This 69-minute drama comes from the Louis Mayer/Andy Hardy school of family drama. Even a year after Mayer's dismissal from MGM, it wreaks of his influence. Young teacher Dorothy Dandridge, a year before her sensation in "Carmen Jones", had only a minor few film roles to her credit, and this "B" drama probably seemed like a good idea at the time. However, was it irresponsible for Hollywood's biggest studio at the time to present a dramatization of the lives of young black students with none of the grit of their real lives? Of course, this was a few years before the civil rights movement really took off, so it is a step above the Stepin Fetchits and Willie Bests of eras past.
There's a lot to like in this sanitized tale of a black elementary school. Dandridge is joined here by her future "Carmen Jones" co-star Harry Belafonte who plays the principal; I pictured the same roles being played by June Allyson and Van Johnson, because that is exactly how they are written, and white child stars Dean Stockwell and Donna Cocoran as the students. I also picture such character performers as Margaret Hamilton and Sara Haden as the snooty teachers who won't give under achiever student C.T. (Philip Hepburn, obviously no relation to the other two more famous Hepburns) a chance. In other words, MGM had something really important to say regarding the education of black youth, and they simply blew it by giving them an overly white script. The young children, even C.T., speak as if they just came out of finishing schools, while Dandridge, whose character is obviously educated, is allowed to be so sweet and concerned that she just isn't believable. Even a moment of frustration over C.T.'s underachieving and the other teacher's attitudes towards him would have added some grit and reality to her character.
Taking away the racial view of the storyline, there is a lot of sweetness to be found here, from watching young C.T. overjoyed at the sight of a caterpillar (which becomes a butterfly in a metaphor style conclusion) to his knowledge of bees which ends up saving the classroom from an attack. Realistically, the character is portrayed as having a learning disability even though he has the desire to learn without the benefit of being a good reader. He also has an objection to the song "Three Blind Mice" and becomes violent after hearing it repeatedly. This makes him an outcast in the classroom, sitting in the equivalent of the dunce's corner, one unpleasant factor which took away from me some of the sympathy towards Dandridge's overly emotional character whose only real flaw is caring far too much.
We should be grateful in historical perspective, however, that this 60 year old film, made in the days of TV's "Amos and Andy", does show black life in a more positive light. And with Sidney Poitier then a rising star thanks to films such as "No Way Out" and "Cry the Beloved Country", it seemed that at least attempts were being made to change things. Look for Maidie Norman (the housekeeper in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?") as the mother of an ailing student.
There's a lot to like in this sanitized tale of a black elementary school. Dandridge is joined here by her future "Carmen Jones" co-star Harry Belafonte who plays the principal; I pictured the same roles being played by June Allyson and Van Johnson, because that is exactly how they are written, and white child stars Dean Stockwell and Donna Cocoran as the students. I also picture such character performers as Margaret Hamilton and Sara Haden as the snooty teachers who won't give under achiever student C.T. (Philip Hepburn, obviously no relation to the other two more famous Hepburns) a chance. In other words, MGM had something really important to say regarding the education of black youth, and they simply blew it by giving them an overly white script. The young children, even C.T., speak as if they just came out of finishing schools, while Dandridge, whose character is obviously educated, is allowed to be so sweet and concerned that she just isn't believable. Even a moment of frustration over C.T.'s underachieving and the other teacher's attitudes towards him would have added some grit and reality to her character.
Taking away the racial view of the storyline, there is a lot of sweetness to be found here, from watching young C.T. overjoyed at the sight of a caterpillar (which becomes a butterfly in a metaphor style conclusion) to his knowledge of bees which ends up saving the classroom from an attack. Realistically, the character is portrayed as having a learning disability even though he has the desire to learn without the benefit of being a good reader. He also has an objection to the song "Three Blind Mice" and becomes violent after hearing it repeatedly. This makes him an outcast in the classroom, sitting in the equivalent of the dunce's corner, one unpleasant factor which took away from me some of the sympathy towards Dandridge's overly emotional character whose only real flaw is caring far too much.
We should be grateful in historical perspective, however, that this 60 year old film, made in the days of TV's "Amos and Andy", does show black life in a more positive light. And with Sidney Poitier then a rising star thanks to films such as "No Way Out" and "Cry the Beloved Country", it seemed that at least attempts were being made to change things. Look for Maidie Norman (the housekeeper in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?") as the mother of an ailing student.