Boy did that last entry miss the point! Stay away from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" there kid, you may fall off of the raft and drown looking for the meaning behind Twain's words. In this spot-on retelling of Harper Lee's diatribe against prejudice and racial intolerance, Gregory Peck (As Atticus Finch) gives one of the most memorable screen performances in cinematic history. His Lincolnesque portrayal of one man's fight against tyranny and injustice is still required viewing in highschool sociology classes across the country and the message in both the movie and the book stand as powerful today as they did in those pre-civil rights days of their initial release. The little girl that plays Scout and the boy who plays her brother as well as their visiting friend Dil (modeled after Miss Lee's boyhood friend, Truman Capote) are also noteworthy as it is through the children's eyes (and Scout's, in particular) that the story is related. We learn along with them as we share their fears of the unknown and, more terrifying, the known elements that shape the world of the grown-ups that live around them. The use of black and white film helps to bring to life a time when most people saw the world in just that way and were loathe to step out of the shadows if, by being exposed to the light, the true reflection of their person be shown. In the murky darkness, the truth may lie dormant, but in the eyes of children, it can be seen. It is the kids that turn the adults of this film to look into themselves and their acceptance finally succeeds in drawing the mysterious Boo Radley (played by Robert Duvall) out of the shadows of his self-imprisonment and back into the community. The children hold the keys to a better future and armed with the lessons they learn by observation and experience and in the sage teachings of lawyer Finch, a better future will be realized.