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Up the Down Staircase
Catalog Number
11346
-
Primary Distributor (If not listed, select "OTHER")
Catalog Number
11346
Primary Distributor (If not listed, select "OTHER")
Release Year
Country
N/A (NTSC)
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Up the Down Staircase (1967)
Additional Information
Additional Information
Simple words that start a war: "Good morning. My name is Miss Barrett. I am your Home Room teacher..."
The year's #1 best seller picks you up and never lets you down.
The first mistake this pretty young teacher made was to get off the bus. The second was to walk into Calvin Coolidge High School for the first time. The third was to fall in love with it.
Simple words that could start a war.
A serious social drama film of the type that flourished in the 1960's, Up the Down Staircase seems somewhat dated and preachy when viewed by modern audiences. The subject matter is laudable, of course: an ambitious, spirited and concerned young teacher determined to make a difference in a troubled inner city school. And there are quite a few memorable moments, including a very well-directed juxtaposition of Sylvia Barrett triumphing by getting her class excited about A Tale of Two Cities as the lovelorn and dejected Alice Blake quietly and calmly examines the classroom of the teacher she loves before jumping from a window. Director Robert Mulligan also provides appropriate tension to a scene in which another troubled student forcefully comes on to the young teacher, and throughout he does a commendable job of using a hand held camera and a very busy, overlapping soundtrack to convey the tumult, confusion and chaos of the high school. He is less successful in overcoming the script's tendency to excessive earnestness and dialogue that often sacrifices subtlety and nuance to make its points. The film also suffers from a bit of hollowness at its core. Some of this is due to Sandy Dennis's performance - her peculiar brand of acting, while effective in conveying much about the character, also tends to isolate her from the other cast members. However, the decision to present the character solely in terms of the school and its immediate environs and never in her home life also contributes to the hollowness. The supporting cast is marvelous, with a mixture of seasoned pros and novices, although one wishes Eileen Heckart had been given more to do. Despite its flaws, Staircase remains involving.
Sandy Dennis took the role of Sylvia Barrett after winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? This was her first and only film with producer Alan J. Pakula and director Robert Mulligan. The film also featured early appearances from Bud Cort and Jean Stapleton. Cort later did other film: he is most known as the suicidal youth who meets an old woman in Harold and Maude. Jean Stapleton would land the pivotal role of Edith Bunker on the TV show All in the Family.
The film was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival where Sandy Dennis won the award for Best Actress.[2]
Outdoor scenes were filmed on 1st Avenue and 100th Street in East Harlem. The outdoor school scenes were filmed at JHS 99 also on 100th St (not the former Benjamin Franklin HS). Some indoor school and classroom scenes were filmed at the former Haaren HS on 59th St and 10th Ave (today's CUNY John Jay campus), and a studio in Chelsea.
Release Date: June 29, 1967
Distrib: Warner Brothers
The year's #1 best seller picks you up and never lets you down.
The first mistake this pretty young teacher made was to get off the bus. The second was to walk into Calvin Coolidge High School for the first time. The third was to fall in love with it.
Simple words that could start a war.
A serious social drama film of the type that flourished in the 1960's, Up the Down Staircase seems somewhat dated and preachy when viewed by modern audiences. The subject matter is laudable, of course: an ambitious, spirited and concerned young teacher determined to make a difference in a troubled inner city school. And there are quite a few memorable moments, including a very well-directed juxtaposition of Sylvia Barrett triumphing by getting her class excited about A Tale of Two Cities as the lovelorn and dejected Alice Blake quietly and calmly examines the classroom of the teacher she loves before jumping from a window. Director Robert Mulligan also provides appropriate tension to a scene in which another troubled student forcefully comes on to the young teacher, and throughout he does a commendable job of using a hand held camera and a very busy, overlapping soundtrack to convey the tumult, confusion and chaos of the high school. He is less successful in overcoming the script's tendency to excessive earnestness and dialogue that often sacrifices subtlety and nuance to make its points. The film also suffers from a bit of hollowness at its core. Some of this is due to Sandy Dennis's performance - her peculiar brand of acting, while effective in conveying much about the character, also tends to isolate her from the other cast members. However, the decision to present the character solely in terms of the school and its immediate environs and never in her home life also contributes to the hollowness. The supporting cast is marvelous, with a mixture of seasoned pros and novices, although one wishes Eileen Heckart had been given more to do. Despite its flaws, Staircase remains involving.
Sandy Dennis took the role of Sylvia Barrett after winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? This was her first and only film with producer Alan J. Pakula and director Robert Mulligan. The film also featured early appearances from Bud Cort and Jean Stapleton. Cort later did other film: he is most known as the suicidal youth who meets an old woman in Harold and Maude. Jean Stapleton would land the pivotal role of Edith Bunker on the TV show All in the Family.
The film was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival where Sandy Dennis won the award for Best Actress.[2]
Outdoor scenes were filmed on 1st Avenue and 100th Street in East Harlem. The outdoor school scenes were filmed at JHS 99 also on 100th St (not the former Benjamin Franklin HS). Some indoor school and classroom scenes were filmed at the former Haaren HS on 59th St and 10th Ave (today's CUNY John Jay campus), and a studio in Chelsea.
Release Date: June 29, 1967
Distrib: Warner Brothers
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