Blackboard Jungle is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel The Blackboard Jungle by Evan Hunter, and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brooks. It is remembered for its innovative use of rock and roll in its soundtrack, for casting adults as high-school teens, and for the breakout role of black cast member Sidney Poitier, as rebellious yet musically talented student Gregory Miller.
Upon release in March 1955, Blackboard Jungle provoked significant controversy for its depiction of violence and juvenile delinquency in urban public schools, sparking riots in some theaters, widespread denunciation from educators and civic groups, and banning or censorship in certain cities and countries. The film's use of "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets marked the first instance of a major Hollywood film featuring rock and roll music; it is also credited for introducing rock and roll to mainstream America.
Blackboard Jungle has since been recognized as a landmark film of the era, and an important influence on the emerging youth culture of the 1950s. In 2016, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot In the mid-1950s, Richard Dadier is a new teacher at North Manual Trades High School, an inner-city school of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Led by student Gregory Miller, most engage in anti-social behavior. The school principal, Mr. Warneke, denies there are discipline issues, but the school faculty, particularly Mr. Murdock, warn Dadier otherwise. Dadier befriends two other new teachers, Joshua Edwards and Lois Hammond.
Dadier's class includes Miller and Artie West, a rebellious bully and gang leader. The class shows no respect for Dadier. Dadier encourages Miller to lead the class in the right direction. After Dadier subdues a student who attacks Miss Hammond, the class gives Dadier the silent treatment and are even more uncooperative. Dadier and Edwards are mugged by West's gang.
Reluctant to quit, Dadier seeks advice from his former teacher, Professor A.R. Kraal, the principal of an academically superior school with disciplined students. Kraal offers Dadier a job, but he declines. After chastising his class for calling each other racially divisive names, Dadier is himself falsely accused by Mr. Warneke of using racial epithets in the classroom. West encounters Dadier during his gang's robbery of a newspaper truck. West tells Dadier his classroom is on the streets and to leave him alone. Several students, led by West, assault Edwards in his classroom and destroy his music record collection.
Dadier's wife, Anne, who is pregnant, begins receiving anonymous letters and phone calls telling her Dadier and Miss Hammond are having an affair. Dadier discovers Miller can play piano and sing, and wonders why Miller can show such talent but also be so rebellious. Dadier shows his class an animated film about "Jack and the Beanstalk" which sparks discussion about moral choices. Anne goes into premature labor caused by the stress of the phone calls about Dadier's alleged affair. When his neighbor Lucy Brophy shows Dadier the anonymous letters, he angrily decides to quit. Mr. Murdock encourages him to stay, telling Dadier he is making progress and has inspired him too. Anne apologizes for doubting Dadier's fidelity and says she was wrong for telling him to quit. Their premature baby boy, though weak, eventually thrives.
When Dadier observes West openly copying from another student, he demands that West bring his paper to the front to have it docked five points. West rebuffs his repeated request, but Dadier is unrelenting. The conflict quickly escalates, and West pulls out a switchblade. Dadier does not back down. Miller stops West's sidekick and classmate Belazi from jumping Dadier from behind. The rest of West's gang fails to assist.
Dadier accuses West of the false allegations made to both Mr. Warneke and Anne. Dadier subdues West, and the other students join in to subdue Belazi, who has picked up the knife to escape. Miller then leads the class in helping Dadier take West and Belazi to the principal's office. In the final scene, Miller and Dadier ask if the other is quitting at the end of the school year. Miller says no, because the two of them had a pact that neither would quit if the other stayed. Dadier's expression makes clear he has no intention of breaking the agreement.
Cast
Cast notes: This was the debut film for Campos, Morrow, and Farr, and one of Poitier's earliest. Farah later changed his name to Jamie Farr, best known for playing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the M*A*S*H TV series.
Production Background Evan Hunter's novel was based on his early job as a teacher at Bronx Vocational High School, now known as Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School in the South Bronx. Hunter, then known as Salvatore Lombino, took the teaching job in 1950 after graduating from Hunter College. He was quickly disillusioned and quit in frustration after two months. Hunter's story was initially read at MGM studios as a galley proof before the studio purchased the story on April 15, 1954, six months before the novel's publication in October 1954. The story was also published in October 1954 in condensed form in the Ladies' Home Journal. Richard Brooks' screenplay was completed before the novel's publication.
Casting Vic Morrow, Sidney Poitier, Rafael Campos, Dan Terranova and Paul Mazursky were all given screen tests. Morrow beat out both John Cassavetes and Steve McQueen for the role of Artie West. Morrow said in a 1971 interview that people still associated him with the role: "Everywhere I go I hear someone say 'I loved you in Blackboard Jungle'''... I've done Combat and films. But people still think of me as the tough kid from the Bronx." For the role of Gregory Miller, Richard Brooks and Pandro S. Berman stated that Sidney Poitier was their first and only choice for the role, with Brooks adding; "It was a happy choice, Sidney has given us a performance even beyond our expectations." Brooks later recalled that he was informed of Poitier's age, 27, after he was already cast, but decided to cast him anyway, feeling that the role of Miller required an experienced performer. Rafael Campos, who had been acting in his native Dominican Republic since the age of 8, recalled being cast as Pete Morales: "I was in New York in 1954 and they tested 600 for the part. I got it and MGM sent me to Hollywood." For the rest of the students, Brooks hired 40 kids, took them to a parking lot near a soundstage and sat them in cars for four hours; "They did whatever they wanted to do. I needed to see their personalities. Then we began to cast. In the first week I had to know who was what. I wanted to rehearse but we had no time."
William Holden was announced in August 1954 as a possibility for the role of Richard Dadier, after reading the script. Glenn Ford was eventually selected for the role, and production on the movie began immediately after his completion of filming on Interrupted Melody.
Filming Filming took place between November 15, 1954 and December 24, 1954, and was completed on a 29 day schedule, which producer Pandro S. Berman called "even then a remarkable feat for (the film's) quality." Glenn Ford noted that the tight filming schedule, and acting inexperience of many of the students worked in the film's favor, and gave a reality to the scenes. Ford recalled that they didn't know how to "hit a mark", or take cues, and that "after the first take, they'd deteriorate quickly, I had to adjust and speak above their lines."
Music The song "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets was included in the film, making the recording an anthem for rebellious 1950s youth. Frank Zappa recalled his reaction to seeing the movie in theatre: "I didn't care if Bill Haley was white or sincere... he was playing the Teen-Age National Anthem and it was so LOUD I was jumping up and down." Zappa further noted that despite the authority figures winning in the end, the film "represented a strange sort of "endorsement" of the teen-age cause: "They have made a movie about us, therefore, we exist..." Arnold Shaw noted the irony of the connection between rebellion and the song: ""Rock" was simply a song about having a good time... But its role in Blackboard Jungle elevated it into the "Marseillaise" of the rock revolution. An unintended link was established between rock 'n' roll and teenage alienation and hostility." It was number 1 on the US Billboard pop charts for two months and went to number 3 on the R&B chart.
In 2010, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) listed the soundtrack of the movie on its list of the Top 15 Most Influential Movie Soundtracks of all time. TCM described the impact and the influence of the movie:
The film also briefly features a recording of "Jazz Me Blues" by Bix Beiderbecke and His Gang, heard in the classroom scene when teacher Joshua Edwards plays records from his jazz collection, which the students subsequently destroy.
Release TheatricalBlackboard Jungle had a sneak preview at the Encino Theater in San Fernando Valley on February 2, 1955, before receiving its world premiere at Loew's State Theatre in New York City on March 19, 1955. Young audience members got up and danced in the aisles during the preview at the Encino Theater, which caused concern with MGM moguls Louis B. Mayer and Nicholas Schenck according to director Richard Brooks: "They walked out of the preview, shaking their heads. After that, they kept reminding me that MGM did not make dirty pictures. They kept asking, "Why do you want to cause this trouble?"
Home media The film was released on VHS on December 5, 1989 by MGM/UA Home Video. It was released on DVD in North America on May 10, 2005, by Warner Home Video.
Reception Critical reception Film showings at the time produced violent audience reactions where many theaters had to call in the police to keep order.
In a positive review, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote: Variety called it: "...a film with a melodramatic impact that hits hard at a contemporary problem. The casting, too, is exceptionally good." Harrison's Reports called the film: "...a stark, powerful melodrama, sordid, tense, and disturbing. The picture no doubt will stir up considerable controversy, but at the same time it probably will prove to be a top box-office grosser."
John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote:
Dale Stevens of Dayton Daily News called it both a "sensational movie" and "an exceptional action film," noting there was a "constant stream of outstanding scenes which keep the suspense and tension alive through 100 minutes." He noted the "good performances" of the veteran cast, calling Ford "excellent," but observed that "the real guts of the picture stems from the performances of those in the roles of the students," giving especial praise to Sidney Poitier and Vic Morrow. Mildred Martin of The Philadelphia Inquirer complimented the film for being "Almost documentary in presentation, unglamorized by color or CinemaScope, directed with bare-knuckled drive by Richard Brooks." Martin notes that Glenn Ford "gives the performance of his career", and that along with Ford "acting honors go to Sidney Poitier and Vic Morrow... whose performances are almost too real for comfort." She also praised the films soundtrack; "Charles Wolcott has put together a fitting, frightening score which throbs with rock-and-roll rhythms and the beat of drums."
Not all reviews were positive. Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post slammed the film as "so sensationalized as to negate any laudable purpose its supporters claim", further explaining: The Monthly Film Bulletin delivered a mixed to negative assessment:
Box office