Released: March 19, 1955 (New York)
Director: Richard Brooks
*****
The granddaddy to
Dangerous Minds,
Freedom Writers, and any of the dozen other teacher teaches a rough crowd a lesson movies made since 1955,
Blackboard Jungle is a simple piece of film most likely remembered for its pairing of Sidney Poitier as a high school student (yeah, as if anyone bought it) and Glenn Ford (who would go on to be Superman's pappy, among other roles).
When Richard Dadier comes to teach English in a school on the wrong side of the tracks, he's greeted with kids who don't want to learn, a fellow teacher being assaulted in the library, another teacher's record collection getting broken and threats to his pregnant wife. How can he-one man-teach kids who believe the subject will never help them?
Blackboard Jungle coasts on the mesmerizing performance from Poitier and the confidence exuded by Ford. We don't care about any of the other hooligans-that's all they really are-or the "jeopardy" subplot with insinuations Rick is having an affair with another teacher. In fact, after a brief scene at an after school rehearsal, we never hear about this subplot again, let alone from the female teacher in question. And that's what turns out so maddening about the film: it takes story leaps it expects the audience to take with it despite not being able to.
For instance, when Anne (Anne Francis) is in the hospital on New Year's Eve, Rick tries to apologize for whatever lies she was told. She'll have none of it; of course she knows they were all lies. How? Beats me, I don't think anyone thought it was necessary to fill in that hole. Did she talk to Rick? Did a student fess up (not likely)? Did Anne realize her husband loves her and would never hurt her? Eh, who cares. It's not important. So lets talk about Poitier's Gregory Miller. He's the kid Dadier gets through to, telling him he can be so much more than a heavy. Despite what we see on screen, we're never completely sold on the idea. It seems as though Miller coming around is more a conceit of the plot than it is born out of the character.
Blackboard Jungle wants to be a great meditation on the rigors of teaching kid who don't really care. And, in the context of 1955, it might have been the be all and end all. Now, it's just trite. Great performances from Vic Morrow as another "bad" kid, Ford and Poitier help the movie keep its head above water. Otherwise, it distills a complex topic into bite sized lessons which don't help anybody.
(spout.com)
Originally posted on:TheMovieRambler’s blog