Dick Clark is an American icon but rarely appears on TV in Australia - we mostly know him from cameos in movies, so we get that he's a big deal, he just doesn't mean much. (Same for their "iconic" tonight show hosts like Johnny Carson).
This was his dramatic debut - he was a producer as well as a star. It's a black and white melodrama, closer to something like The Blackboard Jungle only milder. Clark is a new idealistic teacher with a tendency to get too close to his students - so warns the principal.
Just so we know he's straight (the opening scene has him and an eight year old boy in a car the boy waking up... it's his orphaned nephew but still... the opening scene?) he romances the principal's secretary, Victoria Shaw.
But really he's interested in his students - specifically male students. There are some women (Roberta Shore, Tuesday Weld who surely was a bigger star than any of the boys) but they are appendages to the men.
The main subplots: Michael Callan was a delinquent but seems to be going good... only is tempted back into his old life by his boss. Warren Berlinger is a football player whose mother turns out to be a (gasp) slut. Callan wants to start up again with Tuesday Weld but she hangs around Berlinger. Doug McClure wants to have sex with girlfriend Shore.
It's not very well plotted. The love triangle between Callan, Weld and Berlinger is hopelessly underdone - it's also unpleasant as Callan is rapey with Weld and Berlinger doesn't seem interested in Weld and Weld seems interested in neither. McClure and Shore may as well be cut out of the film - they're so wet. There is some comedy at the end with them saying "gee aren't we lucky" and "we can still have fun" (so... anal sex?)
There is some stuff that works like Callan's middle aged boss being a criminal, the switch blade fellow crim coming after Callan at the end, the relationship between Clark and Shaw is quite mature. and nicely done. Clark is a bit smiley with a weird head but not terrible. The main fault of the film is not working on those subplots.
Callan's character is really unpleasant. Turning good at the end helps a little but not a lot. Why not give him a dance? They've go Duane Eddy and James Darren performing at the school dance they don't push it that much. Weld is wasted completely (the issue of romance with the boys is unresolved). McClure and Shore are pointless. Berlinger is never believable as a football player. It's awful how his mother apologises for having a sex life.
A frustrating film because director Paul Wendkos does a decent job and the acting quality is pretty good. A few tweaks - using the storylines properly, giving the women some agency, etc - and this would have been fine.
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