Passes the Bechdel test

To Kill a Mockingbird

Name: To Kill a Mockingbird
Released: 1963

1963. Directed by Robert Mulligan, written by Harper Lee and Horton Foote.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

3 / 3

Passes

Yes 1. At least two women
13 women characters. 7 of them speak.
Yes 2. Who talk to each other
In 5 scenes out of 142.
Yes 3. About something besides a man
In those scenes, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 3 out of 3.

The film

In small-town Alabama in 1932, Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) is a lawyer and a widower. He has two young children, Jem and Scout. Atticus Finch is currently defending Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of raping a white woman. Meanwhile, Jem and Scout are intrigued by their neighbors, the Radleys, in particular the mysterious, seldom-seen Boo Radley.

Released: 16 Mar 1963
Genres: Crime, Drama
Rated: Approved
IMDb: 8.2 / 10
Metascore: 88 / 100
Awards: Won 3 Oscars. 14 wins & 16 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Atticus 247 lines, man
Jem 222 lines, man
Scout 215 lines, woman
Dill 65 lines, man
Maudie 30 lines, woman
Calpurnia 27 lines, woman
Tate 25 lines, man
Mrs. Dubose 24 lines, woman
Judge 21 lines
Ewell 19 lines, man

Full cast, 70 people

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch
Mary Badham as Scout Finch
Phillip Alford as Jem
John Megna as Dill Harris
Frank Overton as Sheriff Heck Tate
Brock Peters as Tom Robinson
Rosemary Murphy as Maudie Atkinson
Ruth White as Mrs. Dubose
Estelle Evans as Calpurnia
Paul Fix as Judge Taylor
Collin Wilcox Paxton as Mayella Violet Ewell
James Anderson as Bob Ewell
Alice Ghostley as Aunt Stephanie Crawford
Robert Duvall as Boo Radley
William Windom as Mr. Gilmer
Crahan Denton as Walter Cunningham Sr.
Richard Hale as Nathan Radley
R. L. Armstrong as Man (uncredited)
Walter Bacon as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Eddie Baker as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Bobby Barber as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
John Barton as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Audrey Betz as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Danny Borzage as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
John Breen as Juror (uncredited)
Jess Cavin as Juror (uncredited)
Noble 'Kid' Chissell as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Steve Condit as Walter Cunningham Jr. (uncredited)
David Crawford as David Robinson (uncredited)
Frank Ellis as Juror (uncredited)
Charles Fredericks as Court Clerk (uncredited)
Herman Hack as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Jester Hairston as Spence Robinson (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Kim Hamilton as Helen Robinson (uncredited)
Kim Hector as Cecil Jacobs (uncredited)
Michael Jeffers as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Dick Johnstone as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Chester Jones as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Colin Kenny as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Ethan Laidlaw as Townsman (uncredited)
Nancy Marshall as Schoolteacher (uncredited)
Clyde McLeod as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Charles Morton as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Paulene Myers as Jesse (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Charles Perry as Juror (uncredited)
Joe Ploski as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Hugh Sanders as Dr. Reynolds (uncredited)
Barry Seltzer as Schoolboy (uncredited)
Edward C. Short as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Mabel Smaney as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Eddie Smith as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Walter Smith as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Cap Somers as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
George Sowards as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Ray Spiker as Townsman (uncredited)
Kim Stanley as Scout as an Adult - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Kelly Thordsen as Burly Mob Member (uncredited)
Arthur Tovey as Juror (uncredited)
George Tracy as Townsman (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Max Wagner as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Bill Walker as Reverend Sykes (uncredited)
Joe Walls as Bailiff (uncredited)
Dan White as Mob Leader (uncredited)
Guy Wilkerson as Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Chalky Williams as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Raoul Freeman as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Esther Rolle as uncredited role

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 142

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 3	13	17
4 to 6	35	55
7 to 9	20	19
10 to 12	9	12
13 to 15	6	27
16 to 18	1	10
19 to 21	27	44
22 to 24	3	5
25 to 27	4	8
28 to 30	16	17
31 to 33	12	7
34 to 36	31	20
37 to 39	2	1
40 to 42	15	18
43 to 45	2	4
46 to 48	0	0
49 to 51	0	3
52 to 54	1	2
55 to 57	0	2
58 to 60	0	1
61 to 63	19	19
64 to 66	6	12
67 to 69	3	5
70 to 72	3	1
73 to 75	1	9
76 to 78	0	0
79 to 81	6	14
82 to 84	0	0
85 to 87	2	9
88 to 90	12	11
91 to 93	5	11
94 to 96	9	42
97 to 99	0	10
100 to 102	13	20
103 to 105	1	6
106 to 108	2	29
109 to 111	14	37
112 to 114	4	40
115 to 117	4	5
118 to 120	1	11
121 to 123	0	4
124 to 126	5	20
127 to 129	12	21
130 to 132	19	16
133 to 135	16	24
136 to 138	6	10
139 to 141	2	2
142 to 142	0	0

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: the passing scenes

The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.

CALPURNIA: Supper. MAUDIE: Well, I’m sorry to hear about it.

MAUDIE: Good morning. I came over to see Jean Louise ready for her first day at school. CALPURNIA: Scout!

MAUDIE: I think you dress is mighty becoming. CALPURNIA: (sternly Now, don’t go tugging at that dress, Scout. You want to have it all wrinkled before you even get to school? SCOUT: I still don’t see why I have to ear a darn old dress. MAUDIE: You’ll get used to it.

SCOUT: Miss Stephanie, where am I supposed to -- MISS STEPHANIE: Oh heavens, child, my mind is on my pageant. Run on now. We’re about to start. MISS STEPHANIE: Maycomb County -- “Ad Astra Per Asperum.” (BASE DRUM BOOMS THAT MEANS - “From the mud to the Stars.” (BASE DRUM BOOMS

STEPHANIE: Our county has been abundantly blessed with a rich and fertile soil, from which, each year we receive many wonderful products. I now call on… MISS STEPHANIE: Corn --- Cotton -- Peanut --- MISS STEPHANIE: Pork --- (DRUM ROLL MISS STEPHANIE: I hope you’re satisfied, young lady. You have ruined my pageant.

Exhibit B: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 35 are women's.

362 lines from women, 660 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who's in it

13 women and 50 men in the cast. 7 women and 15 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit D: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 4 of 1,066. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 37 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 31% of the words (3,789), men 69% (8,473). Women have 35% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit E: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit F: behind the camera

3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 15% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Robert Mulligan (man)
Written by: Horton Foote (man)
From the novel by: Harper Lee (woman)
Produced by: Alan J. Pakula (man), Harper Lee (woman), Robert Mulligan (man), Gregory Peck (man)
Shot by: Russell Harlan (man)
Edited by: Aaron Stell (man)
Music by: Elmer Bernstein (man)
Costumes by: Rosemary Odell (woman), Seth Banks (gender not listed)
Cast by: Boaty Boatwright (gender not listed)