School Ties (1992)

Set in the 1950s, a star-quarterback is given an opportunity to attend an elite preparatory school but must conceal the fact that he is Jewish.

Director:

Robert Mandel

Writers:

Dick Wolf (story), Dick Wolf (screenplay)

Stars:

Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brendan Fraser	...	David Greene
Matt Damon	...	Charlie Dillon
Chris O'Donnell	...	Chris Reece
Randall Batinkoff	...	Rip Van Kelt
Andrew Lowery	...	'Mack' McGivern
Cole Hauser	...	Jack Connors
Ben Affleck	...	Chesty Smith
Anthony Rapp	...	Richard 'McGoo' Collins
Amy Locane	...	Sally Wheeler
Peter Donat	...	Headmaster Dr. Bartram
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Mr. Cleary
Kevin Tighe	...	Coach McDevitt
Michael Higgins	...	Mr. Gierasch
Ed Lauter	...	Alan Greene
Peter McRobbie	...	Chaplain

Storyline

David Green is brought into a prestigious 1950s school to help their football team to beat the school's old rivals. David, however, is from a working class background, so he isn't really "one of them", but he's very successful at making friends. David is a Jew, and has to keep this a secret from his friends for fear of being rejected.

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Plot Keywords:

coming of age | school | 1950s | jew | athlete | 

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Taglines:

mass genocide is OJ

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hebrew French

Release Date:

18 September 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Broderskabets bånd

Filming Locations:

Acton Indoor Tennis Club - 908 Main Street, Acton, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,020,071, 20 September 1992, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$14,715,067

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Matt Damon remembered Director Robert Mandel trying to lift the young actors's spirits by telling them that they were going to be "the next big thing, the next Brat Pack", referring to the regular ensemble John Hughes used during his films in the 1980s. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Brendan Fraser, and Chris O'Donnell all became major movie stars.

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Goofs

In the French class, two students do a "fist bump," which no one did back in the 1950's, after one of the students gets a high grade on an assignment or test. The fist bump came many years later.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Joyce: Davey! Davey you're here.
[big hug]
Jack Connors: He's not going off to war, only Massachusetts, huh?

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Connections

Referenced in Gossip Girl: School Lies (2008)

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Soundtracks

Let Me Go Lover
by Jenny Lou Carson, Kathleen G. Twomey, Fred Wise and Benjamin Weisman
Performed by Patti Page
Courtesy of Polygram Special Products
by arrangement with Polygram Group Distribution, Inc.

User Reviews

How can we miss the import of casual "joking"?

I've read the first 30 comments about this movie. Not once did anyone comment on the reasons why Greene (Fraser) never mentioned his religion -- the casual "joking" and "common knowledge" comments heard in the bathroom. Is it any less a matter of prejudice to use the phrase "I jewed him down" than it would be to use the term "kike"? Is telling a derogatory joke about homosexuals any more offensive than calling us "fag"? This is the only movie I can think of right off-hand other than "The Laramie Project" that makes the point that casual speech can be used as a form of maintaining prejudice. For this reason alone, "School Ties" is an important film. As a survivor of a 1964 prep school much like the one in the movie, I can tell you that the scenes and attitudes are accurately presented. I found the characters to be a little one-sided, yes. It's rare to meet any person who is as totally focused and determined as the Greene presented here. Nor is any prejudiced person or group normally so totally open in expression as the "good old boys" we see in this production. But, that's the most impressive way to show the public just how bad it is to be bigoted or to be the target of bigotry. For the production and acting values I'd give this film 6 on a scale of 10. For the "pre-star" status performances of Fraser, O'Donell, Damon, and, yes, even Affleck, I'd give it a 7.5 on a scale of 10. For the message I'd give it 9.5 on that same scale. "School Ties" is a movie that can be enjoyed by anyone who sees it. For "star followers", it has a cool four New Idols in "pre-star" roles to add to their tape collections. For the activists in the world it is a stark and dramatic example of how prevalent unrecognised bigotry is in our society.