Based on the story "See How They Run," which ran in the June 1951 issue of "The Ladies' Home Journal" and subsequently won that year's Christopher Award. The story was written by Mary ...
See full summary »
See the trailers we loved this week, including horror thriller The Hunt and the new season of "Succession."
Related News
-
Bright Road on TCM in September
31 July 2010 | ShadowAndAct -
A peak at Dorothy Dandridge’s Bright Road
20 June 2010 | ShadowAndAct
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: Bright Road (1953)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Learn more
More Like This
These Wilder Years
(1956)
Drama
Director:
Roy Rowland
Stars:
James Cagney,
Barbara Stanwyck,
Walter Pidgeon
Bombshell
(1933)
Certificate: Passed
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Victor Fleming
Stars:
Jean Harlow,
Lee Tracy,
Frank Morgan
Cabin in the Sky
(1943)
Certificate: Passed
Fantasy
|
Musical
Directors:
Vincente Minnelli,
Busby Berkeley
Stars:
Ethel Waters,
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson,
Lena Horne
The Learning Tree
(1969)
Certificate: M
Drama
Director:
Gordon Parks
Stars:
Kyle Johnson,
Alex Clarke,
Estelle Evans
Dream Wife
(1953)
Comedy
|
Romance
Director:
Sidney Sheldon
Stars:
Cary Grant,
Deborah Kerr,
Walter Pidgeon
The Woman in White
(1948)
Drama
|
Mystery
|
Romance
Director:
Peter Godfrey
Stars:
Alexis Smith,
Eleanor Parker,
Sydney Greenstreet
Show Boat
(1936)
Comedy
|
Drama
|
Musical
Director:
James Whale
Stars:
Irene Dunne,
Allan Jones,
Charles Winninger
Born to Dance
(1936)
Certificate: Passed
Musical
|
Comedy
Director:
Roy Del Ruth
Stars:
Eleanor Powell,
James Stewart,
Virginia Bruce
The Beloved Brat
(1938)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
Arthur Lubin
Stars:
Bonita Granville,
Dolores Costello,
Donald Crisp
A Taste of Honey
(1961)
Drama
Director:
Tony Richardson
Stars:
Rita Tushingham,
Dora Bryan,
Robert Stephens
Claudia
(1943)
Comedy
|
Drama
Director:
Edmund Goulding
Stars:
Dorothy McGuire,
Robert Young,
Ina Claire
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
(1937)
Certificate: Passed
Comedy
|
Drama
Directors:
Richard Boleslawski,
Dorothy Arzner, and 1 more credit »
Stars:
Robert Montgomery,
Joan Crawford,
William Powell
Edit
Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Dorothy Dandridge | ... | Jane Richards | |
 |
Philip Hepburn | ... | C.T. Young |
| Harry Belafonte | ... | Mr. Williams - School Principal | |
| Barbara Randolph | ... | Tanya Hamilton (as Barbara Ann Sanders) | |
| Robert Horton | ... | Dr. Mitchell | |
| Maidie Norman | ... | Mrs. Hamilton - Tanya's Mother | |
|
|
Rene Beard | ... | Booker T. Jones |
|
|
Howard McNeeley | ... | Boyd |
|
|
Robert McNeeley | ... | Lloyd |
|
|
Patti Marie Ellis | ... | Rachel Smith |
|
|
Joy Jackson | ... | Sarahlene Babcock |
|
|
Fred Moultrie | ... | Roger |
|
|
James Moultrie | ... | George |
|
|
Carolyn Ann Jackson | ... | Mary Louise |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
See All (120) »
Storyline
Based on the story "See How They Run," which ran in the June 1951 issue of "The Ladies' Home Journal" and subsequently won that year's Christopher Award. The story was written by Mary Elizabeth Vroman, a fourth-generation schoolteacher from the British West Indies. "Bright Road" has only one white actor in the cast, Robert Horton. Jane Richards, a young fourth-grade teacher in the South, faces a challenge in the form of 11-year-old C.T. Young, a backward boys whose pride has made him a stubborn rebel and an exalted liar. Jane believes in him, then discovers his interest in nature when he spends his time watching a caterpillar in a tree trunk as it develops a cocoon. C. T. is devoted to his family and also to little Tanya, who adores him. When Tanya dies of viral pneumonia despite Dr. Mitchell's efforts to save her, the embittered C.T. stays away from school; when he returns, he gets into a fight and gets sent to Coventry. But when a swarm of bees invades the classroom and panics the ... Written by Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
Plot Keywords:
reference to franklin d. roosevelt | school | bee | cocoon | teacher |Taglines:
The award story from the ladies' home journal has become the most unusual picture of the year!Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
17 April 1953 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
L'appel de la vie See more »Filming Locations:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USACompany Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
The singing bird's long tail feathers and the mimicking of human voices indicate that the bird is a mockingbird.
C.T. then tells his dog "Birds got a right to live, too, so don't you go around trying to scare 'em. It's all right to chase one once in a while, but if you catch one, there's gonna be trouble". See more »
School Principal: Oh I'm glad you liked it. You know I was afraid you might have thought it was a bit too
[pause]
School Principal: too...
[pause]
Jane Richards: Too gay? No I like to be gay once in a while!
School Principal: Well that's uh,
[pause]
School Principal: that's fine, just fine.
See more »
(uncredited)
Written by Charles L. Johnson and Sidney Homer
Sung by Dorothy Dandridge
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
At around 15 minutes C.T. and Tanya stop to watch a bird in a tree singing. Tanya calls to the bird "Hello, hello", and the bird answers. C.T. then calls "Be happy, be happy" with a similar response.The singing bird's long tail feathers and the mimicking of human voices indicate that the bird is a mockingbird.
C.T. then tells his dog "Birds got a right to live, too, so don't you go around trying to scare 'em. It's all right to chase one once in a while, but if you catch one, there's gonna be trouble". See more »
Quotes
Jane Richards: Oh yes I want to thank you for that lovely gift.School Principal: Oh I'm glad you liked it. You know I was afraid you might have thought it was a bit too
[pause]
School Principal: too...
[pause]
Jane Richards: Too gay? No I like to be gay once in a while!
School Principal: Well that's uh,
[pause]
School Principal: that's fine, just fine.
See more »
Soundtracks
Sweet and Low(uncredited)
Written by Charles L. Johnson and Sidney Homer
Sung by Dorothy Dandridge
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Explore popular action and adventure titles available to stream with Prime Video.
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.