Stand and Deliver (1988)

The story of Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher who successfully inspired his dropout prone students to learn calculus.

Director:

Ramón Menéndez (as Ramon Menendez)

Writers:

Ramón Menéndez, Tom Musca

Stars:

Edward James Olmos, Estelle Harris, Mark Phelan

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edward James Olmos	...	Jaime Escalante
Estelle Harris	...	Estelle - Secretary
Mark Phelan	...	Cop in Office
Virginia Paris	...	Raquel Ortega
Eliot	...	Armando 'Tito' Quintana (as Mark Eliot)
Adelaida Alvarez	...	Sexy Girl
Will Gotay	...	Francisco 'Pancho' Garcia
Patrick Baca	...	Javier Perales
Ingrid Oliu	...	Guadalupe 'Lupe' Escobar
Carmen Argenziano	...	Principal Molina
Richard Martinez	...	Heavy Metal Boy
Mark Everett	...	Heavy Metal Boy
Tyde Kierney	...	Joe Goodell - Neighbor
Rosanna DeSoto	...	Fabiola Escalante (as Rosana De Soto)
Bodie Olmos	...	Fernando Escalante

Storyline

Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a Hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods help gang members and no-hopers pass the rigorous Advanced Placement exam in calculus.

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Plot Keywords:

calculus | inner city youth | institutional discrimination | national film registry | student | 

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Taglines:

A true story about a modern miracle.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

11 March 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

Walking on Water

Filming Locations:

Garfield High School - 5101 E. 6th Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$411,884, 13 March 1988, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$13,994,920

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., American Playhouse, Olmos Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Features Edward James Olmos's only Oscar nominated performance.

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Goofs

When Mr. Escalante returns home after thinking his car has been stolen, the front windows are shown with their curtains closed. Once Angel shows up with his car, Escalante goes to the window to see what is happening, and the curtains are wide open.

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Quotes

[Jaime is using girlfriends as the variables in an algebraic equation]
Rafaela Fuentes: Can you have negative girlfriends?
Jaime Escalante: No, only negative boyfriends. Forgive us, for we know not what we do.

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Connections

References The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

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Soundtracks

Pocho Jarocho
Composed and Performed by Marcos Loya

User Reviews

One of the best in the genre of teacher films.

There are many films about teachers breaking through to tough students. Many are trite, sappy and formula-written. This is one of the few truly powerful films in this genre. Every member of the cast gives an incredible performance. This is particularly true of the students. Adult writers in this genre usually fail to write convincing adolescent dialogue, but the students in this film talked and acted quite convincingly. The role of the teacher was not glorified, but treated as a regular human being who was doing his best to do something good, sometimes in the right way and sometimes in the wrong way. The race subplot was powerful, but not too preachy. In short, this was an excellent and inspiring story of teachers and students overcoming their shortcomings and being the best that they could be. A stunning and vastly underrated film.