10 Subtle Signs Movie Characters Weren't Telling The Truth
6. Mayella Ewell Hovers Her Hand On The Bible - To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is the classic tale of a white lawyer, Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), defending a Black man, Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), falsely accused of rape by a white girl, Mayella Ewell (Collin Wilcox).
It's ultimately implied that Mayella lied about being raped by Tom rather than publicly admit willingly kissing a Black man, yet Tom is ultimately found guilty regardless and killed during his transfer to prison.
And while we as the audience are evidently on Tom's side from the jump, there's a sly early tell that Mayella isn't being honest when she's called to testify against him in court.
As Mayella takes the stand and places her hand on a bible to swear her oath, note that she actually hovers her hand above the bible, rather than putting her hand firmly on it, effectively making it an invalid oath and indicating that she knows precisely what she's doing - being intentionally dishonest.