Review of Blackboard Jungle (1955) by Scott K — 18 May 2008

This is likely the film that started the "teacher learns to care about inner city students" genre that has been done many times over the years to varying degrees of success. This film also featured the first Rock and Roll soundtrack as the Bill Haley And The Comets song "Rock Around The Clock" was played over the opening credits.

The film stars Glenn Ford as the teacher. Vic Morrow and Sidney Poitier played the two main juvenile delinquents. All three actors give excellent performances but Morrow stands out in his portrayal of a gang leader.

As this film was released in 1955, I had expected the level of menace to be rather mild in nature but the director was able to create a real sense of danger for Ford and the other teachers. The film has an explanation at the beginning that describes the film not as being based on actual events but rather what could happen if the education system continued to be neglected. The fact that several other films have been made in this genre and that the violence in them seems more and more real proves the filmmaker's point that the events in the film could become reality.

This keeps the film relevant to modern times and given the good script and strong performances by the actors, this is a film worth watching.