To Sir, with Love (1967)

Idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.

Director:

James Clavell

Writers:

E.R. Braithwaite (novel), James Clavell (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Sidney Poitier, Judy Geeson, Christian Roberts

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sidney Poitier	...	Mark Thackeray
Christian Roberts	...	Denham
Judy Geeson	...	Pamela Dare
Suzy Kendall	...	Gillian Blanchard
Ann Bell	...	Mrs. Dare
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Theo Weston
Faith Brook	...	Grace Evans
Patricia Routledge	...	Clinty Clintridge
Christopher Chittell	...	Potter
Adrienne Posta	...	Moira Joseph
Edward Burnham	...	Florian
Rita Webb	...	Mrs. Joseph
Fiona Duncan	...	Euphemia Phillips
Fred Griffiths	...	Mr. Clark
Mona Bruce	...	Josie Dawes

Storyline

Engineer Mark Thackeray arrives to teach a totally undisciplined class at an East End school. Still hoping for a good engineering job, he's hopeful that he won't be there long. He starts implementing his own brand of classroom discipline: forcing the pupils to treat each other with respect. Inevitably he begins getting involved in the students' personal lives, and must avoid the advances of an amorous student while winning over the class tough. What will he decide when the engineering job comes through?

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Plot Keywords:

high school | african american | dedicated teacher | london england | racist | 

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Taglines:

A story as fresh as the girls in their minis. . .and as cool as their teacher had to be!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was held from release for more than a year until Columbia Pictures decided to open it in Los Angeles, California in the summer of 1967, where it really broke through.

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Goofs

The can is thrown in an arc and Thackeray should therefore catch it on its way down. However, it arrives in his hand as if it was thrown completely horizontally.

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Quotes

Mark Thackeray: Next, we are going to talk about various...
[Mr. Florian, the school principal, steps inside the classroom to check up on Thackeray]
Florian: Good morning.
Mark Thackeray: Good morning.
Florian: I just wanted to see how you were getting it on.
Mark Thackeray: Fine, thank you, sir.
Florian: Good. Well, thank you.
[Mr. Florian leaves; the students all chuckle. Thackeray throws away a piece of rope, then removes a student's sunglasses from his face. Palmer, a student, raises his hand]
Mark Thackeray: Palmer?
Palmer: What are we going to talk about, sir?
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Lulu received an "introducing" credit.

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Connections

Version of To Sir, with Love (1974)

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Soundtracks

Off And Running
Lyrics by Toni Wine
Music by Carole Bayer Sager
Performed by The Mindbenders (uncredited)

User Reviews

An Underrated Poitier Vehicle

Recorded on a budget of just $640,000, To Sir, With Love was drafted, as with Lilies of the Field, to give Sidney a share of the gross profits to account for his diminished fee. Writer-director Clavell also received the same arrangement, a writer who was chosen for his love of the source material. The rights to the source, an identically-named novel by E. R. Braithwaite, had passed from studio to studio, and been offered to numerous stars before finally getting the green light when in the hands of Columbia President Mike Frankovich.

Poitier noted in his autobiography the similarities in terms of racial issues between America and England. Filmed in London, the picture featured a number of minorities, many of whom, he observed, would be unable to find work outside of the confines of the movie. However, for his time spent with the cast, he was delighted with their company. Sidney played Mark Thackeray, one of his most famous characters, an engineer taking a teaching post as a stopgap between jobs. Eventually the relationship he develops with the students causes him to question his loyalty to the profession.

To Sir, With Love is often frowned upon nowadays due to its sentimentality. While not wholly condemned as a film, it is certainly regarded as the poor relation of Poitier's three 1967 works. This is an unfair assessment of a movie that commits the only crime of having its heart on its sleeve. And, though the late sixties would see an increase in the political situation, To Sir, With Love was the only one of the three Poitier vehicles that year that did not rely upon his colour for its subtext. Instead, a few bigoted remarks were inserted, largely from a fellow teacher (Geoffrey Bayldon as Mr. Weston) than the pupils. Compared to his other overshadowing works that year, direction paled, too, the camera-work at times almost static. However, the scope for Poitier as an actor was broader than in the other '67 roles, and certainly broader than in the 1996 TV sequel. Where there the plot would be propelled largely by one pupil, here multiple characters would be guided through numerous situations over an entire term period. Over the course of the lengthy film the viewer can feel as though they have experienced the timescale too. And who would argue that the sheer amount of silly moves Sidney and Judy Geeson perform in the final ball didn't directly influence Travolta and Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction?

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 June 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

To Sir, with Love

Filming Locations:

Tower Bridge, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$640,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Columbia British Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1