Blackboard Jungle


Blackboard Jungle

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Brooks
Produced by Pandro S. Berman
Written by Richard Brooks,
based on the novel by Evan Hunter
Starring Glenn Ford
Anne Francis
Louis Calhern
Sidney Poitier
Music by Max C. Freedman, Jimmy DeKnight (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 by Ferris Webster
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s) March 19, 1955 (U.S. release)
Running time 101 min.
Country United States
Language English

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 by Evan Hunter.

Contents

Synopsis

Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) is a teacher at North Manual High School, an inner-city school where many of the pupils, led by an African 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 featuring Bill Haley & His Comets's '"Rock Around the Clock", initially a B-side, over the film's opening credits, at the start of the movie, in an instrumental version in the middle of the film, and at the close of the movie, establishing that song as an instant classic. It was the placing of that song in these four strategic spots in the movie by director Richard Brooks that arguably led to the explosion of rock and roll as a musical, cultural, and social phenomenon. "Rock Around the Clock" would reach number one on the Billboard charts where it would stay for eight weeks and sell millions of copies. This was arguably the Big Bang for the emergence of rock and roll. After this climactic moment, rock and roll became the dominant musical genre in the U.S. The music led to a huge teenage audience for the film: their exuberance sometimes overflowed into violence and vandalism at screenings.[1] In this sense, it has been seen as marking the start of a period of visible teenage rebellion in the late 20th century.

The film marked a watershed in the United Kingdom. When shown at a South London Cinema in Elephant and Castle in 1956 the teenage Teddy boy audience began to riot, tearing up seats and dancing in the aisles.[2] After that riots took place around the country wherever the film was shown.[3]

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 and New 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:

Cast

The cast included:

This was the debut film for Morrow and Farah and one of Poitier's earliest. Farah later changed his name to Jamie Farr.

Awards

Trivia

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2008)

References

  1. ^ Leopold, Todd. "The 50-year-old song that started it all". CNN.com. http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/07/haley.rock/. Retrieved on August 15 2006. 
  2. ^ Gelder, Ken; Sarah Thornton (1997). The Subcultures Reader. Editors. Routledge. pp. 401. ISBN 0415127270. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=BDa6PDEgiawC&pg=PA401&lpg=PA401&dq=Blackboard+Jungle+teenage+riot&source=bl&ots=bvd0j89rmH&sig=erkAfhGofJY5EUpzUScD8lntyb4&hl=en&ei=4pbzSf-pLMPRjAeqp7m8DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9. 
  3. ^ Cross, Robert J.. The Teddy Boy as Scapegoat. Doshisha University Academic Depsitory. pp. 22. http://elib.doshisha.ac.jp/cgi-bin/retrieve/sr_bookview.cgi/U_CHARSET.utf-8/BD00004445/Body/g00012.pdf. 
  4. ^ "NY Times: Blackboard Jungle". NY Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/5973/Blackboard-Jungle/details. Retrieved on 2008-12-22. 

Rock Around the Clock and Me by Peter Ford

External links







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