The George McKenna Story

From the 2020 perspective the problems with underserved minorities in L.A. remain largely unchanged. Too bad.

Next up on Denzel Washington's filmography is 1986's TV movie The George McKenna Story or Hard Lessons as it was later known in some territories on dvd.

In his first leading role, Denzel stars in the true story of a Los Angeles teacher, who becomes the Principal of George Washington Memorial High School. The school and its students are affected by the normal life of gangs and drugs in their lives. McKenna wanted to give the students a real choice at education and all it offered for their future. But he faced teachers used to the reality of their school, parents unable or unwilling to give the kids the support they needed, and kids just wanting to survive the streets.

There were a lot of school reform movies in the 80's and 90's and they all follow the same basic plot. So there's not much as far as surprises, that doesn't mean they can not be enjoyable. I found a lot to like in this, it is well told and is a solid watch.

If you do watch this, you need to bare in mind it's a TV movie, so there is no bad language and the violence is tame.

One of the usual problems with these type of movies is the actors playing High School students are about 30!! This is no exception, Terrance Ellis who plays Norris really stands out as being way too old!! One quick IMDB check reveals he is only 3 years younger than Denzel Washington.

It is pretty well acted throughout. Lynn Whitfield, Richard Masur and Virginia Capers all stand out. Anyone who bothers to watch it, may spot Israel Juarbe (Freddy from Karate Kid) as Miguel.

Its synth score is awful, though.

This another movie that was released on dvd years later?with a cover displaying Denzel Washington holding a gun, despite his character never firing one in the movie.

The full movie is on YouTube.

The George McKenna Story, is a 1986 CBS fact based made for t.v. movie, that starred Denzil Washington as the title role of George McKenna. Washington plays a school principal in a tough inner city Los Angeles high school out to rid it of drugs, gangs, low moral of teachers, and restore educational values. Nothing is new in this film that has not been seen before in films like The Blackboard Jungle(1955), and later in films like The Principal (1987), Lean On Me (1988), and Dangerous Minds (1994).

This movie was Denzil Washington's last television movie before he scored big a year later with the film "Cry Freedom". The George McKenna story also starred fine stage and screen actress Lynn Whitfield, who also was in another satisfying CBS fact based movie, Johnnie Mae Gibson, F.B.I. Though the movie is clichéd at times, the producers was intelligent to cast superior actors. The George McKenna Story, without Denzil Washington would have been a typical after school special with melodramatic violence. I gave this movie *** good, but nothing exceptionally special here. Check it out, it is on video.

1st time I saw this film was this year, and I was very impressed with Denzel's performance in this tribute. I enjoy watching old movies every now and then, but I wasn't expecting this to be as good as it actually was! Have told a lot of friends about the #YoungDenzel and his performance. "Don't believe me just watch". This tribute to McKenna was written well and the scenes we shot pretty well. Lynn Whitfield did a great job supporting Denzel, but when isn't she great?! Denzel did a great job showing the frustration & passion of a man caring about his school and students. Very Good! Lynn could have def had some more lines in this film, but she did have enough lines to feel the movie from the "supportive wife's" point of view.

As I write this review I'm getting the urge to watch "Devil in a Blue Dress", may just have to do that later!

#awynnisthename

For a lower budget TV film, I was really surprised. When it started, it looked like a school video made to show kids why drugs are bad. I wasn't sure which way this was going to go when I put it on Netflix, but I had a feeling Denzel was gonna pull through! He's Denzel Washington for goodness sake! Honestly, if it weren't for him, this would have been a bit of a boring film. There is some cliché stuff in there and the quality is not too great, but with a good, grounded story, competent acting in the majority of the cast, and Denzel's skills, it's really a good movie. It's great to see him so young and so talented, before the fame. He really put his all into every performance, even when he wasn't making the big bucks. If you're into inspirational stories, films about education, or a Denzel fan, definitely watch it. You won't be disappointed.