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Novelist Evan Hunter burst America's postwar bubble when he described an inner-city school terrorized by switchblade-wielding juvenile delinquents. Director-screenwriter Richard Brooks's 1955 adaptation of Blackboard Jungle still packs a tremendous wallop (even if it was shot mostly on the back lot). A forerunner of Rebel Without a Cause and West Side Story, this black-and-white classic--set to Bill Haley and His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock"--is part exposé, part melodrama, part public-service announcement. "It is the frankest, the toughest, the most realistic film since On the Waterfront," ballyhooed MGM at the time.
Glenn Ford, at his slow-to-rile best, plays Richard Dadier, an incoming English teacher at North Manual High School. An idealist who knows how to handle himself in a dark alley, Dadier stands his ground and earns the begrudging respect of school thugs led by Vic Morrow and Sidney Poitier. Anne Francis plays Ford's especially vulnerable wife; Richard Kiley (later in Brooks's Looking for Mr. Goodbar) is the timid math teacher with the priceless jazz-record collection; Louis Calhern and John Hoyt are among the more cynical North Manual High veterans. See if you can ID Jamie Farr and director Paul Mazursky as gang members. The film was nominated for four Oscars. --Glenn Lovell
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:DVD
This is a classic. If you like performance with a message from an era of cliche this is the movie for you! It's a time when men were men, women loved them or were tarts, bad boys had the world against them yet good choices could take them in the right direction. This was a time when the bad boys who stayed bad got caught and punished. This movie is based on a real school in New York City that my uncle went to -- He turned out just fine!!
Enjoy
Enjoy
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Smallchief
Format:VHS Tape
I saw this movie in 1955. It was one of the best in that age in the genre about alienated youth, dealing as it did with ghetto kids and minorities rather than the spoiled brats of "Rebel Without a Cause."
Most of all, the movie introduced me and a million other kids to Rock and Roll. I remember listening spellbound to "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets at the end of the movie. Something, I perceived in my little noodle brain, had changed -- and nothing would ever be the same again.
By J
Format:VHS Tape
Early Poitier flick. He's actually not in very much of it. Elements of what made him the greatest black actor ever are already evident. The movie itself is merely ok. On those crazy kids. Rebel Without a Cause, released the same year, is a far superior movie on the same exact subject. So, James Dean fans watch that one and Poitier fans watch this one.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
An honor roll American drama
This tough, gritty film created quite a stir in 1955 with its approach to incorrigible students unwilling to learn or listen and their self-destructive tendencies. Read more
Published on Mar 8 2004
3.0 out of 5 stars
Blackboard Review
The Blackboard Jungle was produced in 1955-a popular time period for movies dealing with teenage delinquency. Read more
Published on Dec 3 2002
4.0 out of 5 stars
IT REALLY IS A JUNGLE OUT THERE
1955's "The Blackboard Jungle" remains a poignant, relevant portrayal of life in America's public schools. Read more
Published on Sep 14 2002 by K. Jump
5.0 out of 5 stars
Never Give Up
Filmmakers through their motion pictures often reflect or mirror traits or problems with society. Some filmmakers even affect society by their works. Read more
Published on Mar 19 2002 by hille2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Movie is Timeless
I remember seeing this movie in 1955 when I was eleven or twelve years old, and it's surprising how much I remembered about the movie before viewing it again. Read more
Published on Jan 14 2002 by C. W. Emblom
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gritty portrayal of an unyielding teacher's crusade!
I first saw this movie in the early 70s on TV and have rented it numerous times since the advent of VHS. Read more
Published on Oct 11 2000 by drew behr
5.0 out of 5 stars
Saw this film when it released in '55-still great now!
It has a certain sentimental value to be but it sure earns that five stars. This is a film with a socially commenting relative plot which along the way had many small moments. Read more
Published on May 30 1999
4.0 out of 5 stars
Richard Brooks
Amazing as it seems, all these decades later, the sound was turned down by the theater during the opening credits. Read more
Published on April 17 1999
3.0 out of 5 stars
ok, but atimes slow moving j.d. drama
although Blackboard Jungle is at times interesting and a bit disturbing, it is not a gang or delinquency drama as it is often believed. Read more
Published on Mar 11 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the BEST of the 1950s!
Glenn Ford is excellent as the idealistic teacher struggling to deal with a group of rowdy students. Read more
Published on Aug 9 1998
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