Young William Shatner

TCM are showing The Explosive Generation at 11:30 AM ET today. In this 1961 movie, future Star Trek star William Shatner plays a teacher who gets into hot water when his students write about... sex. It's easy to forget that 50 years ago, Shatner had pretentions of being a serious actor. Indeed, he was trained in the Shakespearean tradition, and tried to display this background in his infamous album The Transformed Man, in which he recited the lyrics of popular songs in a Shakespearean style, making a complete mess of 1960s hits like Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. If you want to see Shatner in a truly serious movie, watch for him in Judgment at Nuremberg, where he plays Spencer Tracy's adjutant.

As for The Explosive Generation, watch for the female protagonist amongst the students. That's Patty McCormack, whom you may recall as the truly evil girl from The Bad Seed. She's had a career as long as Shatner's, having starred most recently as Pat Nixon in last year's Frost/Nixon.