The Teacher (1974)

Director:

Howard Avedis

Writer:

Howard Avedis

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Tagline:

After School ... Her Lessons Began With Sex and Ended in Violence.

Plot:

18-year-old Sean's first summer after completing high school is much spent with 28-year-old teacher Diane...

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Female Nudity | No Panties | Female Removes Her Dress | Shower

Cast

Angel Tompkins	...	Diane Marshall
Jay North	...	Sean Roberts
Anthony James	...	Ralph Gordon
Marlene Schmidt	...	Alice Roberts
Barry Atwater	...	Sheriff Murphy
Med Flory	...	Joe Roberts
Rudy Herrera Jr.	...	Lou Gordon
Quinn O'Hara	...	Margaret Parker
Sivi Aberg	...	Bonnie Nelson
Richard Winterstein	...	Russell Marshall (as Dick Winterstein)
Katherine Cassavetes	...	Gossiping Lady 1 (as Katherine Cassavettes)
Lady Rowlands	...	Gossiping Lady 2 (as Lady Rolands)
Cassandra Lucas	...	Waitress

Directed by
Howard Avedis		(as Hikmet Avedis)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Howard Avedis

Produced by
Howard Avedis	....	producer (as Hikmet Avedis)
Lenke Romanszky	....	executive producer
Marlene Schmidt	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Shorty Rogers

Cinematography by
Alfred Taylor

Makeup Department
Chuck House	....	makeup artist
Melanie Levitt	....	hair stylist

Art Department
Budd Bankson	....	property man

Sound Department
Gary Cunningham	....	sound mixer (as Garry Cunningham)
James M. McCann	....	boom operator (as Jim McCann)

Camera and Electrical Department
Dick Kendall	....	assistant camera
William Parry	....	gaffer
Mike Tucker	....	best boy

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Rubin Bayetto	....	dress designer

Music Department
Shinichi Yamazaki	....	music editor

Other crew
Mary Ann Newfield	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Crown International Pictures
• Hickmar Productions

Distributors

• Crown International Pictures (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Saguenay Films (1974) (Canada) (theatrical)
• BCI Eclipse (2008) (USA) (DVD) (on "Drive-In Cult Classics")
• Deimos Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (video)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• VidAmerica (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Westlake Entertainment Group (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• World Film Magic (2002) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Burbank Editorial Service Inc.  sound effects
• Ryder Sound Services  sound re-recording
• Tucker Studio Trucking  grip equipment

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:R

Company:

Crown International Pictures

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: During the pool scene at Sean's house, when he is pushed into the pool, water splashes onto the camera lens. For the rest of the shot, it is apparent when focus on the lens is changed because the drops rotate around the center of the shot.

Quotes:

Diane Marshall:[Angel Tompkins' sexy teacher character: Diane invites reluctant student/virgin , Sean; played by Jay North into her house] Well, come on in a minute... I'm not gonna rape you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Disco Exorcist (2011)

Soundtrack:

The Teacher

a mix of B minus movie-making and a not-quite boob-show

One of the handful of pictures made by Hikmet Avedis, a classifiable low-budget director of not-quite schlock and drive-in flicks, The Teacher is ostensibly about a 28 year old teacher (lovely Angel Tompkins)- the hottie of the town without a husband as he's a drifter/biker somewheres- who bonds with the shy 18 year old former student neighbor (1/2 dimensional Jay North) and start up a passionate affair. This part of the story is basically more or less just a Penthouse letter extended to feature length (and, oddly enough for a drive-in flick, the amount of sex is actually shown to a minimum, above the belt as it were). What makes it just a little bit more interesting, if also insane, is the character Ralph (crazy-eyed Anthony James), who comes off like a 2nd string James Bond villain missing a couple of acting classes.

He's weird and a snoop, with an obsession with Diane holding a torch for her unofficially while also trying to hunt down Sean after the death of his younger brother. It seems stranger still why Ralph would be so distraught over his brother's death when all Ralph seems to do is sit in his warehouse by the harbor, take out a pair of binoculars from his coffin (which comes out of the mysterious hearse he drives around) which also has a rifle. But he's a villain nonetheless, creeping up at pretty much any instance Sean and Diane are out, or even while they're on her boat making love as he creeps up like a Z-grade Aquaman.

If nothing else his ridiculous performance of an even sillier, deranged cat makes it watchable, when all else is just kind of mundane romance (North especially can barely act his way out of a paper bag, at least Tompkins has her sex appeal). It's nothing very special, or memorable, but if the title ever came up in conversation it would be fun to wax poetic about Anthony James as Ralph, or to contemplate the ways it could make a decent self-made MST3K feature.