Sandy Dennis is wonderfully sweet, innocent, naïve, optimistic and down-trodden in this 1967 movie about a young female English teacher in an inner-city New York high school. The theme I'm sure has been done a thousand times before, but Dennis' acting gives a nice freshness to the story. However, it's the story that bring this film down. With so many subplots, it's not surprising that many of them are not finished up by the end of the film - or was that the point? The gritty sixties look is what makes this movie, and I dare anyone to not roll their eyes or giggle at the running gag of bureaucratic paperwork that fills so many scenes. It's worth a watch, but don't expect any great storyline. Although it feels very much like the pilot to a series, it's more of a young woman's graduation to fitting in - as well as the faculty's anguish and acceptance - to a dilapidated school system than that of any of the students moving on.
Review of Up the Down Staircase
