Watching SANDY DENNIS cope with the things any schoolteacher has to deal with when working in an overcrowded city school in the worst part of town, has to seem familiar to all those who've seen GLENN FORD face the same kind of hurdles in the much earlier THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE.
This time the schoolteacher is a woman, a very naive, well-intended schoolteacher who wants to bring out the best in a classroom full of bored misfits who would rather be anywhere else than school. It's based on a rather sketchy novel by Bel Kaufman, but Tad Mosel's screenplay pulls all the strands together nicely and puts the central focus squarely on Miss Dennis (where it belongs) and her crusade to bring meaning into the lives of some needy students.
Dennis is entirely up to the demands of such a role and gives one of her best portrayals. Eileen Heckart and Jean Stapleton do well in supporting roles but it's Dennis who must carry the film and she does so with honesty, integrity and her own brand of quirky charm. The school atmosphere is well captured with much of the filming done inside a real city school that serves as Calvin Coolidge High School.
Summing up: An altogether winning little film, largely forgotten, that should be more appreciated--still timely and relevant.
This time the schoolteacher is a woman, a very naive, well-intended schoolteacher who wants to bring out the best in a classroom full of bored misfits who would rather be anywhere else than school. It's based on a rather sketchy novel by Bel Kaufman, but Tad Mosel's screenplay pulls all the strands together nicely and puts the central focus squarely on Miss Dennis (where it belongs) and her crusade to bring meaning into the lives of some needy students.
Dennis is entirely up to the demands of such a role and gives one of her best portrayals. Eileen Heckart and Jean Stapleton do well in supporting roles but it's Dennis who must carry the film and she does so with honesty, integrity and her own brand of quirky charm. The school atmosphere is well captured with much of the filming done inside a real city school that serves as Calvin Coolidge High School.
Summing up: An altogether winning little film, largely forgotten, that should be more appreciated--still timely and relevant.