Junge Dornen

I loved this film from start to finish. From the very first scenes of Mark Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) catching the LLU 829 bus, which passes through London on his first day as a teacher in a mostly white, working class school in the East End, to its very last scene, which I won't describe, it captured my interest unlike many other movies that I have seen lately. For me, this was one of Poitier's best films, and I am disappointed that he has never been appropriately acknowledged for his outstanding performance in it. Many of his more popular roles did not bring out the full range of his acting ability as this one did. A lively and thoughtful script by director James Clavell certainly helped Poitier in this achievement.

I first viewed this film when it was released in 1967, fifty long years ago and the year that I graduated from high school, an institution that was only a notch above the environment of North Quay. For me, this motion picture has actually improved in time, perhaps because I finally understand the words of the East Enders.

The use of the theme song "To Sir With Love" with all of its variations to match the mood of the moment was very successful. The montage sequence of still shots at the museum was also very effective, especially when one considers that the museum management refused to allow the crew from rolling their cameras inside. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade.

Two major instances of irony left a strong impact on me. The first was that of a highly educated black man teaching a predominantly white, underprivileged group of working class students in the inner city. The second was the sight of Sidney Poitier, who played one of those underprivileged students in a New York City high school twelve years earlier during "Blackboard Jungle", standing in front of a similar class as the teacher. In both movies, the teachers were faced with the same, difficult choice of leaving their troubled schools for careers elsewhere.

Although the subject of race arose with great restraint on several occasions during the movie, it did not bluntly expose itself until the moment when the mostly white students were asked to deliver flowers to the home of a bereaved non-white classmate. This was a moment of truth that was handled very well with a very moving and gratifying result.

Although several other reviewers don't agree with me, this is a film which has withstood the test of time. Thanks to the outstanding performance of "Sir" Sidney Poitier, an excellent script, a very capable, British supporting cast, and overall direction by James Clavell that kept me involved in the action from start to finish, this is a very appealing movie that must be seen.

I am different than many of the reviewers in that I taught high school...though the kids weren't quite like those in "To Sir, With Love". And, while the miraculous change in the kids through the course of the film is hard to believe, there is a certain decency and sweetness about the movie that I could not resist.

The story is about Mr. Thackery (Sidney Poitier) and his seemingly impossible job. While he's a trained engineer, he cannot find work....so he decides to become a teacher...at least until something better comes along. The problem is that he's working with a lot of rough teens--teens who see no future for themselves and who have pretty much given up on amounting to anything. At first, the kids are uncivil...little jerks just biding their time until graduation. However, through the course of the term, his students learn to respect others and themselves...and prove that they might have bright futures.

As I mentioned above, the change in the students is a bit hard to believe if you think about it. But it's still an excellent film....inspiring even. Well worth seeing and filled with some terrific acting, writing and music. And yes, that IS Lulu not only singing the title song but acting as one of Mr. Thackery's students.

Recorded on a budget of just $640,000, To Sir, With Love was drafted, as with Lilies of the Field, to give Sidney a share of the gross profits to account for his diminished fee. Writer-director Clavell also received the same arrangement, a writer who was chosen for his love of the source material. The rights to the source, an identically-named novel by E. R. Braithwaite, had passed from studio to studio, and been offered to numerous stars before finally getting the green light when in the hands of Columbia President Mike Frankovich.

Poitier noted in his autobiography the similarities in terms of racial issues between America and England. Filmed in London, the picture featured a number of minorities, many of whom, he observed, would be unable to find work outside of the confines of the movie. However, for his time spent with the cast, he was delighted with their company. Sidney played Mark Thackeray, one of his most famous characters, an engineer taking a teaching post as a stopgap between jobs. Eventually the relationship he develops with the students causes him to question his loyalty to the profession.

To Sir, With Love is often frowned upon nowadays due to its sentimentality. While not wholly condemned as a film, it is certainly regarded as the poor relation of Poitier's three 1967 works. This is an unfair assessment of a movie that commits the only crime of having its heart on its sleeve. And, though the late sixties would see an increase in the political situation, To Sir, With Love was the only one of the three Poitier vehicles that year that did not rely upon his colour for its subtext. Instead, a few bigoted remarks were inserted, largely from a fellow teacher (Geoffrey Bayldon as Mr. Weston) than the pupils. Compared to his other overshadowing works that year, direction paled, too, the camera-work at times almost static. However, the scope for Poitier as an actor was broader than in the other '67 roles, and certainly broader than in the 1996 TV sequel. Where there the plot would be propelled largely by one pupil, here multiple characters would be guided through numerous situations over an entire term period. Over the course of the lengthy film the viewer can feel as though they have experienced the timescale too. And who would argue that the sheer amount of silly moves Sidney and Judy Geeson perform in the final ball didn't directly influence Travolta and Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction?

The school movie against which all other school movies are measured. Sidney Poitier was on a roll in 1966-67(A PATCH OF BLUE, GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT)and TO SIR, WITH LOVE crowned that succession of great films. Poitier's Thackery is meticulous and elegant, something of a revelation to the unwashed juvenile deliquents and teen sluts who populate his class. Yet this unemployed engineer has his work cut out for him, as his motley crew will try just about anything(including burning tampons in the classroom stove!)to run him off. Instead of exploding like the kids wish, Thackery takes a different tack; treating them like adults and talking about things they have questions about. The ploy works, and along the way Thackery learns to deal with indifferent fellow teachers, racism, lovestruck female students, and a hard decision that will determine his future . . . A great inspirational movie, TO SIR, WITH LOVE also boasts British songstress Lulu in her first film role, as well as prominent soundtrack artist(The Mindbenders are the others). The process by which Thackery molds these wild, rebellious teens into mature and thoughtful adults--and the teens' resulting respect for Thackery, quite possibly the first respect they've ever felt for an adult--is touching. Definitely a classic film worth seeing.

I have seen this movies at least 50 times since 1967 I know. It's just one of those movies that you see that you never forget. I have always had great admiration for teachers because I think they have the hardest job in the world. Sidney Poitier is such a great actor that he makes you want to cheer his characters and you believe he is who he is portraying. I still love the theme song and I think it defines the whole movie and makes you want to see it again and again. "How do you thank someone, who has taken you from crayons to perfume." Great flick... And of course the dance scene at the end. I still can't do those moves...