My Trip To Monroeville Alabama- The Home of
Harper Lee
and To Kill A Mockingbird
Saturday April 18, 2009
| " An exact replica of the Monroeville,
Alabama courtroom was duplicated on a Universal sound stage for the
climactic scenes in "To Kill A Mockingbird."...Monroeville is Harper
Lee's home town, The courtroom was where Miss Lee's father, Amasa Lee,
practiced law during his long legal career. Miss Lee actually finished
writing "To Kill A Mockingbird" in her father's law office. Construction
of the courtroom set was based on photographs and sketches made by a
Universal staff of art directors sent to Monroeville." Source:
page 5 TKAM Showman's Manual |
For years I have wanted to visit the place portrayed in the novel and film: To
Kill A Mockingbird.
On a visit with my son in Dothan, we drove three hours west to Monroeville. Upon
entering
the old courthouse, now a museum, we were greeted warmly by Jane Ellen Clark,
the education
director of the museum. She gave us a map of the courthouse and made us feel
most welcome.
When driving into Monroeville, you can't miss the
courthouse. From a half mile away, you can
see the tall white steeple and all roads into town lead right to it. It was a
beautiful day in
South Alabama, and I have waited a long time just to do this. The first thing we
did was
pick up a brochure that describes Monroeville in the 1930s (the time period
portrayed in both
the novel and film). Both Harper Lee and Truman Capote lived in homes just
blocks from the
courthouse. (Next to the courthouse I saw chairs set up, because the annual TKAM
play will be
performed there next weekend.)
 |
 |
| POV: standing near the
judge's bench in the front of the courtroom (which is located on the 2nd
floor) looking toward the back, with the balcony clearly in view. The
producers of TKAM created an almost exact replica of this courtroom
for the film. |
Publicity still from the film--showing
Gregory Peck (Atticus) delivering his closing argument ...standing in a
similar position as I was in the actual courtroom. (photo courtesy of Pakula-Mulligan/Brentwood Productions) |
One of the displays upstairs in a room adjacent to the courtroom: this
one contains panels with background on Harper Lee,
the film, and set designer Henry Bumstead's trip to
Monroeville so that he could get ideas for his award-winning set design. On the
panel
to the left are storyboards Bumstead
created as a result of his visit. Also, a DVD was
playing entitled "Mockingbird Memories."
Another room provided background on
author
Truman Capote, a childhood friend of Harper. She modeled the character Dill
after Capote.
Want to see more interior shots: go to:
To Kill A Mockingbird - the Monroe County
Courthouse
See other publicity stills
of the TKAM courtroom scenesWant to know more about the film? Go to my
film study guide online.