User reviews

Rivals "To Sir, With Love" (released around the same time) as the best teacher film of all time. The difference: Sandy Dennis.

Dennis was one of those actors they don't make anymore (or at least don't showcase in Hollywood in 2007). She was strange, quirky, not conventionally pretty and she had that quality a lot of new female teachers have-that deer in the headlights look that makes the viewer root for her to make it "work" with those tough students.

The story is strong with some good subplots with the troubled students. It is dated but I would say the same issues facing Dennis here face contemporary teachers.

I take Dennis to Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society" anyday.

If there's any movie that one can automatically associate with Sandy Dennis, "Up the Down Staircase" is the one. True, she did win an Oscar for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," but that was mainly a Richard Burton-Elizabeth Taylor movie. I saw this one night on television sometime after her death, and became a huge fan. Actually, I think I may have seen it several times or more before, and forgot about it. I fell for everybody involved, from the late Sandy Dennis, to Bel Kaufman, to Fred Karlin, who's musical score is one that I'm lucky to possess a copy of, and is long overdue to be re-released on Compact Disc. In addition, I also gained an appreciation for people like Jean Stapelton, and Sorrell Booke, who I previously couldn't think of as anyone else but Edith Bunker, and Boss Hogg, respectively. Patrick Bedford, however, sounded like he was trying to be the new Cary Grant. I was almost ready for him to shout out..."SYLVIA, SYLVIA, SYLVIA!!!" And how about the kids? None of them went on to fame and fortune, except for But Cort, who I still can't spot, but a few of them (Jeff Howard, Jose Rodriguez, Maria Landa, etc.,...) had roles as extras. It's also a shame that Lew Wallach, who played as Lou Martin was never on screen again. He was hilarious.

If you ever see a copy of this movie in a video store, pick it up. I did, and I'm glad.

I only saw about 3/4 of this on a boring Saturday afternoon on Channel 5 (not famed for the quality of the films it shows - more usually soft porn). As it was the only thing on telly worth watching (out of 144 channels - that figures) I decided to stick with it. I'm glad I did. It turned out to be quite entertaining. "Dangerous Minds" with Michelle Pfeiffer was on ITV the night before, and I don't mind telling you that I thought UtDS was the superior movie. The acting was good all round, and though some of the lines were a little bit cliched and very 60's, I thought it was OK.

This film, directed by Robert Mulligan (To Kill A Mockingbird, Love With A Proper Stranger), portrays an idealistic teacher with a masters degree, Sandy Dennis as Sylvia Barrett, who takes the plunge into the teaching world of a multicultural but disadvantaged New York neighbourhood. The school is named after Calvin Coolidge, an irony given the urban and cultural mix that was so far removed from the life of the Vermont-born, Republican President of the 1920's.

I like the polaroid colour of film for the opening street scene at the time (1967) when Miss Barrett emerges from a bus into the hazy neighbourhood overflowing with high school students, who would have been the early baby boomers of the period, although with far less privilege than most. We see one lonely student try to commit suicide; another who falls asleep in class because he spends his evenings working on cars, his first love; another who believes Miss Barrett's interest in after-school meetings is a come-on for time alone with him.

Her class does their best to unhinge the new teacher on the opening day but Miss Barrett is gifted with resilience and patience. We get to know the staff in the school with moments of comic relief, such as when the staff meeting shows the teachers grouching about issues ranging from whose drawer belongs to who and when the proposed $7 million school is going to be built, if ever.

Miss Barrett wants to make a difference for the students in her class. She knows that many of them have to climb a greasy pole to make a good life for themselves. She comes up against bureaucratic rules and teachers whose methods are more likely to reinforce the status quo. However, she is not one to shirk the challenge and one day, Miss Barrett tries to relate the world of Charles Dickens to their own and generates a tremendous enthusiasm that brings out an animated discussion about the Tale of Two Cities and "the best of times, the worst of times". Nevertheless, the litany of woes and misunderstandings that constantly undermine her idealism eventually cause her to face the reality of the decision to teach in an inner city neighbourhood.

Despite the drawbacks, she has tremendous support among the students, parents and staff. Sandy Dennis plays the part superbly and in the hands of a great director, we see a vivid portrait of an inner city school and a great teacher with ideals and spunk. To me, this movie is a classic, much under-rated in the history of American cinema.

Watching SANDY DENNIS cope with the things any schoolteacher has to deal with when working in an overcrowded city school in the worst part of town, has to seem familiar to all those who've seen GLENN FORD face the same kind of hurdles in the much earlier THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE.

This time the schoolteacher is a woman, a very naive, well-intended schoolteacher who wants to bring out the best in a classroom full of bored misfits who would rather be anywhere else than school. It's based on a rather sketchy novel by Bel Kaufman, but Tad Mosel's screenplay pulls all the strands together nicely and puts the central focus squarely on Miss Dennis (where it belongs) and her crusade to bring meaning into the lives of some needy students.

Dennis is entirely up to the demands of such a role and gives one of her best portrayals. Eileen Heckart and Jean Stapleton do well in supporting roles but it's Dennis who must carry the film and she does so with honesty, integrity and her own brand of quirky charm. The school atmosphere is well captured with much of the filming done inside a real city school that serves as Calvin Coolidge High School.

Summing up: An altogether winning little film, largely forgotten, that should be more appreciated--still timely and relevant.

I felt that I was watching reality even forty years later. I too aspired to be an English teacher like Sylvia Barrett. Sandy Dennis was a terrific actress and this film shows her ability and wide range. The cast features well known and familiar faces. Sylvia endures a stark reality of the urban teaching world. Schools in the poorest sections of New York City are still under funded. The Calvin Coolidge High School appears more like a prison than a school. The atmosphere reminds me of going to the unemployment office where its grim and depressing. How can anybody believe learning is going on? Of course not, schools are supposed to prepare our students for the future but are terribly let down. Today's students believe technology will solve everything. We can't teach how to think as teachers. This film should be shown to all aspiring teachers about the reality of urban school teaching.

Reminds me of the wonderful movie "To Sir, with Love" starring Sidney Poitier, which came out one year earlier in 1966. Both have an academic setting and emphasize reaching difficult young adults through intellect and respect. The direction and the script on this one is somewhat darker, and scenes are allowed to build up suspense with realistic danger that comes very close to the edge. The film explores the spectrum of student characters and the delicate balance a teacher has with both students and faculty. A very hard to find film, I've seen it only once just after midnight and commercial free on a highly rated classic movie channel, Turner Classic Movies. I highly recommend at least one viewing of this great drama.

Several films have featured teachers as a central figure in cinema. Recently, I had occasion to view Teachers with Nick Nolte, which was quite lively, but no more rewarding than watching Up the Down Staircase for a second time. Sandy Dennis is not one of my favorite actresses, but this and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf are her two best efforts. This film is actually a tad better than Teachers made in 1984, about another NYC high school. It is better because the performances are understated and more realistic. Even the teacher room in this film is more realistic than Teacher, made 17 years later. Both films get their point across that American cares far more about its school budgets, test scores, and covering one's own ass, rather than caring about the students learning. I speak as a teacher with over 40 years experience. This film gets it.

Bel Kaufman's book concerning the frazzled first term for an idealistic young schoolteacher in a tough, underfunded New York high school becomes literate, if unexciting dramatic film. Sandy Dennis (indeed frazzled, but with a firm jaw) slowly gains control of her homeroom, which is full of the usual rabble rousers and teenage clichés: the apple-polisher, the quiet kid awaiting a breakthrough, the lonely poetry-lover, the tough kid in his leather jacket, the racial hothead, the class clown, et al. Those in the administration and faculty are predictable cut-outs as well, and the actors (though well-cast) cannot overcome their overly-pointed vignettes with such facile dialogue (as with the librarian complaining about an overdue book checked out by a student who attempted suicide). Once our heroine announces her intended resignation, all we have left to wait for is one student to tell her she's made a difference. It's terribly well-meaning, but not very cognizant of honest human behavior. We can chart Dennis' progress and growth as a teacher, but we never get to know her personally (and this seems deliberate). One can easily read a book while the film is on and still catch all the programmed nuances it carefully slips in. **1/2 from ****

I loved this movie, I watched it two times in two days as I dvr'd it from TCM. After watching it I ordered the book and purchased the movie. Sandy Dennis was so endearing in her role. It was so good that I also had to look up all of the actors and read their history and backgrounds etc. I usually do not go so overboard but this movie caught ahold of me. I was only two years old when it was released and do not know how I have gone for so long without seeing it but so glad I ran across it. You will not be disappointed with it. There were some familiar faces in the movie such as Jean Stapleton, Sorrell Booke and even Bernice from Fish :)

As a former teacher in Title 1 School Districts I can attest that this movie fails to mirror reality on numerous levels. With "Up the Downstair case" we have simply established a meek, fragile and naive teacher attempting to begin her teacher career in a rough inner-city school district. Perspicously this is a fish out of water story where an idealistic person ventures into a realm far alien to her natural element. So the intrigue is to see how her challenges unfold in an environment filled with reprobates, corrupt faculty and chaos.

In the end the ultimate conclusion brings forth a committed and dedicated soul who feels the altruistic need to nurture these young dregs. And when the situation arises she can rise to the occasion and make a difference in the lives of some people. Sandy Dennis is one of those actresses that always seems to be suffering from some form of anemia, as if she always has a cold. The casting is correct when you match her slight, waspish, and frail appearance next to the coarse creatures who inhabit the school, and she does look very out of place. Although her performance was admirable I didn't find it realistic nor believable that she could have subsisted an entire year in those conditions.

Inner city schools today are literally hopeless and an anathema to American society. Completely dysfunctional and replete with juvenile delinquents, Title 1 schools are virtually gang lands where decadent and anti-social behavior breed. Up the downstair case barely scratches the surfaces of today's problems and conundrums pervading our urban landscapes. I am still waiting for a film that will accurately display an honest, forthright and succinct story where viewers can see the truth. The Principal (1987) with James Belushi focused more on the violence and ever present dangers in inner city schools, unfortunately a bit over the top it captures the feel and environment more truthfully. Up the Downstair case may be a valiant effort on one level of idealism, but it fails to present the real picture.

A lot of fine acting--Sandy Dennis's superb portrayal, in particular--wasted on an epically unrealistic narrative which has "Room 222" looking like a documentary. Some of the more glaring departures from real life: The students look too well-groomed (in the manner of Hollywood actors pretending to be lower-class students--which is precisely what we're seeing, come to think of it). These neglected and disaffected kids all demonstrate much better than average writing skills--another reality-killer. And, while Dennis is more than fine in the role, she seems too fragile for the job. (Not her fault--better writing could have solved this.) The pacing is better suited to a "Dragnet" episode than a from-real-life classroom drama. The school bureaucracy is alternately portrayed as inept but, somehow, highly efficient. (Logically, it can't be both.) There's little of the sense of threat-to-person which graced "Blackboard Jungle" and "To Sir, With Love," and there's little feeling of triumph or joy in Dennis's twist-ending decision (compared with Poitier's in "To Sir"). And we should have been given a chance to get to know the students better, since they should be at least half of the film's focus. Instead, we get shot after shot of Sandy walking, Sandy pushing a book cart, Sandy reacting to the unaccountably inane behavior of her coworkers, and just Sandy. I can hear the conversation: "So, what's your directorial approach?" Director: "To keep the camera on Miss Dennis at every opportunity." I hate to pan a film so expertly performed--it seems unfair to the highly talented cast, but so it goes. Oh, and Sylvia's failure to read the clear danger signals from a troubled student is utterly at odds with Sylvia's (alleged) talent for "reading" her teenage charges. This lapse not merely unrealistic, but insulting.

It's hard to compare this movie with other films of the genre. "The Principal", "Dangerous Minds", "Lean on Me", and "Stand and Deliver" really don't have much in common with UtDS. Nevertheless, this film is very good and Sandy Dennis is outstanding as the young teacher who is starting out in a tough New York City high school.

What makes UtDS unique is that there's no focus on gang fights, or ghetto culture, or the teachers' private lives. Instead, the story focuses almost entirely on the classroom. More specifically, it focuses on an English teacher (Dennis) and her students. That may seem boring, but this movie is anything but. The student characters are well developed and their relationships with each other, their parents, their teachers, and the school administrators are extremely realistic.

Anyone who is tired of the mindless, inhuman **** being shown in multiplexes all over America should give this film a look. It'll be a breath of fresh air. It's a positive, intelligent, engrossing story.

Unfortunately, it's not likely to be in your local video store. But if you should have the rare opportunity of seeing UtDS - perhaps on premium cable or on a VHS tape from a public library - you will not be disappointed!

Having watched the film, it seems quite appropriate now that during one of its key sequences, schoolteacher Sandy Dennis is guiding her unruly English literature students through the famously antithetical opening of Charles Dickens' "A Tale Of Two Cities". That's because the sheer glossiness of UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE makes its intended 'realistic' portrayal of the American school system self-defeatingly superficial. On the other hand, however, its cliché-ridden narrative – the troubled class punk is truly a highly intelligent individual, a sensitive soul bearing an unrequited love for the school's playboy-teacher attempts suicide, a painfully shy student finally blossoms into a flamboyant actor, the schoolteacher eventually sticks her neck out for her put-upon students but, ungratefully, almost gets 'raped' into the bargain, she is about to quit her job but, naturally, thinks better of it at the end, etc. – is actually what makes it enjoyable viewing. It also helps that Sandy Dennis is very good in the lead, as she herself gains confidence in her dealings with the kids as the film moves along (to Fred Karlin's playful score).

What can I say? I read the book and enjoyed it. I saw the film and absolutely fell in love with it. I loved Sandy Dennis and her unique method of acting-- yes, I know she sometimes stammered, but don't we all in "real life?" I give high marks for Mulligan's directing because the movie had so many wonderful facets: it could be funny, it could be disturbing, and it could be so moving. The penultimate scene with Jose in the auditorium was so touching, so meaningful, and yet so simple. But exceedingly powerful. I found myself relating to Dennis in every way. Her bewilderment at The System, her deep desire to reach her students, her frustration, her idealism, her disappointment. And, when she finally experiences a victory, her sincere gratification. One reviewer called the film "slick." I don't at all agree. It was subtle, meaningful, and true. And the other actors did such a superb job of acting that it all seemed unscripted. There was no sex, nudity, swearing-- none of the things that today's movies are so laden with. I have a theory that these gimmicks are used for shock value, as filler, or to cover up the inadequacies of the film makers. You can tell that those who made this film were classically educated because the movie's foundation was strong and true. There wasn't a wasted line nor a meaningless exchange. Just full, rich film making at its finest!! Make no mistake: a film needn't be an action thriller or sexy to be compelling. I'm disappointed by today's movies because they lack something: heart, soul, meaning-- I'm not sure-- but I liken them to "cinematic junk food." So if you like pure cinema, see this film. (I don't think there's any comparison to "To Sir With Love," by the way. The latter was entertaining, but that was about it.)

Idealistic young Sandy Dennis (as Sylvia Barrett) gets her first teaching job, as an English and homeroom teacher at "Calvin Coolidge High School" in New York City. She can quote Emily Dickinson and Charles Dickens, but Ms. Dennis not prepared for an overcrowded and unruly classroom. Dennis gets some of the stereotypical students you've seen, probably, in more movies than high schools. Additionally, she must contend with shrill office secretary Jean Stapleton (as Sadie Finch) shouting orders demanding paperwork; and, everyone has to listen to what has to be the worst bell you will ever hear in a high school setting. No wonder Dennis goes "Up the Down Staircase"...

Eileen Heckart, Ruth White, and Frances Sternhagen are credible school personnel. Outstanding (in more ways than one, as he doesn't arrive in time to claim one of the classroom's limited seats) is handsome Jeff Howard (as Joe Ferone), a misunderstood delinquent who mistakes Dennis' teacherly interest as sexual. Also notable is awkward Ellen O'Mara (as Alice Blake), who has a crush on frustrated writer-turned-teacher Patrick Bedford (as Paul Barringer). Highly intelligent and ethnic, but low academic performers fill in other seats. The students call Dennis "Teach" (that's short for "Teacher") derisively, as the school year rolls along...

Warner Bros. must have had high hopes for "Up the Down Staircase", with accomplished director Robert Mulligan steering Sandy Dennis immediately after her award-winning performance in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966). Unfortunately, this film was blown out of the theaters by Columbia Picture's immensely popular Sidney Poitier film "To Sir, with Love", which was released almost simultaneously. Another problem was the fact that the high school teenagers in "Up the Down Staircase" do not possess the level of infectious juvenile delinquent appeal present in "To Sir, with Love", "Blackboard Jungle" (1955), and others...

"Up the Down Staircase" was entered in Moscow's film festival, where its depiction of slummy American schooling enjoyed guarded praised. Ms. Dennis received "Best Actress" nominations from the "Film Daily" (she placed third) and the "New York Film Critics" (she placed seventh). Moody newcomers Jeff Howard and Ellen O'Mara received "Film Daily" nominations in the juvenile award category, and the trade publication placed the film itself at #7 for the year. Definitely a passing grade.

****** Up the Down Staircase (7/19/67) Robert Mulligan ~ Sandy Dennis, Patrick Bedford, Jeff Howard, Eileen Heckart

Calvin Coolidge High is the setting for Sandy Dennis first year teaching. The kids are racially mixed. One girl Ellen O'Mara falls for her English teacher. Another Jeff Howard has a high IQ but can't focus. Harry A. Kagan the class president wears a suit every day.

Jean Stapleton smothers the school in paper work. Patrick Badford corrects grammar instead of talking to the amorous student. Eileen Heckart the guidance counselor has a tricky system that categorizes the students. Up the down staircase means Dennis is new to teaching and uses the wrong staircase.

Tale of Two Cities is her breakthrough moment with her class who suddenly realize their lives can be both awful and wonderful simultaneously.

After a close call with Jeff Howard she thinks of resigning.

Then a mock trial changes her mind.

Sandy Dennis is like Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter; so natural one forgets she is acting.

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.

Sandy Dennis plays a young teacher who is assigned to an inner city school in NYC in the early 1960s. You see here deal with tons of red tape at the school and students who don't care.

Based on a 1964 book written by an actual NYC teacher. The tone of the film (and book) is light but it doesn't ignore the problems the students have. It offers no solutions but brings up some interesting questions. Shot at an actual NYC high school during the summer break which helps lead realism to the movie. All the acting is excellent.

This is my all time favorite book. I've read it more times than I can count. I have never laughed out loud more reading any other book. I finally had the chance to see the film version. It is almost completely devoid of the humor of the novel. That's not to say that it's a bad film - Sandy Dennis was an amazing actress and she surrounded here by many better-known character actors. The drama is still there. The craziness that inner city teachers had to deal with even back in the 1960s is still there. But there is zero humor and that is what made the novel great. The book is uniquely written in that it is made up of school memos, notes in the teacher's suggestion box, papers the students have written, letters the teacher writes to her college mentor, with hilarious results. The ridiculous way in which the school is managed is mostly missing from this film as well. The pathos is there, the direction, the poignancy, but the humor that is the heart of the novel is gone and it leaves the film sadly lacking.

I thought the movie was well done. Sandy Dennis was superb in her role as teacher. I reccomend this film