To Kill a Mockingbird

Maycomb was a tired old town...

even in 1932, when I first knew it.

Some how it was hotter then.

Men's stiff collars

wilted by 9:
00 in the morning.

Ladies bathed before noon,

after their 3:
00 naps...

and by nightfall

were like soft tea cakes...

with frostin 's of sweat

and sweet talcum.

A day was 24 hours long,

but it seemed longer.

There was no hurry, for there was

nowhere to go and nothing to buy...

no money to buy it with...

although Maycomb County

had recently been told...

that it had nothing to fear

but fear itself.

That summer I was sixyears old.

- Good morning, Mr Cunningham.

- Mornin', miss.

My daddy's getting dressed.

Would you like me to call him for you?

- No, miss. I don't care to bother.

- Why, it's no bother, Mr Cunningham.

He'll be happy to see you!

Atticus!

Here's Mr Cunningham.

- Good morning, Walter.

- Mornin', Mr Finch.

I didn't want to bother you none.

I brung you these here hickory nuts

as part of my entailment.

Well, I thank you. The collards

we had last week were delicious.

- Well, mornin'.

- Morning.

Scout, I think maybe...

next time Mr Cunningham comes,

you better not call me.

- I thought you'd wanna thank him.

- I do.

I think it embarrasses him

to be thanked.

Why does he bring you

all this stuff?

He's payin' me

for some legal work I did for him.

- Why does he pay you like this?

- That's the only way he can.

He has no money.

- Is he poor?

- Yes.

- Are we poor?

- We are indeed.

Are we as poor

as the Cunninghams?

No, not exactly. Cunninghams

are country folks, farmers.

Crash hit them the hardest.

- Scout, call your brother.

- Atticus. Jem's up in the tree.

He says he won't come down

until you agree...

to play football

for the Methodists.

Jem.

Son, why don't you come on down out

ofthere now and have your breakfast?

Calpurnia has a good one.

Hot biscuits.

No, sir! Not until you agree

to play football for the Methodists.

Oh, son, I can't do that. I explained

to you I'm too old to get out there.

After all,

I'm the only fatheryou have.

Wouldn't want me to go out there

and get my head knocked off, would you?

I ain't comin' down!

Suit yourself.

Mornin'.

- Morning, Miss Maudie.

- What's goin' on over there?

I'm havin' a terrible time.

Jem's stayin' up in the tree...

until Atticus agrees

to play football for the Methodists.

And Atticus says he's too old.

Every time I'm wantin'

to do somethin', he's too old!

- He's too old for anything!

- He can do plenty of things.

You be good, children.

Mind Cal.

- Mornin', Maudie.

- Mornin', Atticus.

He won't let me have a gun...

and he'll only play touch football

with me-- never tackle.

He can make somebody's will

so airtight, you can't break it.

You count your blessin's

and stop complainin'. Both ofyou.

Thankyour stars

he has the sense to act his age.

-Jem, he is pretty old.

- I can't help that.

Hey.

- Hey yourself.

- I'm Charles Baker Harris. I can read.

You got anything needs readin',

l can do it.

How old are you?

Four and a half?

- Goin' on seven.

- No wonder then.

Scout's been readin'

since she was born...

and she don't start school

till next month.

You look right puny

for goin' on seven.

I'm little, but I'm old.

Folks call me Dill.

I'm from Meridian, Mississippi...

and I'm spendin' two weeks next door

with my Aunt Stephanie.

My mama works

for a photographer in Meridian.

She entered my picture

in the "Beautiful Child" contest...

and won five dollars on me.

She give the money to me, and I went

to the picture show 20 times with it.

Our mama's dead, but we got a daddy.

Where's your daddy?

I haven't got one.

- Is he dead?

- No.

If he's not dead,

you've got one. Haven't you?

Hush, Scout.

What did I do?

- Dill, this is Calpurnia.

- Pleased to know you, Dill.

Pleased to know you.

My daddy owns the L&N railroad.

He's gonna let me run the engine

all the way to New Orleans.

Is that so?

He says I can invite anybody--

There goes the meanest man

that ever took a breath of life.

Why is he the meanest man?

Well, for one thing...

he has a boy named Boo...

that he keeps chained to a bed

in the house over yonder.

Come on.

See? He lives over there.

Boo only comes out at night

when you're asleep and it's pitch-dark.

When you wake up at night,

you can hear him.

Once I heard him scratchin'

on our screen door...

but he was gone

by the time Atticus got there.

Wonder what he does in there.

- Wonder what he looks like.

- Well...

judgin' from his tracks,

he's about six and a halffeet tall.

He eats raw squirrels

and all the cats he can catch.

There's a long, jagged scar

that runs all the way across his face.

His teeth are yellow and rotten,

his eyes are popped...

and he drools most ofthe time.

I don't believe you.

- Dill, what are you doin' here?

- My Lord, Aunt Stephanie!

- You almost gave me a heart attack!

- I don't want you playing there.

There's a maniac lives there,

and he's dangerous.

See?

I wasjust tryin' to warn him about Boo,

but he wouldn't believe me.

You just better believe him,

Mr Dill Harris.

Tell him how Boo

tried to kill his papa.

I was standin' in my yard one day

when his mama come out yellin'...

"He's killin' us all!"

Turned out that Boo was cuttin' up

the paper for his scrapbook...

and when his daddy come by,

he reached over with his scissors...

stabbed him in his leg, pulled them out

and went right on cuttin' the paper.

They wanted to send him to an asylum,

but his daddy said...

"No Radley's goin' to any asylum."

So they locked him up

in the basement ofthe courthouse...

till he nearly died ofthe damp,

and his daddy brought him back home.

There he is to this day,

sittin' over there with his scissors.

Lord knows what

he's doin' or thinkin'.

Six, seven, eight...

nine, ten!

Come on, Scout! lt's 5:00!

- Where you goin'?

- Time to meet Atticus.

- Why do you call your daddy Atticus?

- 'Cause Jem does.

- Why does he?

- I don't know.

Hejust started to

ever since he began talking.

Wait. Stop.

Miss Dubose is on her porch.

Listen, no matter what she says to you,

don't answer her back.

There's a Confederate pistol

in her lap under her shawl...

and she'll kill you

quick as look at you.

Come on.

- Hey, Miss Dubose.

- Don't say "Hey" to me, you ugly girl!

You say,

"Good afternoon, Miss Dubose."

You come over here

when I'm talkin' to you!

You come over here, I said!

- You listen to me when I'm talkin'!

- Atticus, this is Dill.

- How do you do, Dill?

- Don't your daddy teach you respect?

You come back here,

Jean Louise Finch!

Good afternoon, Miss Dubose.

My, you look like a picture

this afternoon.

He don't say a picture ofwhat.

My goodness gracious,

look at your flowers.

Have you ever seen

anything more beautiful?

Miss Dubose, the gardens at Bellingrath

have nothing to compare...

with your flowers.

Well, I don't think

they're as nice as last year.

He gets her interested in something nice

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