StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

frankwiener I have to take issue with other reviewers who question the credibility of the story. The script was based on the original novel by Evan Hunter, which was inspired by his own true life experiences as a severely challenged and very disappointed public high school teacher in the South Bronx of New York City. Unfortunately, many of our inner city schools have only become more miserable with time, as difficult as that may be to believe.This film was a success as the result of an excellent, fast moving script and a fine set of actors who bring out the best of each other's abilities. The action is paced very well with four separate instances of brutal violence distributed evenly throughout the time frame. In between, the central character, Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) struggles with his decision to accept a teaching job in the inner city when he could easily find employment in a much better school where his academic mentor serves as principal. While Dadier's decision to tough it out is commendable, how many folks in his place would have opted for the other school? I thought that this was one of Ford's most convincing and most intelligent performances, and he has appeared in many movies.Sidney Poitier is excellent as Miller, the stereotype-defying student identified early by Dadier as a potential leader who could help him steer the class away from total disruption and chaos. In a little more than a decade later, as the lead in "To Sir With Love", Poitier would be standing in Dadier's shoes as a teacher in another rough inner city high school, this time on the other side of the Atlantic in London, England. Was that just a casting coincidence or perhaps deliberate? Watching Richard Kiley portraying the idealistic and quite naïve Josh Edwards, I had difficulty believing that this was the very same man who played a much more charismatic idealist on stage a decade later as Don Quixote in the musical, "Man of La Mancha". What a difference a decade makes. Vic Morrow is unforgettable as the detestable rascal, Artie West. I suppose that Dadier would be fired today for knocking this scoundrel repeatedly against the blackboard, but who needs this impossible job anyway when you can do much better somewhere else and where you might even be appreciated by your students?The title song "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets is one of my favorite early rock 'n roll tunes of the 1950's. Unfortunately, using the song as the film's theme song may have perpetuated the idea among many adults at the time that rock 'n roll music contributed to what they termed then as "juvenile delinquency". In reality, many of us managed to stay out of jail in spite of the fact that we loved rock 'n roll then, and we still love it to this day while maintaining relatively clean rap sheets.

disinterested_spectator Richard Dadier becomes a teacher at a high school, and it is a jungle indeed. Mean, scary, and dangerous, the students are a bunch of savages. Later in the film, Dadier is taken on a tour of another school. And what a bunch of polite, well-mannered, well-dressed students they are, attending to their lessons, right after singing "The Star Spangled Banner." The point is to show that not all teenagers are bad. But what no one seems to notice, even though it should be obvious, is that the good school had both boys and girls in it, whereas Dadier's high school was for boys only. That is why I always shudder when I hear people argue that students do better when they attend an all-boy or all-girl school. The girls may do better, but without girls around, boys become even more brutal than they already are.Anyway, the problem is not solved by making the school go co-educational. Rather, the movie's solution is to concentrate all the evil into just one student, and then get rid of that student. And the evil in that student is explained in terms of alcohol. When Artie West pulls out his switchblade knife, Gregory Miller warns Ford, "Watch out chief! He's floating on Sneaky Pete wine." The other students help subdue West, and once he is expelled, we discover that all the rest of the students are basically good.That is about as realistic as when Dorothy throws water on the Wicked Witch, melting her, and then we find out that the winged monkeys are basically good creatures, happy the witch is gone.

popcorninhell Teachers deserve a lot of credit. Of course, if we paid them well they wouldn't need all that credit. Such is the life of new English teacher Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) who at one point lists the salaries of municipal workers in comparison to teachers. "You didn't prepare me for this," he laments to one of his University professors. He's speaks with the frustrated tone of a desperate field marshal in formation for a losing battle. Such is the life of today's overworked, underpaid inner city professional educators. It was the same way back in 1955 as it is now in 2014.Mr. Dadier or "Daddio" as the kids call him comes to school as a bright-eyed novice English teacher. His wife is pregnant with their first child so he's eager to be a success in a school where according to the principle, there are no discipline problems. Within the first five minutes of the first class however, Dadier discovers just how dangerous things can be. Can he reach his students which include streetwise Gregory Miller (Sidney Poitier) and simmering gangbanger Artie West (Vic Morrow)? Or will he succumb to the cynicism and laziness of his fellow peers? Blackboard Jungle (1955) has the look and feel of an after-school special only with the added bonus of salty language and adult situations. Everything happens to this poor teacher throughout the year from being beaten down by students to being accused of racism to risking the loss of his would be son. The film exposes problems associated with urban schools in a concentrated amount of drama, played for keeps. If you yourself haven't experienced this kind of mayhem, you may find the entire exercise hyperbolic.Yet there's no denying problems in the American Public School system need to be addressed. Speaking from personal experience I think it's a shame that the issues exposed in Blackboard Jungle are very much the exact same issues schools, particularly urban schools still face today. Gang violence, bad learning conditions, discipline problems it's all there and effects potential childhood development. Blackboard Jungle doesn't presume to know the answers to these problems and the only solid victory that Dadier is given is inspiring other teachers to try to reach their kids again.Okay, I'm off my soapbox: what of the acting, cinematography, etc. Well for starters Glenn Ford does a find job. In an ideal classroom his Dadier would command attention yet in his classroom, his imposing stride is out of place among ruffians. Any first year teacher would identify with Ford's Dadier. He's always thinking and occasionally slow to react, mostly shocked by the attitudes and comments of his class. Another standout is Sidney Poitier who became a breakout star after his role as the too-cool-for school Miller. It's ironic to think that only twelve years later, Poitier would play an inner-city teacher himself in the film To Sir, With Love (1967).I sometimes put director/writer Richard Brooks in the same category as William Wyler and Robert Wise. All filmmakers were immensely successful during their time and did a lot behind the scenes to change the face of Hollywood. Yet their styles are incredibly malleable almost to a fault. Their stories and their actors take precedence over the movie and the director's specific style. As a result I never knowingly watch a Richard Brooks movie like I would, say a Martin Scorsese joint. I can only tell only by his writing style which is descriptive and complex without being verbose or overbearing. You can draw parallels from Vic Morrow's sly character to Edward G. Robinson's character in Key Largo (1948) and Burt Lancaster's Elmer Gantry in the film Elmer Gantry (1960).What you get out of Blackboard Jungle largely depends on your experience in grade school and beyond. To the average and the uninformed, the social problems in Blackboard may seem exaggerated. To the informed, the film is preaching to the choir. Though for teachers Blackboard Jungle may be the call for solidarity they need.https://www.theyservepopcorninhell.blogspot.com

Taylor Robinson Blackboard Jungle was an amazing movie that showed what happened in real life around the time it was filmed. It showed the racism that occurred and how respect was not shown for authority. The fact that there weren't a lot of women in this movie showed symbolism towards the time of this film. In another note, the cast list was amazing. They portrayed their characters very well.The racism showed in this movie was turned towards Gregory Miller, who was played by Sidney Poitier. He was the only black kid in the class that was focused on. The racism wasn't shown a lot until around the end of the movie. One of Gregory's classmates came to school under the influence and shouted racial slurs to who had, before, been one of his best friends. There weren't a lot of girls in this movie. This led me to think that there were only troubled boys. Also, brought to my attention that the girls weren't considered to be successful at the time, according to what happened with Lois Hammond, played by Margaret Hayes. She was the only female teacher at the school and she was targeted by her co-workers and all of the students that attended the school. On the first day, when all of the teachers were witting with each other at the assembly, they all looked at her as though she was uneducated or not well fit for the job. When she stood in front of the students to introduce herself, they all howled and whistled at her. It was very obvious that she was very uncomfortable, so she quickly said her introduction and got off stage. Later in the movie, one of the students attacked her and she was defenseless. Her co-worker, Richard Dadier, was there in time to save her and go after the student that had attacked her. He was the only teacher that actually cared and talked to her in a way that wasn't aimed to undermine her. Overall, this movie was great! I give this movie a 9 out of 10 because there was some times where I felt things were a little more extreme than in real life. But other than that, it was a great movie to watch. It actually made me visualize what teachers actually go through on an everyday basis, and to show respect.