• Notorious for being part of the youth movement along with rebel without a cause in the same year and the wild one in 1953
  • “rock around the clock” bookends the film and is a startling entrée into this world of the asphalt/concrete/city jungle of the film which is really unforgiving
  • It’s no 400 blows as a coming of age film but it sorts of invents the dramatic teacher-teaching-the inner-city-troubled-youth and making a difference sub-genre
  • Glenn Ford and Poitier are very good and elevate some of the weak material- poitier is pure intelligence and vitality embodied- a captivating actor even this early in his career- this was his big break
  • Brooks has sharp photography here- not on the level of in cold blood
  • Louis Calhern is good in a small role which is sort of like peter boyle’s wizard willy veteran and cynical teacher
  • Poor narrative leading—one teacher essentially says “I’m going to bring in my expensive, beloved, irreplaceable record collection—I hope nothing bad happens…” it is, of course, totally destroyed
  • Recommend but not in the top 10 of 1955