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Up the Down Staircase

  • 19671967
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h 4m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Sandy Dennis in Up the Down Staircase (1967)
Official Trailer
Play trailer4:24
1 Video
63 Photos
  • Drama

The experiences of a young female English teacher in an inner-city New York high school.The experiences of a young female English teacher in an inner-city New York high school.The experiences of a young female English teacher in an inner-city New York high school.

IMDb RATING
7.3/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Robert Mulligan
  • Writers
    • Bel Kaufman(based on the novel by)
    • Tad Mosel(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Patrick Bedford
    • Sandy Dennis
    • Eileen Heckart
Top credits
  • Director
    • Robert Mulligan
  • Writers
    • Bel Kaufman(based on the novel by)
    • Tad Mosel(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Patrick Bedford
    • Sandy Dennis
    • Eileen Heckart
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 42User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 3 nominations

    Videos1

    Up the Down Staircase
    Trailer 4:24
    Up the Down Staircase

    Photos63

    Sandy Dennis and Patrick Bedford in Up the Down Staircase (1967)
    "Up the Down Staircase" Sandy Dennis © 1967 Warner Brothers
    "Up the Down Staircase" Sandy Dennis © 1967 Warner Brothers
    "Up the Down Staircase" Sandy Dennis © 1967 Warner Brothers
    Up the Down Staircase (1967)
    Sandy Dennis in Up the Down Staircase (1967)
    Up the Down Staircase (1967)
    Patrick Bedford in Up the Down Staircase (1967)
    Sandy Dennis in Up the Down Staircase (1967)
    Up the Down Staircase (1967)
    Jeff Howard in Up the Down Staircase (1967)
    Sandy Dennis and Esther Rolle in Up the Down Staircase (1967)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Patrick Bedford
    Patrick Bedford
    • Paul Barringeras Paul Barringer
    Sandy Dennis
    Sandy Dennis
    • Sylvia Barrettas Sylvia Barrett
    Eileen Heckart
    Eileen Heckart
    • Henrietta Pastorfieldas Henrietta Pastorfield
    Ruth White
    Ruth White
    • Beatrice Schacteras Beatrice Schacter
    Jean Stapleton
    Jean Stapleton
    • Sadie Finchas Sadie Finch
    Sorrell Booke
    Sorrell Booke
    • Dr. Besteras Dr. Bester
    Roy Poole
    Roy Poole
    • Mr. McHabeas Mr. McHabe
    Florence Stanley
    Florence Stanley
    • Ella Friedenbergas Ella Friedenberg
    Vinnette Carroll
    • The Motheras The Mother
    Janice Mars
    • Miss Gordonas Miss Gordon
    Loretta Leversee
    • Social Studies Teacheras Social Studies Teacher
    John Callahan
    Denis Fay
    Otto Lomax
    Martha Greenhouse
    • Alberta Kaganas Alberta Kagan
    María Landa
    • Carole Blancaas Carole Blanca
    • (as Maria Landa)
    Robert Levine
    Robert Levine
    • Mr. Osborneas Mr. Osborne
    Elena Karam
    • Nurse Frances Eagenas Nurse Frances Eagen
    • Director
      • Robert Mulligan
    • Writers
      • Bel Kaufman(based on the novel by)
      • Tad Mosel(screenplay by)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Sylvia Barrett is a rookie teacher at New York's inner-city Calvin Coolidge High: her lit classes are overcrowded, a window is broken, there's no chalk, books arrive late. The administration is concerned mainly with forms and rules (there's an up and a down staircase); bells ring at the wrong time. Nevertheless, she tries. How she handles the chaos and her despair in her first semester makes up the film: a promising student drops out, another sleeps through class, a girl with a crush on a male teacher gets suicidal, and a bright but troublesome student misunderstands Sylvia's reaching out. A discussion of Dickens, parents' night, and a mock trial highlight the term. Can she make it? —<jhailey@hotmail.com>
    • reference to calvin coolidge
    • reference to george eliot
    • reference to silas marner
    • reference to a tale of two cities
    • reference to charles dickens
    • 81 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Simple words that start a war: "Good morning. My name is Miss Barrett. I am your Home Room teacher..."
    • Genre
      • Drama
    • Certificate
      • Approved
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The U.S. State Department submitted this film to the 1967 Moscow Film Festival, in order to contradict Soviet propaganda, which implied that all American schools were racially segregated.
    • Goofs
      In the classroom scene where Harry A Kagan is talking, his necktie alternates between being tucked into the belt and in front of the belt.
    • Quotes

      [Frequently Over Intercom]

      Mrs. Finch: Disregard all bells.

    • Connections
      Referenced in The Acid Eaters (1967)

    User reviews42

    Review
    Top review
    Idealistic teacher in a 1960s inner city school
    This film, directed by Robert Mulligan (To Kill A Mockingbird, Love With A Proper Stranger), portrays an idealistic teacher with a masters degree, Sandy Dennis as Sylvia Barrett, who takes the plunge into the teaching world of a multicultural but disadvantaged New York neighbourhood. The school is named after Calvin Coolidge, an irony given the urban and cultural mix that was so far removed from the life of the Vermont-born, Republican President of the 1920's.

    I like the polaroid colour of film for the opening street scene at the time (1967) when Miss Barrett emerges from a bus into the hazy neighbourhood overflowing with high school students, who would have been the early baby boomers of the period, although with far less privilege than most. We see one lonely student try to commit suicide; another who falls asleep in class because he spends his evenings working on cars, his first love; another who believes Miss Barrett's interest in after-school meetings is a come-on for time alone with him.

    Her class does their best to unhinge the new teacher on the opening day but Miss Barrett is gifted with resilience and patience. We get to know the staff in the school with moments of comic relief, such as when the staff meeting shows the teachers grouching about issues ranging from whose drawer belongs to who and when the proposed $7 million school is going to be built, if ever.

    Miss Barrett wants to make a difference for the students in her class. She knows that many of them have to climb a greasy pole to make a good life for themselves. She comes up against bureaucratic rules and teachers whose methods are more likely to reinforce the status quo. However, she is not one to shirk the challenge and one day, Miss Barrett tries to relate the world of Charles Dickens to their own and generates a tremendous enthusiasm that brings out an animated discussion about the Tale of Two Cities and "the best of times, the worst of times". Nevertheless, the litany of woes and misunderstandings that constantly undermine her idealism eventually cause her to face the reality of the decision to teach in an inner city neighbourhood.

    Despite the drawbacks, she has tremendous support among the students, parents and staff. Sandy Dennis plays the part superbly and in the hands of a great director, we see a vivid portrait of an inner city school and a great teacher with ideals and spunk. To me, this movie is a classic, much under-rated in the history of American cinema.
    helpful•11
    0
    • barryrd
    • Nov 7, 2014

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 28, 1967 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Zabranjene stepenice
    • Filming locations
      • Haaren High School, 10th Avenue 59th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production company
      • Park Place Production
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 4 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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