Hindsight

Hindsight:  Film ramblings and other good stuff

One more of those educational themed movies, for back to school.

I will willingly admit, I love dated movies.  The film Blackboard Jungle, made in the mid 50s is one of these.   A school teacher, played by Glen Ford, starts teaching at a High School in the rougher part of New York City.  Well, he meets the jaded older teachers, the still wanting to please lecturers, and of course the naughty boys and girls that fill his class room.  The film To Sir with Love, which I talked about earlier this week, does a much better job with a similar scenario, but Blackboard Jungle struggles to find an honest note throughout.  That is what makes it sort of fun.  Glen Ford overacts, and the 'bad' kids are tame by today's standards, although you could say that about the students in To Sir With Love. But, unlike To Sir with Love, this film doesn't inspire me to rethink the way I teach.  It just reminds me that the psychological rebel themes worrying American parents at the time, were easy to exploit.  I am being a bit heavy handed, there is a thread throughout where one of the students, oddly enough played by Poitier (the Sir in the later film) shows growth through his connection to Ford's character.  Plus, The addition of Bill Haley's Rock around the Clock, is such a perfect opening.

Enjoy this little teaser, oh and check out the poster, the man at the center and those Jezebel teachers posing at the sides, LOL!