Lean on Me (1989)

The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school and he is determined to improve by any and all means.

Director:

John G. Avildsen

Writer:

Michael Schiffer

Stars:

Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Robert Guillaume

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Morgan Freeman	...	Principal Joe Clark
Beverly Todd	...	Ms. Levias
Robert Guillaume	...	Dr. Frank Napier
Alan North	...	Mayor Don Bottman
Lynne Thigpen	...	Leonna Barrett
Robin Bartlett	...	Mrs. Elliott
Michael Beach	...	Mr. Darnell
Ethan Phillips	...	Mr. Rosenberg
Sandra Reaves-Phillips	...	Mrs. Powers
Sloane Shelton	...	Mrs. Hamilton
Jermaine 'Huggy' Hopkins	...	Thomas Sams
Karen Malina White	...	Kaneesha Carter
Karina Arroyave	...	Maria
Ivonne Coll	...	Mrs. Santos
Regina Taylor	...	Mrs. Carter

Storyline

An arrogant and unorthodox teacher returns as principal to the idyllic high school from which he had earlier been fired to find it a den of drug abuse, gang violence, and urban despair. Eventually his successful but unorthodox methods lead to a clash with city officials that threatens to undo all his efforts. Based on a true story.

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Plot Keywords:

african american | title based on song | high school | fired from the job | high school principal | 

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Taglines:

Eastside High never had a principal this tough...or one who cared this much about its students.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish Portuguese

Release Date:

3 March 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apóyate en mí

Filming Locations:

Eastside High School, Paterson, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,000,000, 5 March 1989, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$31,906,454

Company Credits

Production Co:

Norman Twain Productions, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the graduation ceremony during the credits, Thomas Sams joins the rest of the seniors, as a joke. In reality, he would've graduated from Eastside as a member of the Class of 1991.

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Goofs

When Clark first expels all the delinquent students we see all the security escorting the students out but later in the film Clark says the state government can't provide any funding to install the doors that come with sound alarms. If the state government can pay all the yearly salaries plus benefits for all the security guards they can obviously pay a one time fee of installing alarm doors.

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Quotes

The Students of Eastside High: [repeating line; chanting during a peaceful march towards the Paterson Board of Education] Free Mr. Clark!

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Connections

References Batman (1989)

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Soundtracks

HIT THE ROAD, JACK
Written by Percy Mayfield

User Reviews

'Lean on Me' doesn't need any helping hand

****

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, and Robert Guillaume.

A man is assigned principle of a broken-down inner-city school. Nobody thinks he will last there. But, Joe isn't going to take that and will try his best to improve that school.

This movie should've gotten Academy Award nods. Freeman's performance alone was unbelieveable. It should've been nominated for Actor and Picture.

Overall the movie is a fantastic film and shows the true story of Joe Clark.