were out- lined in detail by Mr. Laud Gardner, council. Mr. Gardner emphasized the need of keeping this vital issue before the public during this election campaign, and the duty of peace workers _ everywhere to attend election rallies and have the various candidates state their position without equivocation on nu- clear arms in Canada. ‘Since this election is being fought out on this issue of vital con- cern to all Canadians” stated Gardner, “the peace move- ment can play an important chairman. of the. ce night’ role in determining the final outcome on April 8.” The extensive repertoire of The Milestones emphasized Mr. Gardner’s appeal for peace action during the cam- paign with a wide variety of folksongs of all nations. Songs like “I ain’t gonna study war no more”, “When the stars begin to fall”, “Little Man”, songs ranging from the strug- gles of coal miners to the In- ternational Brigades fighting fascism in Spain in the 30’s, were cheered to the echo. It was a Milestones “night for peace” and after a good hour and a half of inspiring song, thev still had to respond to the encore. “That song, Brother will you stand with me, It’s not ‘easy to be free?” an old vet- eran of two world wars told this reporter, “sums up my life’s experience. T. McE. ‘Three Angels’ in city he Vancouver Theatre Guild 3 staging an outstanding 3- act comedy—‘‘My Three Angels,” by Sam and Bella Spewack. Con- sidered by many to be one of the all time comic hits, it has been produced on Broadway by Jose Ferrer and was made into a film which starred Peter Ustinov, Basil Rathbone, Aldo Ray and Humphrey Bogart. * * * Set in French Guiana in the early 1900’s, it tells how three convicts — murderers — become good angels of mercy to a much harassed household. The three angels are employed as roofers by a family in dire danger of shortly having no roof over their heads at all, as there is a cousin from France on his way who out- scrooges Scrooge and a cold blooded nephew who has jilted the daughter of the family. The three angels (not forget- ting their pet snake, Adolphe) take on the two villans of the piece and the ensuing struggle is both exciting and hilarious--most- ly hilarious! ~ The three angels have warm hearts and sleepless brains and’ all three believe passionately in DRAMA the ‘Robin Hood’’ characteristics of men. Using every criminal art and jailhouse joke they make this French Christmas Carol a delight —proving eventually that it is easier to “bump off’’ old Scrooge (French style) than to convert him to sweetness and light. * * * “The Three Angels” will be staged from March 26 to 30 at the Kitsilano Theatre, Fourth Ave. and Arbutus. Curtain time is 8:30 p.m. Tickets are priced at $1 and $1.25 and are available at the theatre or at Modern Music, 536 Seymour St., (Phone: MU 3-2388). Directing the play will be Allan Dobby. I’m not worried about war, Who will help the fftst? Who will tell the second? Who will heed the third? THREE MEN | “I'm very angry,” said the poor man “In this land of ‘milk and honey;’ My children are ragged and hungry - And I have neither work nor money— I'm very angry.” said the poor man. “I'm not worried about war,” said the foolish man “No matter how long or large the slaughter; I'll be safe in my underground shelter— "I’m for peaceful co-existence,” said the wise man “Black, white, brown or yellow: Brothers all we should be— All else sounds quite hollow; I’m for peaceful co-existence,’ said the wise man. said the foolish man. ¢ GERRY DELANEY March \15, .1968-+-PACIFIC, TRIBUNE—Pa ge 9. @seee raid et ee