Bright Road

Dorothy Dandridge as a young teacher, Miss Richards, on her first year of teaching and the relationship she has with a student named C.T. C.T. is from a large, poor family, he's slightly troubled, won't study, arrives late his first day, and just doesn't care about school - yet he is kind, bright, and always seems to have a smile. Now in the fourth grade, he has spent most of his school years flunking and spending two years in each grade. Miss Richards tries to help him and meantime has a small flirtation (yeah, really quite small) with the hunky, guitar-playing, school principal (Harry Belafonte). C.T. has a soft spot in his own heart for his pretty little schoolmate, Tanya, and the two have a sweet little romance with walks home from school hand in hand.

Well, this film is really a sort of hidden little jewel - how'd I manage to miss it all these years?! They also manage to fit in a few singing spots for Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge, who gives a very sensitive portrayal of the new teacher (with interesting voice-overs of her inner voice speaking to herself). She also looks quite lovely in plain make-up and clothing. A special and different film.

This film falls into that genre of movies which celebrate education and the power of great teaching to influence and develop young minds and hearts especially through the medium of the fine arts. Besides the several films which your other reviewers cited I could add How Green Was My Valley, Renaissance Man, Konrack, Mr. Holland's Opus, The Chorus, etc. In this film the arts were represented by the students' staging of Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty, just as in Renaissance Man by the Shakespeare plays, in Mr. Holland's Opus by the ensemble music they all performed together, in The Chorus by all the music the students sang together, etc.

The CT character was admirably strong. Since he was by age a 7th grader in a 4th grade class he had already reached the stage of disillusionment and could strongly insist on the non-existence of Santa Claus as well as of a god in whose image they were all supposedly made but who had failed to solve the conundrum of two different images: white and black. CT wasn't having any of that and walked out.

I discovered that this was Harry Belafonte's first movie. Indeed he seemed rather stiff in his acting and delivering his lines.

I was surprised that the segregated school the students attended was a smart looking brick building. I always imagined them as wooden shacks. Was I wrong? A jarring note in the film was the white doctor at Tanya's bedside. It implied that black people weren't smart enough to become doctors, or more likely were prevented from being so.

I found the movie a rather sugar-coated version of black life in the south, but still, all the African-American characters were treated with respect and without condescension which I found admirable.

I just seen this movie and although this can not compare to the dynamic duo performance of Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte performance in Carmen Jones, this was indeed a great family film with a powerful message. What is most important is that this movie showcases black actor and actress that are educated and didn't talk with nonsense like actors Stephen Fitchit and the ignorant Amos and Andy and Beulah Show. Dorothy and Harry really stood out in this movie, but we all know what she is remembered for.This movie dealt with real situations, even though it seems a little watered down at times , this movie is truly special and should receive a lot more recognition.This movie should be on everyone's to watch list.

"Bright Road" is a film that Hollywood decided to present with an almost all black cast, something that was not done often prior to the fifties and the arrival of such stars as Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, and the man that would make it all possible for other performers of color: Sidney Poitier! The film is based on a story by a real teacher and Gerald Mayer, the son of Louis B. Mayer, the famous head of MGM, directed with a light touch. Gerald Mayer, who had been romantically linked to the star of the film, used the right approach for this movie.

The story is simple, and yet, it speaks volumes of what a good teacher can do to inspire the young people in her charge. Jane Richards is such a person. She sees the good bottled inside C.T. Young, the rebellious poor boy that, deep inside, is a wonderful young who has had no luck with other teachers in the school, who have made him repeat two years and haven't really seen the potential in him.

Dorothy Dandridge makes a sweet, yet firm Jane Richards. She was a star that could do anything, as proved by her other films, most notably in "Carmen Jones". She was a beautiful presence in this film, who with her positive attitude changes and inspires her students. Harry Belafonte is seen as the Principal in his screen debut. Of course, the film star was Ms. Dandridge, and he had limited chances in which to show how good he was. Philip Hepburn played C.T. Young with conviction for such a small child.

"Bright Road" is a charming film thanks to Ms. Dandridge and the direction of Mr. Mayer.

It is no coincidence this movie was written by a seasoned School Teacher. What this award-winning story essentially does - in the unusual context of a Hollywood movie - is to present an "outside-the-box" approach to dealing with the disciplinary and behavioral problems of a young male school student. By tapping into and encouraging the talents and interests of young rambunctious C.T., school teacher Ms. Richards (played by Dorothy Dandridge), is able to show how superficial negative classroom behavior can be evaluated and properly re-channeled to achieve positive results. Where the typical reaction to the student in our school system today by teachers and school administrators is to issue non-rehabilitating disciplinary action or suspension, the constructive approach demonstrated in this movie results in a "win-win" solution for all involved. Not a bad lesson for both our overcrowded and dysfunctional school and judicial systems to learn some 50 years later as they both still routinely devour the C.T.'s of the world without a care to the horrendous social cost-benefits resulting from excessive or unnecessary punitive action.

Harry Belafonte (in his first film role) also stars as the supportive school Principal. In a poignant scene beautifully worked into the story, he premieres one of his original compositions, "Suzanne."