Up the Down Staircase

Similar to "To Sir With Love", but well worth watching, a veritable symphony of characters. Each character is rather pathetic, but all of them together make something beautiful. What I particularly liked was its not wanting to prove anything, just telling a story about real people. And Sandy Dennis is her usual humane self. This intimate film has more glamor than flashier ones. It's the glamor of grittiness and real life.

I only saw about 3/4 of this on a boring Saturday afternoon on Channel 5 (not famed for the quality of the films it shows - more usually soft porn). As it was the only thing on telly worth watching (out of 144 channels - that figures) I decided to stick with it. I'm glad I did. It turned out to be quite entertaining. "Dangerous Minds" with Michelle Pfeiffer was on ITV the night before, and I don't mind telling you that I thought UtDS was the superior movie. The acting was good all round, and though some of the lines were a little bit cliched and very 60's, I thought it was OK.

If there's any movie that one can automatically associate with Sandy Dennis, "Up the Down Staircase" is the one. True, she did win an Oscar for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," but that was mainly a Richard Burton-Elizabeth Taylor movie. I saw this one night on television sometime after her death, and became a huge fan. Actually, I think I may have seen it several times or more before, and forgot about it. I fell for everybody involved, from the late Sandy Dennis, to Bel Kaufman, to Fred Karlin, who's musical score is one that I'm lucky to possess a copy of, and is long overdue to be re-released on Compact Disc. In addition, I also gained an appreciation for people like Jean Stapelton, and Sorrell Booke, who I previously couldn't think of as anyone else but Edith Bunker, and Boss Hogg, respectively. Patrick Bedford, however, sounded like he was trying to be the new Cary Grant. I was almost ready for him to shout out..."SYLVIA, SYLVIA, SYLVIA!!!" And how about the kids? None of them went on to fame and fortune, except for But Cort, who I still can't spot, but a few of them (Jeff Howard, Jose Rodriguez, Maria Landa, etc.,...) had roles as extras. It's also a shame that Lew Wallach, who played as Lou Martin was never on screen again. He was hilarious.

If you ever see a copy of this movie in a video store, pick it up. I did, and I'm glad.

It's hard to compare this movie with other films of the genre. "The Principal", "Dangerous Minds", "Lean on Me", and "Stand and Deliver" really don't have much in common with UtDS. Nevertheless, this film is very good and Sandy Dennis is outstanding as the young teacher who is starting out in a tough New York City high school.

What makes UtDS unique is that there's no focus on gang fights, or ghetto culture, or the teachers' private lives. Instead, the story focuses almost entirely on the classroom. More specifically, it focuses on an English teacher (Dennis) and her students. That may seem boring, but this movie is anything but. The student characters are well developed and their relationships with each other, their parents, their teachers, and the school administrators are extremely realistic.

Anyone who is tired of the mindless, inhuman **** being shown in multiplexes all over America should give this film a look. It'll be a breath of fresh air. It's a positive, intelligent, engrossing story.

Unfortunately, it's not likely to be in your local video store. But if you should have the rare opportunity of seeing UtDS - perhaps on premium cable or on a VHS tape from a public library - you will not be disappointed!

Reminds me of the wonderful movie "To Sir, with Love" starring Sidney Poitier, which came out one year earlier in 1966. Both have an academic setting and emphasize reaching difficult young adults through intellect and respect. The direction and the script on this one is somewhat darker, and scenes are allowed to build up suspense with realistic danger that comes very close to the edge. The film explores the spectrum of student characters and the delicate balance a teacher has with both students and faculty. A very hard to find film, I've seen it only once just after midnight and commercial free on a highly rated classic movie channel, Turner Classic Movies. I highly recommend at least one viewing of this great drama.