Idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.Idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.Idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film did so unexpectedly well in the States that Columbia Pictures did market research to find out why so many people had gone to it. Their answer: Sidney Poitier.
- GoofsThe students in the class, most of the teachers at the school, and the vendors at the fruit and vegetable market wear the same clothes throughout the movie.
However, it is possible the students, are wearing the same clothes because their families cannot afford more than one set of clothing. During the funeral and museum outing scenes, some of the class are dressed differently, showing they have special clothes and school clothes. As for the vendors, it's possible they have specific clothes to wear to work in, whether or not for financial reasons.
- Quotes
Mark Thackeray: [entering classroom and seeing smoke] All you boys, out. Girls stay where you are. Out.
[closes door]
Mark Thackeray: I am sick of your foul language, your crude behavior and your sluttish manner. There are certain things a decent woman keeps private, and only a filthy slut would have done this and those who stood by and encouraged her are just as bad. I don't care who's responsible - you're all to blame. Now, I am going to leave this room for five minutes by which time that disgusting object had better be removed and the windows opened to clear away the stench. If you must play these filthy games, do them in your homes, and not in my classroom!
- Crazy creditsLulu received an "introducing" credit.
- SoundtracksTo Sir, With Love
Lyrics by Don Black
Music by Mark London (as Marc London)
Performed by Lulu (uncredited)
Arranged and Conducted by Mike Leander (uncredited)
I first viewed this film when it was released in 1967, fifty long years ago and the year that I graduated from high school, an institution that was only a notch above the environment of North Quay. For me, this motion picture has actually improved in time, perhaps because I finally understand the words of the East Enders.
The use of the theme song "To Sir With Love" with all of its variations to match the mood of the moment was very successful. The montage sequence of still shots at the museum was also very effective, especially when one considers that the museum management refused to allow the crew from rolling their cameras inside. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade.
Two major instances of irony left a strong impact on me. The first was that of a highly educated black man teaching a predominantly white, underprivileged group of working class students in the inner city. The second was the sight of Sidney Poitier, who played one of those underprivileged students in a New York City high school twelve years earlier during "Blackboard Jungle", standing in front of a similar class as the teacher. In both movies, the teachers were faced with the same, difficult choice of leaving their troubled schools for careers elsewhere.
Although the subject of race arose with great restraint on several occasions during the movie, it did not bluntly expose itself until the moment when the mostly white students were asked to deliver flowers to the home of a bereaved non-white classmate. This was a moment of truth that was handled very well with a very moving and gratifying result.
Although several other reviewers don't agree with me, this is a film which has withstood the test of time. Thanks to the outstanding performance of "Sir" Sidney Poitier, an excellent script, a very capable, British supporting cast, and overall direction by James Clavell that kept me involved in the action from start to finish, this is a very appealing movie that must be seen.
- frankwiener
- Jun 10, 2017
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $640,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $642
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
![Sidney Poitier in To Sir, with Love (1967)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTE1NmU5NjctNGQ3Yy00MWYzLWEzOTUtZmE2N2NmOTEwODE4XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzU4Nzk4MDI@._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,1,90,133_.jpg)