Blackboard Jungle
1955 Directed by Richard Brooks
Synopsis
SHOCKING!
Richard Dadier is a teacher at North Manual High School, an inner-city school where many of the pupils frequently engage in anti-social behavior. Dadier makes various attempts to engage the students' interest in education, challenging both the school staff and the pupils. He is subjected to violence as well as duplicitous schemes.
Cast
Studio
Genre
Popular reviews
More-
This is one of those films that has perhaps more value as a sociological/historical document than as a film.
It lacks subtlety, is filled with stereotypes and drives home its message with force and a great deal of melodrama.
Ford is servicable if perhaps a tad out of place and Poitier is a delight to watch, showcasing his natural talent and charm.
As an educator and history buff this film was very rewarding though. It is an interesting time capsule, a snapshot of a mindset on how to educate and challenge individual thought in a time when this wasn't the norm. And even though these methods and ideas seem dated now, when placed in this time frame, this film is still rather brave in trying to tackle this subject and thus causing quite a stir.
Recent reviews
More-
A classic. Period. Rock Around The Clock. Tonight. Done.
-
This is one of those films that has perhaps more value as a sociological/historical document than as a film.
It lacks subtlety, is filled with stereotypes and drives home its message with force and a great deal of melodrama.
Ford is servicable if perhaps a tad out of place and Poitier is a delight to watch, showcasing his natural talent and charm.
As an educator and history buff this film was very rewarding though. It is an interesting time capsule, a snapshot of a mindset on how to educate and challenge individual thought in a time when this wasn't the norm. And even though these methods and ideas seem dated now, when placed in this time frame, this film is still rather brave in trying to tackle this subject and thus causing quite a stir.
-
I can understand why this film caused such a furor back in 1955, with most of America being spoon fed their daily allowance of syrupy, sentimental family sit-coms like Father Knows Best and Ozzie and Harriet. In these white bread comedies, the young folks greatest dilemmas were whether to have a coke or a chocolate shake with their burger at the local malt shop. Blackboard Jungle grabs the viewer by the throat and transports them into the day to day life of troubled teenagers in an inner city public school. The neighborhood is a mixture of delinquent street thugs and the downtrodden poor eeking out their meager existences. Into this hornet's nest arrives a naive ex-soldier who has received a…
-
Might have been more effective in the 50s, but this social awareness film feels incredibly hokey and dated now.