Review of Blackboard Jungle (1955) by Edith N — 25 Mar 2007

Look around the classroom. That "Jameel Farrah" playing Santini, the slow kid, is better known by a different name, but I assure you, you'll remember the nose. The glasses are unfamiliar, and you won't be used to him in, you know, men's clothes, but you'll know him well enough. As Jamie Farr, or possibly Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger. Still, Klinger never stabbed anyone with a flagpole.

There's also young, hot Sidney Poitier. My Gods, he's gorgeous. He's a noble spirit, a talented singer, one hell of an actor, and the toughest guy in the whole damn school. Also he builds churches for East German nuns!

Oh, the IMDB in my head. Oh, my.

I feel this portrayal of juvenile delinquency is oversimplified, of course; it was 1955. The fact that they considered social aspects as well is pretty impressive, though. These weren't bad kids. These were troubled kids who might never be able to escape crushing poverty. Their fathers were away at war when they were little; probably more than a few of those fathers never came back. Their mothers were working; quite a few of them probably still were.

There are several types of poverty. I'm particularly familiar with suburban poverty, myself, given my upbringing, but the urban poverty these kids experience is pretty brutal. Some of them are luckier than others, though; Sidney Poitier's smarter than the others. What's Jamie Farr going to do with the rest of his life? Go to Korea?