User Reviews

"Blackboard Jungle" marked a turn around in films coming from Hollywood. This was a film that dealt with a reality that movies had not dared to touch before in the way they always wanted to sugar coat every picture about teens in high school. The guys one sees here are the real thing, as though taken from any high school in the inner city of that time.

The amazing thing this high school, at the center of the action, is not typical of any other schools in that one males attended and no females are to be seen around them. By making an old male high school, Richard Brooks updated Evan Hunter's novel to show the violent nature of most of those young men that are clearly from under privileged homes, perhaps, boys whose fathers had bolted and left their women to bring up the sons they didn't want to have anything with.

The film is important in that it marked the arrival of a strong actor that would dominate the movies like no other one, Sidney Poitier. With his handsome looks, and his great screen presence, Mr. Poitier was instrumental in breaking into the main stream movies in ways others tried, but didn't make a dent. Perhaps it was in the cards that Hollywood began dealing with a reality they tried to ignore integrating their stories with Blacks that had taken a back seat to other, not so talented performers.

The film works because of the strong performances by Glenn Ford, Vic Morrow and Sidney Poitier. Also, the theme song of the film, "Rock Around the Clock" went to become an anthem for viewers that filled the theaters for the thrill of hearing it play as the film started, putting them in the right frame of mind to accept what they were going to see.

Richard Brooks is the one responsible for the adaptation and the inspired direction for the movie that still resonates because of its raw energy.

I chose to watch Blackboard Jungle after I saw Rebel Without a Cause in Film class. I enjoyed the first movie and after I learned what Jungle was about, I assumed that I would enjoy it as much as Rebel. I was wrong; I enjoyed Blackboard Jungle twice as much.

Blackboard Jungle premiered in 1955, the same year as Rebel Without a Cause and historical milestones such as Rosa Parks' monumental protest of bus segregation. In fact, race relations pay an important part in this film, which I will discuss later. The movie is about a teacher, Richard Dadier, who accepts a job at North Manual High School. At this school, he encounters a school-wide discipline problem. The two main perpetrators in Dadier's class are Gregory Miller, a black student whom Dadier comes to see much promise in, and Vic Morrow, the true instigator of violence, whose gang attacks Dadier. Over the course of the film, Dadier also encounters apathetic teachers, a principal in denial, and a wife who gives birth prematurely. Eventually, Dadier must decide if his pursuit to teach is important enough to endure the hardship.

This movie brings up some very important issues that were just important in 1955 as they are in 2001. Violence in schools is still a major topic, culminating in the Columbine shooting which everyone should remember. Also important is how teachers are to deal with this threat. Dadier dealt with it by reaching out to Miller and by confronting Morrow. But is this a realistic scenario? Sometimes students just cannot be reached, and it is irresponsible to ask teachers to directly confront weapon-totin students who have a propensity for violence. This just goes to show that solving violence in schools is difficult. It has taken at least 46 years; it will probably take many more.

No female students are portrayed in Blackboard Jungle. This contributes to the stereotype that usually teenage boys are the ones who instigate violence. Of course, the statistics show that male students are mostly responsible for school violence, and many stereotypes exist for a reason. Rebel Without a Cause demonstrates the female role in school insubordination well, by including a woman in the main gang. Still, I would have liked to see a female student element in Jungle, to show that girls are often involved, and that they also influence male student's behavior.

For the era, the racial attitude of Blackboard Jungle is very progressive. Dadier confronts racial slurs in the classroom. The principal, who was tipped off by a student that Dadier was using racial epithets (when all he was demonstrating was the dangerous consequences of such racism), is not happy with this report and chastises Dadier. Both situations show that two important protagonists object to racism, signifying the film's aversion to this social aspect. This comes just after Brown v Board, simultaneous to Rosa Parks' significance, and long before the high point of the Civil Rights Movement. Blackboard Jungle should undoubtedly be recognized for its attitude on race relations and other controversial elements, such as rock and roll. At a time when rock music was still controversial and outside the mainstream, Blackboard Jungle opened and closed with Bill Haley and the Comet's "Rock Around the Clock." This was a bold step to take and was one of the reasons that the film was banned from many theatres. The relatively violent content also contributed to the barring of the movie and probably contributed to many riots that occurred in theatres while the movie was shown.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie, both for the issues it addressed, its support for educators and their responsibilities, and for its entertainment value alone. I highly recommend this film to anyone who is interested in educational dilemma, or someone who simply would enjoy a classic film with a progressive, realistic attitude. However, for anyone looking for a clone of Rebel Without a Cause, they won't find what they're looking for, but I guarantee they will enjoy it just the same.

Certainly a classic American motion picture. Glenn Ford stars as a teacher who is proud of his profession and is dedicated to teaching others. He is assigned to an unruly inner city high school filled mostly with teen-age thugs. The general attitude of the schools staff is to just sit on the garbage can (referring to their student body) from year to year. Fords Richard Dadier character attempts to teach these penitentiary candidates is met with resistance led chiefly by the ultimate juvenile delinquent Artie West played masterfully by Vic Morrow.

Well cast with a number of fine actors and actresses virtually all films that followed this one and dealt with unruly schools and students are born from this one. Sidney Poitier turns in a great performance as a student who has academic potential but is torn between his street ways and his desire to become educated and better himself. While watching this film it's hard to imagine any worse situation-taking place in a high school. Yet what has been happening in Americas high schools of recent makes the goings on in the classroom of Richard Dadier seem quite mild. A young Jamie Farr who would achieve fame as Klinger on the long running TV series MASH is cast as a simple minded student in the class of delinquents. None of whom will ever pitch for the Yankees by the way! After seeing this movie you might just say `Oh Daddy-O what a good film'

Blackboard Jungle is one of the seminal films in Glenn Ford's career. As Richard Dadier, newly minted teacher going into one of the inner city schools in New York City, he's nervous, but full of idealism and commitment that he can make a difference in the lives of these kids.

One of the aspects of Blackboard Jungle that is never discussed is the problem, still very much with us today, of illiteracy. For me the key to the whole story is when Ford has to get down to the level of running a movie cartoon of Jack and the Beanstalk in order to communicate with them. That's when he reaches them and also takes control of the situation in his classroom away from the school thug as graphically portrayed by Vic Morrow.

I was involved with someone for many years and his literacy level was very low. It made him angry and unable to handle the world and all the problems he had in life. He had a worse situation than the kids in The Blackboard Jungle. He was raised in a group home where they didn't care at all if you learned anything.

Blackboard Jungle is also memorable for the use of a previously recorded song by Bill Haley and the Comets that sold a few records the year earlier, but didn't set the world on fire. Director Richard Brooks heard it in young Peter Ford's collection and decided it would be his theme. Rock Around the Clock became a rock and roll institution after The Blackboard Jungle was out in theaters.

Blackboard Jungle also started another less fortunate trend. That of picking very obviously adult actors to play high school kids. A trend that has continued to this day with such shows as Beverly Hills 90210 carrying on the tradition. Capable players that they are and they certainly delivered fine performances, Sidney Poitier and Vic Morrow don't look like high school kids, especially not next to Rafael Campos who was in the correct age bracket when the film was being shot.

Teacher burnout is also covered in Blackboard Jungle with Louis Calhern leading the pack of cynics Glenn Ford has as colleagues. In many ways Blackboard Jungle is the grandfather of a film like Stand and Deliver where Edward James Olmos is the dedicated math teacher of inner city kids a generation later. Other than ethnic, not too much difference between Richard Dadier and Jaime Escalante.

Richard Brooks assembled and directed a cast that made a classic that's still agonizingly relevant today.

Blackboard Jungle (1955)

There is so much intensity and visual punch to this socially concerned schoolhouse narrative, it's hard to not overlook the pushiness of some of the plot and the blatant stereotyping of most of the characters. Glen Ford is, in fact, truly commanding here, and he becomes the movie. Most of the rest, really all the rest, are supporting roles, and not all of them do him credit. And this comes not from lack of talent, but from a script that has too many little agendas at work. Hey, but they are important and interesting agendas, so fear not. It's exciting going every step of the way.

Even young Sydney Poitier, for all his charm and ease on screen, is forced into a role, as a reluctant but talented student, that makes him a two-dimensional, and his relationship with Ford is pushed on us at the expense of the others. Some of the other teachers are convincing in their own ways, most of all Louis Calhern as a grumpy and jaded older teacher who expects the worst and gets it. There are moments of high drama that work--mostly violence or the avoidance of violence--and there are moments too contrived and too foreshadowed to contribute very much. The female teacher is set up to tempt the determined Ford main character, and she plays out in expected ways.

It might be a testament, actually, that the movie grabs you and won't let go even with these storytelling flaws. For one thing, it looks great (with photography by Russell Harlan) and is edited crisply, so technically it soars (and in a vivid widescreen black and white, not 4:3 like IMDb says). The director, Richard Brooks, clearly makes the most of the material. His career has left us a number of almost great movies, and this might be his greatest. It seems to have had the most impact in its time, sparking violence in the theaters where it was shown. And by using "Rock Around the Clock" it helped make Bill Halley and Comets and white rock and roll hugely popular.

But as just a movie, on the screen, it is Ford who takes on the subtle turmoils going on in his character's head, and you read it in his face and his stiff body language, and you believe him.

A history professor once told me, "If you want to change history, become a historian." This statement might also apply to movie critics. I came of age (turned 13) when I saw this movie when it was first released in 1955. My buds and I liked the movie, not because it was a shocker, which it was not, but because it dealt fairly realistically with teenagers, much more so than say the old Andy Hardy series. To my knowledge no one was really shocked by this movie. There was no big hoopla by "concerned" citizens as there would be when Elia Kazan's "Baby Doll" played on the same screen a few years later. And "Rock Around The Clock" was not considered rock 'n' roll by most teens, only a pop hit along the lines of "Sh-boom." The first record actually considered rock 'n' roll by most teens was Chuck Berry's "Maybelline." When my buds and I first heard it on the radio, we stopped the car and listened intently to a new kind of teen music. That did not happen with anything Bill Haley and the Comets put on wax. Those who say "The Blackboard Jungle" was a shocker simply did not live through that period of history. Some of these same critics believe that the average family of the 50's was like the one portrayed on "Leave It To Beaver." I knew of no family in my neighborhood that lived like the Cleavers. We found "Rebel Without a Cause" and a somewhat neglected film "The Wild One" to be the ones that related to our rebellious side. "The Wild One," especially Marlon Brando's performance, was the standout film for us teens in those days. Another later Robert Mitchum flick, "Thunder Road," was also a movie that spoke to the teens of the period. Marlon Brando, James Dean, and Robert Mitchum were movie role models for many of us growing up in the turbulent 50's, not Glenn Ford or even Vic Morrow and Sidney Poitier.

That's not to say that this movie is not worth seeing, for it is a good movie dealing in a somewhat no nonsense way with teaching rebellious and sometimes dangerous teens, who see nothing relevant in book learning and who don't want to be exposed to the higher levels of intellectual endeavors. How do you teach the unteachable? Still a challenge today in the American classroom.

In terms of impact on the public, this was one of the most important films ever made in America. When it was released there in 1955, it caused an earthquake of terrified and enraged response from around the country. Some people might say no one was shocked, but in my experience everyone I knew was. I was a child when I saw it, and I was shocked to the tips of my toes. But then I was not yet a teenager, and teenagers were incomprehensible psychologically disturbed creatures as far as I could see from my perspective. The scene which most upset me then was the breaking of poor Mr. Edwards's 78 rpm record collection. It was obvious to me that West, the boy brilliantly played by Vic Morrow, was psychopathic, and it is well known that psychopaths cannot bear to hear music, especially good music. It was obviously too much for Vic Morrow to hear Bix Beiderbecke playing jazz (see my review of the film about his life, YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN, aka YOUNG MAN OF MUSIC, 1950), so he had to smash the records. All the parents I knew, met, or overheard talking to one another were in a state of utter shock about this film and had become neurotic overnight about what might be happening in the classroom with little Johnny. This film blew the lid off the suppressed story of classroom violence, and of what were becoming known, to every parent's terror, as 'juvenile delinquents'. This was when feral youth began. The lead character in this film is a dedicated teacher played by square-jawed and honourable Glenn Ford, whose name is Mr. Dadier. The kids in the class tease him by mispronouncing his name and calling him 'Daddio'. From this origin came the 'cool' expression 'Hey Daddio' which tough kids in gangs then used as part of their street slang all over America for another 20 years or so, and less than one percent of the kids who said that had ever seen or heard of the film from which the expression came. So is slang created in the least likely of ways. I was electrified as a child when this film began, when I heard on the soundtrack over the credits the totally new experience of rock and roll music. The song 'Rock around the Clock' sung by Bill Haley and the Comets sent shock waves through all young people, even as young as me. No one I knew had ever heard such a sound, or could imagine such music. This song and this film ignited a revolution in the world of popular music which meant that the world would never be the same again. It also suddenly seemed acceptable for youth to be rebellious, raucous, and irreverent. Not like the 'juvenile delinquents' in the film of course, who were too extreme and violent, but just as a general idea of youth unleashed. 'The younger generation' as a separate stratum of society was born at this moment too. We all saw the film, and you couldn't keep us out of the cinemas. It was like a forest fire that spread across a continent. Glenn Ford became such a hero after this that all the films where he played a sergeant or a captain in the Army, or a police detective, were as nothing compared to the courage he showed in that violent school in New York City. It was as if Glenn Ford had really done that. We didn't think of him as an actor anymore: BLACKBOARD JUNGLE was too real to be fiction, and he had to be real too. His wife Anne Francis did not attract much respect, as she was too feeble and played a rather insipid goody-goody prone to irrational jealousies. Louis Calhern was superb as an older teacher of 12 years' experience at the school who had become a hardened cynic. When he spoke his words of wisdom, we all listened, believing every word. This film was, above all, about ourselves, the young people. I may have been only an apprentice youth, but I was still amongst the group below the level of the parents who were suddenly looked upon by our elders with the same fear as if we were wild Indians circling a wagon train (a wagon train which might even be defended by Glenn Ford). This film was the seventh screen appearance of Sidney Poitier, though the first in which he was really noticed. He played a boy of 18 even though he was really 28, which was a considerable feat, as he pulled it off. His role as Miller made a big impact with everyone and essentially made his future career. The film was written and directed by Richard Brooks, who generally wrote his own scripts. Apart from this one, his three best films were probably the two Tennessee Williams films which he adapted, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (1958) and SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH (1962), as well as the amazing ELMER GANTRY (1960), the screenplay of which won him an Oscar. Brooks was not afraid to tackle significant subjects (ELMER GANTRY was about an evangelical preacher, and his later film of Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD of 1969 was an attempt to deal with murder from a philosophical perspective, though not everyone appreciated Capote's viewpoint, including myself). There are few films of which one can honestly say that it changed society, but BLACKBOARD JUNGLE is certainly one of those. It holds up very well to viewing today, and has not lost its power. For the sake of perspective, after seeing it, one should then watch the magnificent modern film about this problem, FREEDOM WRITERS (2007, see my review). Both of these films deal with some of the most serious issues of any society, and both are classics deserving of the highest respect. Both are also absorbing and compulsive dramas of the utmost integrity.

Glenn Ford gets hired in i guess a trade school. There are no female students, so I assume that's what it is. Good acting, but phony sets. Should have been on location for more realism. Two problems beside the unrealistic settings. First, does the Ford character teach only one class? You never see how his other students behave. More realistic to show all his 8 classes or so. Secondly, these hoodlums don't swear? Also, why did the Ford character stay after being beaten up? A tacked on "happy" ending seems very artificail. Some of the "kids" seem like they're in their twenties as I'm sure some of the actors were. Still, interesting viewing and some good ideas and idealists.

James Dean's untimely death in September of 1955 made "Rebel Without a Cause" a booming box office and critical success. Overshadowed due to that was "Blackboard Jungle", a superior and more important film than the aforementioned "Rebel Without a Cause" (contrary to popular belief admittedly). It is New York in the mid-1950s and former military man Glenn Ford (in his greatest screen role) takes a job as a high school teacher in the inner-city. Soon it is blatantly apparent that the school is full of male thugs (most notably guys like Sidney Poitier, Vic Morrow, Paul Mazursky and even Jamie Farr) who run things with total disregard of faculty rules and policy. Ford becomes enraged and proves to be a lot tougher than originally thought. However when pregnant wife Anne Francis starts receiving anonymous phone calls and letters from one of Ford's students about a possible affair between he and one of his female co-workers, the real fireworks start. At first Ford believes that Poitier is the culprit, probably based more on race and Poitier's obvious intelligence rather than actual proof. It takes lots of time and effort, but Ford becomes determined to get through to his pupils and weed out those who are trying to impede his progress and the advancement of others at his school. "Blackboard Jungle" is another excellent piece from writer-director Richard Brooks (Oscar-nominated for writing). It is the first truly legitimate movie that dealt with 1950s teenage angst and it rises above every other movie of the genre. Ford is a revelation, once again showing that he is probably the most under-appreciated actor throughout the history of the cinema. With that said, "Blackboard Jungle" is likely best remembered as Poitier's breakthrough role, a role which ultimately led to outstanding movie after outstanding movie throughout the late-1950s and 1960s. Poitier, 28 at the time, plays much younger than he was and adds much emotion and depth to a potentially flat character. A booming rock'n'roll soundtrack and top-flight performances dominate Brooks' outstanding winner. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

BLACKBOARD JUNGLE holds an entirely unique place in my cinema experience. I was all of seven years old when I walked to the local movie theater in my Rhode Island suburban neighborhood and laid out the grand total of 20 cents to see it.

It was the first movie that I ever watched alone, and it is the first major Hollywood movie to use a rock 'n roll song for the credit roll. (Rock Around the Clock by Billy Haley and the Comets)

The black and white look gave it a gritty, even scary feel to my very young impressionable mind. I knew that Glen Ford was in an awful situation dealing with these inner city punks and that Vic Morrow was the worst of the lot. I gotta admit he was just a little cool to me as well, especially when he put his switchblade into his desk top.

Despite being released in 1955, BLACKBOARD JUNGLE is not quite as dated as one may believe. Many of the issues within are as current as modern times. It remains a gripping drama.

Anne Francis is the gorgeous, frightened wife, and Sidney Poitier gives a terrific performance as the guy Glen Ford must win over to gain control of his class.

I wouldn't hesitate to check this out again.

Glenn Ford plays a Navy vet turned New York City schoolteacher who gets a job at a delinquency-ridden school, attempting to reach the kids while cautiously working his way around their appointed leader. Much-imitated melodrama adapted from Evan Hunter's book has aged fairly well, with still-relevant issues and characters, taut situations and convincing dialogue. Ford is fine, if a little soft; Sidney Poitier glowers and shows off his piercing stare; Vic Morrow and Paul Mazursky are two of the other students. Bill Haley and the Comets sing "Rock Around the Clock" over the opening credits (the first rock song to christen a major motion picture, which probably caused quite a stir in movie-houses circa 1955). **1/2 from ****

Having first seen this on VHS during the '90s, I decided to again watch Blackboard Jungle on DVD knowing-since this is Black History Month-this was one of Sidney Poitier's breakout performances. He plays Gregory Miller, who we find out is in the choir at the high school and also has a job as a mechanic. Glenn Ford-as his teacher Richard Dadier-tries to steer him to the straight and narrow even as his other students, especially Vic Morrow as Artie West, prove more troublesome. I'll stop there and just say this was quite compellingly shocking for its time, so much so that a disclaimer at the beginning had to assure mainstream viewers that the depiction of the school was pure fiction! Oh, and this proved to be such a popular movie that the song that started it, "Rock Around the Clock", which hadn't done much beforehand, suddenly became the No. 1 hit for Bill Haley and His Comets and basically started the Rock 'n' Roll era! So on that note, I highly recommend Blackboard Jungle. P.S. I also highly recommend the accompanying commentary on the disc provided by players Paul Mazursky, and Jamie Farr (credited in the movie as Jameel Farah), assistant director Joel Freeman, as well as Peter Ford, Glenn's son, who mentions how director Richard Brooks came to pick the theme song after listening to Peter's copy of the record.

GLENN FORD is very effective as a straight arrow schoolteacher caught up in the discipline problems of one of the city's worst schools and striving to bring his own sense of decency to students who reject him at every turn. The story of his crusade, from Evan Hunter's best-seller, is still timely today when just such problems still exist in certain troubled areas populated by minorities.

Supporting Ford are a group of talented actors portraying students, notably VIC MORROW and RAFAEL CAMPOS--and especially, SIDNEY POITIER. All of them are convincing enough to keep the tale taut and dangerous throughout. ANNE FRANCIS gives some nice warmth to her role as Ford's anxious wife who wants him to quit his dangerous teaching job.

It explores the relationship between Ford and his fellow teachers, with LOUIS CALHERN especially adept at showing us a teacher unwilling to be confrontational when it matters. It also deals with issues of race and ethnicity in a more moderate way than you might expect.

It's notable today for its early use of rock music, specifically the "Rock Around the Clock" theme that's used over the opening credits.

Summing up: An interesting study of the discipline problems many teachers face in city schools. Absorbing, well-paced and filled with tension from start to finish.

Evan Hunter's novel of The Blackboard Jungle was a timely reminder of the "Lost Generation" of post-war adolescents living in a social vacuum in the late forties and fifties. Contrary to recent trends towards mythologising this time as an era of plenty (the economic "Long Boom"; the feel-good depictions of fifties life by Hollywood) social unrest was a corollary of affluence.

At the core of the story is the unseen class war fermenting among the underclass - socially deprived, racially discriminated youth who are trapped inside a system which can't (or won't) realise their innate potential.

This is the situation confronting teachers such as Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford), who are placed as front line "soldiers" to keep the animals at bay - until the next wave! Resolving to work within, and beyond the confines, of the "system" Dadier suffers for his humanity, but perseveres, knowing that the jungle has an inner beauty too long hidden from respectable society.

Representative of the jungle is Gregory Miller (Sidney Poitier), young and black, who has developed his own code for existence - to push as far as possible without ever crossing the boundary into the enemy's territory. Hunter's novel examined this aspect of the student-teacher relationship more fully than Richard Brooks's film, but the tension is brilliantly crystallised in the film's climactic scene as Dadier is forced to react against an intransigent student's brutality with violence. Looking at Miller, the ostensible leader, he poses the question whether it would be best to ignore what happened and let things continue as is, consigning them all to the law of the jungle. The answer affirms the basic human dignity inherent in all members of society. A timely sentiment in an era where humans are increasingly accorded the dignity of economic cyphers, rather than flesh and blood beings.

This is an original classic picture dealing with a teacher fighting troubled students and violent confrontation in the classroom titled ¨Blackboard jungle¨ written by Evan Hunter and displays a very good cast such as with Glenn Ford , Anne Francis , Louis Calhern , Sidney Poitier , Vic Morrow , Paul Mazurski , among others . Being very worthy in its intention and including faith in American youth . It begins with the following sentences : ¨Today we are concerned with juvenile delinquency , its causes and its effects . We are especially concerned when this delinquency boils over into our schools , the scenes and incidents depicted here are fictional . However , we believe that public awareness a first step toward a remedy for any problem and with this faith that ¨Blackboard jungle¨ was produced . It is a violent and strong movie by its time about a bunch of cruel teens who terrorize the entire school and a new English teacher at an inner-city school is determined to do his job , despite resistance from both students and faculty . Tough as well as thoughtful entertainment , set in the fifties , and dealing with Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) , a man happily married to a pregnant wife called Anne (Anne Francis). He is a new English teacher who has his own ideas of discipline . He goes to work at an inner city as well as violent, unruly high school that is like nothing he has ever seen before , as he must face off a motley crew of adolescents in the classroom . Ring leader is a student psychopath (Vic Morrow) , a baddie who doesn't seem human , he leads his groupies on a reign of terror through the high school halls . There takes place some violent events and a police inspector starts investigating with no results . The ominous group carries out threats , robbing , then the English teacher pulls off his owns objectives , leading to an ever higher tension . As a high school teacher determines to enforce law and order by using all kind of means .

Well-remembered violent school drama from the 50s in which teenager gangs terrorize the entire high school and surroundings executing crimes and violence at random . Interesting script , screen-written by the Principal of a teacher's harrowing experiences in N.Y. school system . This entertaining as well as thought-provoking film contains thrills , intense drama , upsetting scenes , and with quite convincing , studious atmosphere . In fact , due to the film violent content had great notoriety and important impression as well as some problems with censorship . This was the first movie to feature Rock music , as ¨Bill Haley's ¨Rock around the clock¨ , being played on the opening credits . Highlights of the movie include baddie knife-wielding Vic Morrow taking on Glenn Ford in some breathtaking scenes . Nice acting by Glenn Ford as an idealistic teacher in a slum area who fights doggedly to dominate his unruly students . Memorable support cast , full of veteran actors such as Margaret Hayes , Richard Kiley , Louis Calhern , Emile Meyer , Richard Deacon , John Hoyt and newcomers such as Sidney Poitier , Rafael Campos , Paul Mazursky , many of them in brief roles , and look for Virginian's James Drury and Jamie Farr billed as Jameel Farah . Special mention to Vic Morrow playing as one of the worst villains of the cinema history . Evocative cinematography in Black and White by Russell Harlan , though is also shown in horrible computer-colored version . The picture was well directed by Richard Brooks and achieved great success . Rating : Above average for its thrilling premise as well as hard-hitting entertainment and had the youthful ripping up the seats on its first release .

It was followed by ¨Class 1984¨ with Marl L. Lester with Perry King , Michael J Fox , Timothy Van Patten , this is a bloody and gory remake update ; continued by ¨Class of 1999¨ by Mark Lester with Malcolm McDowell , Bradley Gregg , Tracy Lind , Stacy Keach , Pam Grier , Patrick Kilpatrick ; and another sequel titled ¨Class of 1992¨ by Spiro Razatos with Sasha Mitchell , Nick Cassavetes ,and Richard Hill .

While it might look tame today, Blackboard Jungle was a shocker when it was first released in 1955. It wasn't every movie that showed the average city high school kid as a thug, trying to rape a pretty teacher in her classroom after the closing bell one minute, and beating the stuffing out a pair of male teachers in an alley the next. Yet idealistic Glenn Ford keeps on trying to get through to these kids. He's a one man Bill Bennett morality brigade. Why he cares so much is never made clear. It's not that he likes these guys. They taunt him, make fun of him, twist his words around, interrupt him when he's trying to give a simple, perfectly reasonable English lesson, refuse to answer questions, and in general make his life a living hell. The movie raises all kinds of interesting questions about the kids (nature versus nurture, etc.), but never seriously addresses the biggest question of all, which is why teacher Ford stays with his job. He says he wants to "get through" to the kids. Get what through? Why even care? That the older teachers stay on makes sense. They're looking to their retirements. Many are probably products of the same mean streets as their students, so they have a certain familiarity with their kind.

Aside from not addressing what seems to me the biggest issue of all, the movie is excellent when it sticks to the hellions themselves. It really comes to life when sadist Vic Morrow, the baddest of a very bad bunch, has the stage, as his continual provoking of Ford and his wife is disturbingly personal. Nor are Morrow's reasons for such behavior ever explained. At the other end of the spectrum is good guy Sidney Poitier, more mature and polished than the other students, and Ford's favorite.

Director Richard Brooks works wonders with his backlot high school, which really seems to smell of chalk. This is a wonderfully designed film, capturing perfectly the look and feel of the old high schools, with their clanking radiators and dingy, forbidding bathrooms, with rags hanging from the walls. Seldom has institutional life been so well-captured in a commercial film. There's not a lot of characterization of the other teachers, but we see and hear enough to get the point. They're a cynical, demoralized, bitter lot, and one really can't blame them.

Blackboard Jungle has so many good and bad things in it that it's hard to separate them. It's suffused with standard issue Eisenhower era "can do" idealism, and yet the evidence it offers suggests that this particular school and neighborhood might not be worth the effort. Yes, Ford does "break through" with some kids, but will this last? He can't very well clean up the entire city, set dysfunctional families right, throw away the gin bottles the parents of these kids swill down every night. Morrow's evil character is an extreme psychopath. Most kids aren't quite so bad, just semi-bad. But put a bunch of semi-bad sixteen years olds together and you've got a monster. They don't need a Vic Morrow to lead them. Pack mentality will do the job. Yet Ford's optimism is infectious (if vague at the source), and one can't help but admire him. There are some funny scenes in the movie, which is by no means grim all the time, as director-writer Brooks nicely balanced his natural liberal didacticism with a sense of reality. When Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" blares on the sound-track at the end, we feel that we're really been someplace, seen something. Brooks pulls it all together,--the preaching, the music, the hope, the despair. It may not make a lot of sense, but there it is. A very American movie.

This was the first of two films I watched as a tribute to Glenn Ford, one of Hollywood's most likable and underrated stars.

BLACKBOARD JUNGLE was considered a landmark film in its treatment of juvenile delinquency in public schools and also for being the first Hollywood production to feature a rock'n'roll soundtrack (the most memorable being Bill Haley and The Comets' "Rock Around The Clock"). In itself, well enough made and generally compelling - but it has dated quite a bit (the would-be toughness of the kids too often appears cornball and tame rather than intimidating at this juncture) and, coming from MGM, its superficiality was inevitable (the soft underbelly of the whole enterprise being most evident in the relationship between mild-mannered but tenacious schoolteacher Ford and troubled but talented student Sidney Poitier)!

That said, much of the acting still holds up - Ford, cynical veteran Louis Calhern, naive jazz-lover Richard Kiley among the adults, Poitier and especially unrepentant bullying criminal Vic Morrow among the kids. The scenes of violence, too (particularly an attempted rape of a shapely schoolteacher and the climactic classroom 'showdown') - which must have seemed startling at the time - remain undeniable highlights. Even if only surviving minor cast and crew members (or their relatives, in the case of Glenn Ford's son) are involved in the Audio Commentary, it made for a surprisingly engaging listen and was especially perceptive in noting how Ford's role (and haircut!) here basically defined the rest of his acting career as a leading man.

The film can be seen as forming an unofficial Juvenile Delinquency trilogy with two other seminal films of the period: Laslo Benedek's THE WILD ONE (1953) and Nicholas Ray's REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) both, of course, featuring iconic performances from Marlon Brando and James Dean respectively. Furthermore, BLACKBOARD JUNGLE was more or less remade (and quite admirably, too) in a Swinging London setting as TO SIR, WITH LOVE (1967) - with Sidney Poitier now taking on the role of the harassed schoolteacher!

Most of the 'troubled youth' pictures from the 1950s feel condescending today. They were cast with adult actors behaving how they *thought* rebellious teenagers might without any apparent first hand knowledge. The result was usually unconvincing. One of the strengths of 'Blackboard Jungle' is that the troubled youth in the film actually seem troubled. Granted, kids are much more explicit today, but I still wouldn't, want to be alone with the kids in this film.

Yet further proof that the Eisenhower years were not the idyllic era we'd like to think they were, 'Blackboard Jungle' must have been a real wake call in its day. Glenn Ford's performance is the glue that holds the whole film together, portraying a man who is neither weak nor strong but is simply determined not to give up or make a difference despite seemingly insurmountable odds. Vic Morrow also does an outstanding job playing the remorseless heavy without becoming a caricature.

Having written that, 'Blackboard Jungle' is still a little too heavy handed (the overt foreshadowing of the records' fate) and corny (the doctor coming in at just the right moment, telling the Dadiers their child is going to be okay, and then switching on the radio 'Auld Lang Sign').