Up the Down Staircase (1967)

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

Director:

Robert Mulligan

Writers:

Bel Kaufman (novel), Tad Mosel (screenplay)

Stars:

Patrick Bedford, Sandy Dennis, Eileen Heckart

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sandy Dennis	...	Sylvia Barrett
Patrick Bedford	...	Paul Barringer
Eileen Heckart	...	Henrietta Pastorfield
Ruth White	...	Beatrice Schacter
Jean Stapleton	...	Sadie Finch
Sorrell Booke	...	Dr. Bester
Roy Poole	...	Mr. McHabe
Florence Stanley	...	Ella Friedenberg
Vinnette Carroll	...	The Mother
Janice Mars	...	Miss Gordon
Loretta Leversee	...	Social Studies Teacher
John Callahan
Denis Fay
Otto Lomax
Martha Greenhouse	...	Alberta Kagan

Storyline

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?

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Plot Keywords:

reference to calvin coolidge | reference to george eliot | reference to silas marner | teacher student romance | reference to a tale of two cities | 

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Taglines:

Actually filmed in the classrooms and on the sidewalks of New York!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 June 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apigorevmena skalopatia

Filming Locations:

Benjamin Franklin High School - 260 Pleasant Ave, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Park Place Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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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.

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Quotes

[Defending her inability to treat an abused student]
Nurse Frances Eagen: I give them tea. At least that's something.

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Connections

References Batman (1966)

User Reviews

The one they'll always remember Sandy Dennis for.

If there's any movie that one can automatically associate with Sandy Dennis, "Up the Down Staircase" is the one. True, she did win an Oscar for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," but that was mainly a Richard Burton-Elizabeth Taylor movie. I saw this one night on television sometime after her death, and became a huge fan. Actually, I think I may have seen it several times or more before, and forgot about it. I fell for everybody involved, from the late Sandy Dennis, to Bel Kaufman, to Fred Karlin, who's musical score is one that I'm lucky to possess a copy of, and is long overdue to be re-released on Compact Disc. In addition, I also gained an appreciation for people like Jean Stapelton, and Sorrell Booke, who I previously couldn't think of as anyone else but Edith Bunker, and Boss Hogg, respectively. Patrick Bedford, however, sounded like he was trying to be the new Cary Grant. I was almost ready for him to shout out..."SYLVIA, SYLVIA, SYLVIA!!!" And how about the kids? None of them went on to fame and fortune, except for But Cort, who I still can't spot, but a few of them (Jeff Howard, Jose Rodriguez, Maria Landa, etc.,...) had roles as extras. It's also a shame that Lew Wallach, who played as Lou Martin was never on screen again. He was hilarious.

If you ever see a copy of this movie in a video store, pick it up. I did, and I'm glad.