The Principal (1987)

A teacher is assigned to be the principal of a violent and crime-ridden high school.

Director:

Christopher Cain

Writer:

Frank Deese

Stars:

Jim Belushi, Louis Gossett Jr., Rae Dawn Chong

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jim Belushi	...	Rick Latimer (as James Belushi)
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	Jake Phillips
Rae Dawn Chong	...	Hilary Orozco
Michael Wright	...	Victor Duncan
J.J. Cohen	...	White Zac
Esai Morales	...	Raymi Rojas
Troy Winbush	...	'Baby' Emile
Jacob Vargas	...	Arturo Diego
Thomas Ryan	...	Robert Darcy
Reggie Johnson	...	Jojo
Kelly Jo Minter	...	Treena Lester (as Kelly Minter)
Ruth Beckford	...	Mrs. Jenkins
Julian Brooks	...	Kevin
Joan Valderrama	...	Secretary
Rick Hamilton	...	Mr. Harkley

Storyline

Rick Latimer is a teacher who gets a job as the principal of a school with a very bad reputation. In fact, his transfer there is a kind of punishment because he beat his wife's boyfriend. So, Rick finds himself in a school where drugs, knives and guns are very usual things...

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Plot Keywords:

teacher as protagonist | school | teacher | gun | drugs | 

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Taglines:

To get this job, he had to be crazy. To survive it, he'll have to get even crazier.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Phillips (Louis Gossett, Jr.) talks about his days as a player for the New York Titans. The Titans were an original team in the American Football League. The team later was under new ownership, and renamed the Jets.

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Goofs

In the scene when Rick Latimer and Jake Phillips first meet, Jake takes his hat off, then in the next shot his hat is on, and finally in a third shot his hat is off again and we see him put it back on.

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Quotes

Victor Duncan: If you're trying to reach me, I'll just cut your hand off.
Rick Latimer: I've got another one.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movie Review: Halloween Horror Top 25, nr. 16: Eden Lake (2010)

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Soundtracks

Livin' in the Line of Fire
Written by Jay Gruska, Bruce Roberts and Andy Goldmark

User Reviews

Belushi at his best...

'The Principal' is one of those films where Belushi could have been nominated for Best Actor, and Louis Gossett Jr. for Best Supporting Actor...

The film has some great scenes, a good story and character development, and a decent soundtrack...

The film is pretty hard-edged, though has elements of comedy...overall - an under-rated film (ones which I love to review) worth seeing...

[7/10]

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Principal

Filming Locations:

Alameda, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$11,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,297,710, 20 September 1987

Gross USA:

$19,734,940

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,734,940

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Dorica Film, ML Delphi Premier Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1