Conrack (1974)

White Pat Conroy was born and raised in Beaufort, South Carolina. In March 1969 under the Beaufort School District, he starts a job teaching at a small poor school located on Daufuskie ... See full summary »

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Pat Conroy (from the book "The Water Is Wide"), Irving Ravetch (screenplay)

Stars:

Jon Voight, Paul Winfield, Madge Sinclair

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Voight	...	Pat Conroy
Paul Winfield	...	Mad Billy
Madge Sinclair	...	Mrs. Scott
Tina Andrews	...	Mary
Antonio Fargas	...	Quickfellow
Ruth Attaway	...	Edna
James O'Rear	...	Messenger (as James O'Reare)
Gracia Lee	...	Mrs. Sellers
C.P. MacDonald	...	Mr. Ryder
Jane Moreland	...	Mrs. Webster
Thomas Horton	...	Judge
Nancy Butler	...	Mrs. Ryder
Robert W. Page	...	Mr. Spaulding
Hume Cronyn	...	Skeffington
Mac Arthur Nelson	...	Mac

Storyline

White Pat Conroy was born and raised in Beaufort, South Carolina. In March 1969 under the Beaufort School District, he starts a job teaching at a small poor school located on Daufuskie Island, an island in a South Carolina river delta, the island accessible only by boat. The island is inhabited exclusively by blacks. He quickly learns that his students, who have never left the island, lack not only a basic understanding of academic items such as the alphabet and simple arithmetic, but also of other basic necessities of life such as personal hygiene. They can't even pronounce his name, they who call him Conrack. The teachers before him, including the school principal Mrs. Scott, have always treated the students as being slow and basically unteachable of academics. Conrack, a free thinking man, decides to expose his students not only to the academic subjects, but also to the gamut of life skills from brushing one's teeth to human anatomy, and some of the fun things in life like ...

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Plot Keywords:

based on actual events | white savior | island | school | student | 

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Taglines:

One beautiful man. His story is true.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1974 (UK)

Also Known As:

Conrack

Filming Locations:

Brunswick, Georgia, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Martin Ritt insisted having students of Pat Conroy's portray themselves.

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Quotes

Mad Billy: There ain't a family on this island that hasn't pulled somebody - somebody - from that river. They fall in that river, they go down, like a stone. Well, I can't swim neither. Ain't nobody 'round here can.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: This is based on a true story. It began in March of 1969.

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Connections

Version of The Water Is Wide (2006)

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Soundtracks

5th Symphony
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven (uncredited)
Performed by New York Philharmonic (as the New York Philharmonic)
with Leonard Bernstein as Conductor
(and used by courtesy of Columbia Records)

User Reviews

Pure teaching

I have also watched "Conrack" several times in the past few years and I believe it is the best movie out there about actual classroom teaching. We have "To Sir, With Love", "Blackboard Jungle" and "Mr Holland's Opus", but this film spends most of its time in class with the students.

We get to see Conroy struggle with the system, the absence of facilities and resources as well as the initial lack of desire among his charges. How he brings his "babies" out of their shells and creates a learning environment is simply magical. The awkwardness of those first lessons is all too real. This movie is pure teaching!

Another realistic education film that comes to mind is "Stand and Deliver."

Check out first few minutes of "Conrack" and you'll be hooked. Watch for it on Fox Movie Channel as they often show the letterbox version.