To Sir, with Love - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

A scant 10 years after his role as a student in "Blackboard Jungle"which I've reviewed earlier,Sidney Poitier     as Mark Thackeray ,now finds himself on the other side as a teacher and star in this film.While not as powerful as Blackboard,this film shows a different side of the teenage angst from a lower class UK point of view which may be MORE relevant today than blackboards is though poverty is still with us.Add more of a sexual awaking to this mix and thats the main attraction of this flick.Lulu as Barbara 'Babs' Pegg is really a minor character but her song "To Sir, with Love"defined the movie and transcended it as a major pop hit. Brief description from IMDB below as well as a trailer URL after the pix.I took 1 and 1/2 stars off because its British not american spoken here and not really a new idea after 'Blackboard Jungle" Released in 1967 it runs 105 minutes.

Engineer Mark Thackeray arrives to teach a totally undisciplined class at an East End school. Still hoping for a good engineering job, he's hopeful that he won't be there long. He starts implementing his own brand of classroom discipline: forcing the pupils to treat each other with respect. Inevitably he begins getting involved in the students' personal lives, and must avoid the advances of an amorous student while winning over the class tough. What will he decide when the engineering job comes through? Written by Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSo95YU9XZk