Blackboard Jungle

Blackboard Jungle. 1955 MGM/Turner Entertainment.
Starring: Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Louis Calhern, Sidney Poitier, Jamie Farr (as Jameel Farah), Paul Mazursky, Vic Morrow
Director: Richard Brooks
Available at Amazon: Single DVD, or as part of the Controversal Classics box set.

Richard Dadier (Ford) is a teacher at North Manual High School, an urban school where many of the students are led by two rebellious students, Gregory Miller and Artie West (Poitier & Morrow, both of whom were closer to 30 than their actual teenage years). Most of the students engage in anti-social behavior in and out of class, essentially running the school, and the school staff meekly accept the fact that they've lost control. Dadier challenges both his coworkers and students, which earns him anonymous phone call threats aimed at his family, and rumors spread that he is having an affair with a female student. Can the teacher keep his cool and not stoop to the level of the students who don't care?

Blackboard Jungle also featured Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" in the opening credits, helping spark the so-called rock and roll revolution. The song attracted an enormous teenage audience for the film, which occasionally saw violence and vandalism at screenings.

Highly recommended.