bombersflyup To Sir, with Love was a so so to reasonable film, but nothing special.They seem to think it was special, with the photo collage ending and the music solo like it's James Bond or something. It ain't "From Russia with Love". So a class of punk kids, stop acting like punks because Mr. Thackeray gets rids of the books and starts preparing them for life. That's fine, but what's great about it? They all kind of gave in pretty easily, Thackeray wasn't tested much, whenever he said sit down, they did. It's not like they said, no make us. They were basically compliant. Sidney Poitier was solid in the lead, but this would have to be one of his lesser films. None of the other characters stood out to me. There was no tribulation at all. Where is the struggle? Give me something to care about. Everything ends on a happy note like it's some Christmas movie.

Hitchcoc Sidney Poitier is a new teacher. He gets a job at an inner city public school in England. He thinks he can rely on his prescriptive training to make it go. That doesn't last long because these kids are loaded for bear and have probably driven more than one teacher out the front door. I taught for 43 years and know how the wrong approach can lead to disaster. One day, he realizes that these kids aren't going to learn anything unless he can make a dent in their attitudes and, in some cases, their hopeless lives. It's hard, but he soon makes some inroads. There are challenges, including a pretty young female student who starts to fall in love with him. I know some say this movie is dated, but styles are unique to the period. If this were a big deal, we would wipe out about 95 percent of the films available to watch.

SnoopyStyle Mark Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) is an unemployed engineer from British Guiana originally and a few years in California. Unable to get an engineering job, he reluctantly takes a teaching job at the North Quay Secondary School in the lower class East End neighborhood of London. His class is compose of some of the worst rejects from other schools.The cockney accent is quite thick but the movie is mostly understandable. Poitier is doing his stoic acting with some flashes of power. The kids are generally nice looking trying to act tough. None of them has any real edge especially compared to modern movies. It may actually be the idea that these are good kids trying to be bad. It plays more like a less intense sentimental movie. The song is great though. I don't want to say the movie is too soft. Just by having Poitier, the race issue is being dealt with. The main thing is that Poitier is never truly outmatched by the kids. He projects so much presence that the kids don't have anything equal to him.

jc-osms There are so any things which date this film, you could lose count. Its outlook towards the generation gap, racism, sexism, music and more really do seem preserved in mid-60's aspic and while it has some vintage charm, it has many more embarrassing aspects of almost look-away gaucheness.In its favour are the exterior London locations, I suppose the feel-good nature of the plot and a mostly watchable star performance by Sidney Poitier as the "Sir" of the title. Supposedly the new teacher at a school for difficult near-adult pupils you too will be amazed at how he tames his class of young hooligans just by throwing away their text books and talking about life.Elsewhere clichés abound, from Poitier's encounters with the class rebel, who he eventually teaches a lesson in the boxing ring and the class beauty who eventually forms a crush on him, to the unconventional way he gives out lessons. Occasionally the film tries to grow up with some adult-banter on the bus at Poitier's expense or the strange ritual burning of a sanitary towel in class, but with its largely teenage cast and references to contemporary pop-culture, it seems definitely aimed at the younger movie-goer.Poitier is good right up until he does his silly one-on-one dance with the adoring Julie Christie lookalike Sally Geeson and you feel more could have been made of his relationship with Suzy Kendall as his white, female colleague who offers him support. The young cast of class pupils occasionally turn to wood but a very young Lulu does quite well in concealing her broad Scottish accent and singing the hit title tune.The direction tries to be hip too, never more so than with the photo-montage of the class trip to a museum, but the editing isn't always clear and you suspect many of the scenes are watered down for the benefit of the censor.Still it was nice to jump into my 60's time-machine and watch a reasonably entertaining film from that era