Blackboard Jungle

Very heavy handed with some of that eye-rolling moral cheese. But at the same time it's very well done. The performances are great, especially Ford and Poitier, and it's very well paced and engaging. It's got your stereotypical "West Side Story" type greaser gangs, but remains enjoyable nonetheless.

Though by now the concept of "teacher inspires inner city delinquents" is kind of worn out, I still really liked this one. It's got some good, interesting characterizations, and Ford, Calhern, and Poitier are all great. Even if some of the culture is dated, the actors are supported by a pretty sharp script, and it doesn't feel campy. It's still a pretty relevant movie, and it does a better job than a lot of the more recent films that've tried the same thing.

A bit dated, but a lot of it is still relevant. Teenagers are always little delinquent assholes, and always will be. Even though it's the same kind of hackneyed "bold teacher makes connection with difficult kids" nonsense that gets done way too often, there are a few nice surprises. None of the performances are noteworthy, but Poitier is pretty good (better than a lot of his later work, actually).

I find the script to be more than a little hammy, for example when the two teachers agree to have a drink their exchange is awkward. Since it's pretty easy to figure out what happens next it feels like a lot of the writing works backwards from point b to a. Still has a few okay characters, maybe the best and most intriguing among them being Poitier. I thought it was interesting the film raises in-dialogue several apparently real issues, such as pay, or training, but the drama is not believable.

Though this really felt like a propaganda movie at times, it's still an excellent drama about a violent and uncontrolled inner city school. There were quite a few movies to follow with this theme. Glenn Ford, Vic Morrow, Anne Francis and Sidney Poitier all delivered very good performances.

"Blackboard Jungle" is dated, and the music they picked as wild made me smile. However, the performances were solid, and the drama felt real.

I'd be curious if the number of applicants to teaching certificate programs dropped suddenly right after this movie. The film takes a pretty heavy-handed approach to a discussion of juvenile delinquency, with a bit of race relations thrown in. Poitier steals the picture, even though all those kids look like they should have graduated years ago. A bit too neatly wrapped up at the end as well, with too much totally glossed over (how did the teacher ever explain the false notes?).

Really engrossing during the first half, but falls off a bit later on. Nice performance by Glenn Ford.

"Sanctimonious." - Jeremiah Kipp

Still, there are things to recommend this movie. A 28-year-old Sidney Poitier is quite good, and this is the screen debut of Vic Morrow AND Jamie Farr (21 years old and listed in the credits as Jameel Farrah). I showed this to a group of ninth-graders several years ago so we could talk about attitudes about teenagers today, and how they haven't really changed in fifty years. I think it's one of those movies a movie-lover should see, but it's not especially good.

It's a classic.

Highly engaging drama with a lot of future stars in the cast. Not terribly believable, but fast-paced and acted with conviction. Brazenly ripped off by Mark L. Lester's _Class of 1984_, and y'all know how imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Even better if you've already seen _To Sir With Love_

It blows the mind how little has changed in 50 years.

Great film.