- Blackboard Jungle
Infobox Film | name = Blackboard Jungle
caption = Theatrical release poster
director =Richard Brooks
producer =Pandro S. Berman
writer = Richard Brooks,
based on the novel byEvan Hunter
starring =Glenn Ford Anne Francis Louis Calhern Sidney Poitier
music =Max Freedman (song "Rock Around the Clock ") (uncredited),Willis Holman (song “Blackboard Jungle”),Jenny Lou Carson (song "Let Me Go, Lover! " (uncredited)
cinematography =Russell Harlan , ASC
editing =Ferris Webster
distributor =Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
released =March 19 1955 (U.S. release)
runtime = 101 min.
country =United States
language = English
budget =
imdb_id = 0047885"Blackboard Jungle" is a 1955
social commentary film about teachers in an inner-city school. It is based on the novel of the same name byEvan Hunter .ynopsis
Richard Dadier (
Glenn Ford ) is a teacher at North Manual High School, an inner-city school where many of the pupils, led by anAfrican American student, Gregory Miller (Sidney Poitier ), frequently engage in anti-social behavior. Dadier challenges both staff and pupils but the conflict results in anonymous phone call threats against his family. Dadier suspects Artie West (Vic Morrow ) as the one making the calls, and challenges him on this.Cultural impact
Music and teen culture
The film has also been credited with sparking the
Rock and Roll revolution by featuringBill Haley & His Comets 's '"Rock Around the Clock ", initially aB-side , over the film's opening credits, establishing that song as an instant classic. The music led to a huge teenage audience for the film: their exuberance sometimes overflowed into violence and vandalism at screenings.cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/07/haley.rock/|title=The 50-year-old song that started it all|publisher=CNN.com|last=Leopold|first=Todd|accessdate=August 15|accessyear=2006] In this sense, it has been seen as marking the start of a period of visible teenage rebellion in the late 20th century.In March 2005, the 50th anniversary of the release of the film, and the subsequent rise in popularity of Rock and Roll, was marked by a series of "Rock is Fifty" celebrations in
Los Angeles andNew York City , involving the surviving members of the original Bill Haley & His Comets. The film itself made its North American DVD debut on May 10, 2005.Genre
"Blackboard Jungle" was the first of what would become a popular genre: the film in which an idealistic teacher is confronted with a class of cynical teenagers, who have disengaged from conventional schooling. As so often in later films, issues of race and class lie at the heart of the dynamics. Subsequent films that exploited the theme include: "
To Sir, with Love " (1967; starring Poitier as a black teacher in a white school), "Class of 1984 " (1982), "The Principal " (1987), "Stand and Deliver " (1988), "Lean on Me" and "Dead Poets Society " (both 1989), "Class of 1999 " (1990), "Dangerous Minds " (1995), "The Substitute " (1996), "One Eight Seven " (1997), and "Freedom Writers " (2007)Cast
The cast included:
*Glenn Ford Richard Dadier
*Anne Francis Anne Dadier
*Louis Calhern Jim Murdock
*John Hoyt Mr. Warneke
*Richard Kiley Joshua Edwards
*Warner Anderson Dr. Bradley
*Sidney Poitier Gregory Miller
*Vic Morrow Artie West
*Jameel Farah (Jamie Farr) Santini
*Dan Terranova BelaziThis was the debut film for Morrow and Farah and one of Poitier's earliest. Farah later changed his name toJamie Farr .Awards
*1955 Academy Award Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Cimematography; Best Art Direction; and Film Editing
Trivia
*The title Blackboard Jungle was also the name of a 1990s Irish TV quiz show. The show featured two teams of secondary school pupils and was hosted by
Ray D'Arcy .
*The title Blackboard Jungle was also the name of a 1980s Hair Metal group based in L.A.
*Upsetters 14 Dub Blackboard Jungle is a 1973 dub album byThe Upsetters References
[http://www.peterford.com/ratc.html Rock Around the Clock and Me by Peter Ford] External links
* http://www.destgulch.com/movies/bjungle/
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