This being Thursday, it's time for another edition of Thursday Movie Picks, the blogathon run by Wandering Through the Shelves. This week's theme is school; I'm not certain if it was timed for back-to-school since when I was growing up school didn't begin until after Labor Day. But back-to-school season did begin in August:
Since the schedule for Thursday Movie Picks was done before politicians and government-sector teacher's unions lost their collective shit over the coronavirus, back to school may not be so relevant right now, but we can still do a blogathon on it just like we can have Christmas in July. As usual, I went back a ways for my three picks:
Because They're Young (1960). Dick Clark plays a young teacher starting a new job in a high school where his unorthodox methods cause conflict with the principal, getting closer to the students than the principal thinks is appropriate. A couple of the students get in trouble with the law, setting up the film's climax. Worth a watch for the oddity of Dick Clark the actor.
The Explosive Generation (1961). William Shatner plays a high school teacher who gets the job of teaching the "life skills" class, where he encourages the students to be open about their concerns. They start asking questions about "relationships", which of course really means sex; Shatner's frank attitude toward letting them discuss this angers the parents. Spoiler: nobody actually explodes.
Our Time (1974). Two students at a New England girls' school in the late 1950s (Pamela Sue Martin and Betsy Slade) want to learn about sex, so each of them winds up having sex with her boyfriend (Parker Stevenson and George O'Hanlon Jr. respectively). However, Slade's character gets knocked up from the one time she ever had sex, so the two guys try to procure a back-alley abortion for her, which goes badly. Dated, but interesting.
Joy House (1964)
48 minutes ago
3 comments:
It's been years since I saw The Explosive Generation so my memory of it is vague but if I recall correctly Shatner wasn't quite as full of himself as he is apt to be.
Because They're Young was more memorable for who was in it than the movie itself. I remember thinking "poor Tuesday Weld had to do junk like this and Sex Kittens Go to College before she was able to move on to decent films."
I actually just saw Our Time a few weeks ago for the first time. Obviously meant to be a cautionary tale it was terribly depressing.
I chose three set at boarding schools.
Mädchen in Uniform (1931)-Still reeling from the death of her mother teenage Manuela (Hertha Thiele) is sent to a German boarding school run by the autocratic Fräulein von Nordeck (Emilia Unda). Grieving and angry Manuela at first keeps to herself but is slowly drawn out of her shell by sympathetic young teacher Elizabeth von Bernburg (Dorothea Wieck). But when Manuela's fondness for her teacher turns into a romantic attachment, it becomes a school-wide scandal. The film caused an uproar upon its release due to its compassionate view towards lesbianism.
The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)-During World War II St. Swithins all-girls school is evacuated from London to avoid the Blitz. Due to a clerical error the female students and staff are relocated to the Nutborne Boys School. When the headmaster, Wetherby Pond (Alastair Sim) finds out he hits the ceiling but when he realizes there is nothing to be done about it he and St. Swithins headmistress Muriel Whitchurch (Margaret Rutherford) agree to keep their mixed-sex campus a secret to avoid disturbing the parents. However they find it hard to deceive visiting inspectors and hilarity ensues.
A Little Princess (1939)-When the wealthy Captain Crewe (Ian Hunter) is called to serve in the Boer War he places his young daughter Sara (Shirley Temple) in the exclusive Miss Minchin's School for Girls. Everything is rosy for a time but when word arrives that the captain has been killed in action and his property seized Sara, reduced to penury, is forced to become a servant at the school living in a tiny attic room. Belittled and tormented by several of the girls especially the cruel Lavinia (Marcia Mae Jones) Sara believes her father to be alive and haunts the hospitals looking for him.
I have not seen the first 2 but would love to see Dick Clark acting and wonder if he taught them through American bandstand:) Good ole William Shatner teaching about sex...somehow seems typical. I actually saw the last pick but saw it many years ago and it was used as a "don't have sex or else" rule.
I was surprised to see you mention St. Swithins, since I thought Alastair Sim was associated with the movies set at St. Trinian's. But they're just two completely separate movies.
As for Shatner, wasn't he a classically-trained actor before he became a parody with Star Trek? I do have to admit I find it amusing to see his name in fairly big letters in the opening credits to Judgment at Nuremburg after all those titanic actors.
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