From the beautiful filmization of the legendary, pulitzer prize winning novel by Harper Lee, that celebrates the 50ieth anniversary of its first publication in 2010.
The story takes place during three years of the Great Depression in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama. The narrator, six-year-old Scout Finch, lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt for the summer. The three children are terrified of, and fascinated by, their neighbor, the reclusive "Boo" Radley.
Atticus is appointed by the court to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a young white woman. Although many of Maycomb's citizens disapprove, Atticus agrees to defend Tom to the best of his ability. Other children taunt Jem and Scout for Atticus' actions, calling him a "nigger-lover". Scout is tempted to stand up for her father's honor by fighting, even though he has told her not to. Finally the world of the children breaks apart....
In this scene young Scout and her brother Jem bring poor Walter Cunningham, a classmate, home as a lunch guest. Due to his inexperienced table manners, Scout makes a derogatory remark, which leeds the black housekeeper Calpurnia to call her into the kitchen, scold her and give her a good smack on her bottom.
Later out on the porch, her father talks to her and teaches her mildly one of the lessons of life.
NOTE: In the german dubbing of that movie (although not in the german subtitles) the words that Scout is mumbling in the porch scene after the smacking are translated differently to what she is actually saying.
In the german dubbing:
SCOUT: Calpurnia scolded me. And she smacked me on the bottom.
ATTICUS: (very dryly) How terrible.
NOTE 2: The writers of that german dubbing probably took the liberty to write that differently from the fact, that there is a – different - scene in the novel where Scout is actually spanked (by her uncle Jack), that does not appear in the film.
Here is the spanking scene from the book. It is not very explicit, yet beautifully written:
Aunt Alexandra was a back-porch listener. The moment she was out of sight Francis came out head up and grinning. “Don’t you fool with me,” he said. He jumped into the yard and kept his distance, kicking tufts of grass, turning around occasionally to smile at me. Jem appeared on the porch, looked at us, and went away. Francis climbed the mimosa tree, came down, put his hands in his pockets and strolled around the yard. “Hah!” he said. I asked him who he thought he was, Uncle Jack? Francis said he reckoned I got told, for me to just sit there and leave him alone. “I ain’t botherin‘ you,” I said. Francis looked at me carefully, concluded that I had been sufficiently subdued, and crooned softly, “Nigger-lover…” This time, I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth. My left impaired, I sailed in with my right, but not for long. Uncle Jack pinned my arms to my sides and said, “Stand still!” Aunt Alexandra ministered to Francis, wiping his tears away with her handkerchief, rubbing his hair, patting his cheek. Atticus, Jem, and Uncle Jimmy had come to the back porch when Francis started yelling. “Who started this?” said Uncle Jack. Francis and I pointed at each other. “Grandma,” he bawled, “she called me a whore-lady and jumped on me!” “Is that true, Scout?” said Uncle Jack. “I reckon so.” When Uncle Jack looked down at me, his features were like Aunt Alexandra’s. “You know I told you you’d get in trouble if you used words like that? I told you, didn’t I?” “Yes sir, but—” “Well, you’re in trouble now. Stay there.” I was debating whether to stand there or run, and tarried in indecision a moment too long: I turned to flee but Uncle Jack was quicker. I found myself suddenly looking at a tiny ant struggling with a bread crumb in the grass. “I’ll never speak to you again as long as I live! I hate you an‘ despise you an’ hope you die tomorrow!” A statement that seemed to encourage Uncle Jack, more than anything. I ran to Atticus for comfort, but he said I had it coming and it was high time we went home. I climbed into the back seat of the car without saying good-bye to anyone, and at home I ran to my room and slammed the door. Jem tried to say something nice, but I wouldn’t let him. When I surveyed the damage there were only seven or eight red marks, and I was reflecting upon relativity when someone knocked on the door. I asked who it was; Uncle Jack answered. “Go away!” Uncle Jack said if I talked like that he’d lick me again, so I was quiet. When he entered the room I retreated to a corner and turned my back on him. “Scout,” he said, “do you still hate me?” “Go on, please sir.” “Why, I didn’t think you’d hold it against me,” he said. “I’m disappointed in you —you had that coming and you know it.” “Didn’t either.” “Honey, you can’t go around calling people—” “You ain’t fair,” I said, “you ain’t fair.” Uncle Jack’s eyebrows went up. “Not fair? How not?” “You’re real nice, Uncle Jack, an‘ I reckon I love you even after what you did, but you don’t understand children much.” Uncle Jack put his hands on his hips and looked down at me. “And why do I not understand children, Miss Jean Louise? Such conduct as yours required little understanding. It was obstreperous, disorderly and abusive—” “You gonna give me a chance to tell you? I don’t mean to sass you, I’m just tryin‘ to tell you.” Uncle Jack sat down on the bed. His eyebrows came together, and he peered up at me from under them. “Proceed,” he said. I took a deep breath. “Well, in the first place you never stopped to gimme a chance to tell you my side of it—you just lit right into me. When Jem an‘ I fuss Atticus doesn’t ever just listen to Jem’s side of it, he hears mine too, an’ in the second place you told me never to use words like that except in ex-extreme provocation, and Francis provocated me enough to knock his block off—” Uncle Jack scratched his head. “What was your side of it, Scout?” “Francis called Atticus somethin‘, an’ I wasn’t about to take it off him.” “What did Francis call him?” “A nigger-lover. I ain’t very sure what it means, but the way Francis said it—tell you one thing right now, Uncle Jack, I’ll be—I swear before God if I’ll sit there and let him say somethin‘ about Atticus.” “He called Atticus that?” “Yes sir, he did, an‘ a lot more. Said Atticus’d be the ruination of the family an’ he let Jem an me run wild…” From the look on Uncle Jack’s face, I thought I was in for it again. When he said, “We’ll see about this,” I knew Francis was in for it. “I’ve a good mind to go out there tonight.” “Please sir, just let it go. Please.” “I’ve no intention of letting it go,” he said. “Alexandra should know about this. The idea of—wait’ll I get my hands on that boy…” “Uncle Jack, please promise me somethin‘, please sir. Promise you won’t tell Atticus about this. He—he asked me one time not to let anything I heard about him make me mad, an’ I’d ruther him think we were fightin‘ about somethin’ else instead. Please promise…” smacker: Estelle Evans
smackee: Mary Badham
director: Robert Mulligan
