Blackboard Jungle (1955); Brute Force (1947)

April 16, 2011 - 7:30 pm

Blackboard Jungle (1955)

Directed by Richard Brooks

Well-meaning teacher Glenn Ford begins his first assignment at a tough inner-city school, and discovers he’s ill prepared for the challenges he meets, especially to his faith in human nature and himself. Facing down the cynicism of jaded older teachers and rebellious students, he faces heightening alienation and jeopardy from both sides. A sobering look at a system futilely trying to fix itself from within, Brooks’ film presents a disenchanted postwar America in microcosm–and jolted by a rock-n-roll soundtrack, one of the first in American film.

MGM. Producer: Pandro S. Berman. Screenwriter: Richard Brooks. Cinematographer: Russell Harlan. Editor: Ferris Webster. Cast: Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Sidney Poitier, Louis Calhern, Margaret Hayes. 35mm, Black and White, 101 min.

Brute Force (1947)

Directed by Jules Dassin

Westgate Penitentiary is racked with tension as the Warden sees his authority slipping into the hands of fascistic subordinates (especially sinister Hume Cronyn) and influential prisoner Charles Bickford. Prisoner Joe Collins (Burt Lancaster) plots a dangerous escape that could lead to a bloody outcome. Violence, cruelty and betrayal combine in an explosive brew, leading to a confrontation between men and philosophies: whether to help, or crush the prison population. Brooks’ screenplay weighs in on the side of compassion, but it is too late for his subjects in this explosive drama.

Universal Pictures. Producer: Mark Hellinger. Screenwriter: Richard Brooks. Cinematographer: William Daniels. Editor: Edward Curtiss. Cast: Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth. 35mm, Black and White, 98 min.

Part of:

Looking for Richard Brooks: An Appreciation

Search form

You are here

Blackboard Jungle (1955); Brute Force (1947)

Blackboard Jungle (1955)

Brute Force (1947)

Search form