13. Blackboard Jungle
Blackboard Jungle is a film that I had heard about before seeing it. It’s mostly notable for being the first movie to feature rock 'n' roll music during the credits -- "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets. Sadly, the song doesn’t have the same impact as it must have back then -- after being used the theme song for Happy Days and just being a part of the '50s rock and roll scene, it just doesn’t have the same rebelliousness that it must have originally.
Blackboard Jungle stars Glenn Ford as Mr. Dadier (Dah-dee-eeeh), a brand new teacher at a troubled school in New York City. (Nowadays, we’d call it an inner city school, but the label doesn’t really fit this situation.) The movie starts with the beginning of the school year as Dadier begins his first year teaching English. The class breaks him in, including the famous scene with the baseball smashing into the blackboard. The class includes a variety of now-famous stars, including Sidney Poitier as Miller and Jamie Farr (credited as Jameel Farah) as Santini. The teachers are very jaded about teaching, and treat their students cynically.
The school year doesn’t start out well, as Dadier and the new math teacher are jumped in an alley. (I know they were drinking, but seriously, what were they thinking, taking a shortcut through an alley!) The math teacher later brings in his collection of swing records to play for his class, and winds up with broken records and player.
Dadier tries to maintain a sense of optimism about the kids, but later, when his wife goes into labor prematurely, possibly because she has been receiving letters about an affair her husband is supposedly having with another teacher.
The big final scene is quite memorable -- a leader of the gang decides to pull a knife on Dadier, but can’t manage to fight him. His gang decides not to join him in fighting the teacher, and the class manages to help Dadier fight off the assailants. In the end, Dadier and Miller walk out of school together, both deciding to stay at the school.
Blackboard Jungle is pretty dated and definitely has a 1950s feel to it. Honestly, after hearing about the state of inner-city schools now, it seems as though the problems of the 1950s were almost quaint. But at the same time, it still has a valid message: that kids need to have some optimism in their lives, and that teachers need to be tough on their students, especially in an urban setting.
I haven’t seen many movies with Sidney Poitier, but I really enjoyed him in this. I was surprised that he didn’t get higher billing, but this was definitely a step up for his career. Glenn, as always, did a great job playing the conflicted hero, and really made the movie for me.
One more reason to watch Blackboard Jungle: to see the great fashions of the 1950s for teenagers. Unfortunately, it’s an all-boys school, but to see how they dressed casually and some what more formally is kind of interesting.
FILE UNDER: Classic Film ; 31 Films in 31 Days Challenge
Blackboard Jungle stars Glenn Ford as Mr. Dadier (Dah-dee-eeeh), a brand new teacher at a troubled school in New York City. (Nowadays, we’d call it an inner city school, but the label doesn’t really fit this situation.) The movie starts with the beginning of the school year as Dadier begins his first year teaching English. The class breaks him in, including the famous scene with the baseball smashing into the blackboard. The class includes a variety of now-famous stars, including Sidney Poitier as Miller and Jamie Farr (credited as Jameel Farah) as Santini. The teachers are very jaded about teaching, and treat their students cynically.
The school year doesn’t start out well, as Dadier and the new math teacher are jumped in an alley. (I know they were drinking, but seriously, what were they thinking, taking a shortcut through an alley!) The math teacher later brings in his collection of swing records to play for his class, and winds up with broken records and player.
Dadier tries to maintain a sense of optimism about the kids, but later, when his wife goes into labor prematurely, possibly because she has been receiving letters about an affair her husband is supposedly having with another teacher.
The big final scene is quite memorable -- a leader of the gang decides to pull a knife on Dadier, but can’t manage to fight him. His gang decides not to join him in fighting the teacher, and the class manages to help Dadier fight off the assailants. In the end, Dadier and Miller walk out of school together, both deciding to stay at the school.
Blackboard Jungle is pretty dated and definitely has a 1950s feel to it. Honestly, after hearing about the state of inner-city schools now, it seems as though the problems of the 1950s were almost quaint. But at the same time, it still has a valid message: that kids need to have some optimism in their lives, and that teachers need to be tough on their students, especially in an urban setting.
I haven’t seen many movies with Sidney Poitier, but I really enjoyed him in this. I was surprised that he didn’t get higher billing, but this was definitely a step up for his career. Glenn, as always, did a great job playing the conflicted hero, and really made the movie for me.
One more reason to watch Blackboard Jungle: to see the great fashions of the 1950s for teenagers. Unfortunately, it’s an all-boys school, but to see how they dressed casually and some what more formally is kind of interesting.
FILE UNDER: Classic Film ; 31 Films in 31 Days Challenge
posted by Rebecca at 9:36 PM
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