I'm a teacher. My pupils are the kind you don't turn your back on, even in class!

Richard Dadier, a new teacher at inner city North Manual High, is a man eager to make a difference. Topics such as racial and sexual tensions, gang violence and apathy were topics Blackboard Jungle tackled 50 years ago that are still hot-button issues in schools. Glenn Ford as Dadier clings to his ideals and pays a price vying with teen misfits led by Vic Morrow and, in a star-making performance, a young Sidney Poitier.

Featuring Bill Haley's classic "Rock Around the Clock," the film is often remembered as being responsible for the breakthrough of rock 'n' roll to the media and consumer mainstream. Richard Brooks (In Cold Blood) directed, based on Evan Hunter's best seller.