A Teacher is given charge of a ruffian high school class in the swinging sixties London. Interesting battles for control ensue with unpredictable outcomes, but as always, it's captivating to ensure that life remains compelling.
Sidney Poitier, who in 1955 played a student in a tough inner-city high school, portrays a teacher (Mr. Thackeray) assigned to a similar institution in To Sir, With Love. Unable to find work as an engineer, Mr. Thackeray accepts a teaching post in London's East End slums. To reach his sullen, rebellious students, there are interesting battles for control ensuing with unpredictable outcomes.
Thackeray throws away his textbooks and endeavors to reach them as human beings--and as the adults, they're going to become. It's an uphill climb as his student's faces and learns about the real challenges of life, they are maturing and gradually won over. They began referring to their teacher as "Sir," not out of blind obedience but as a gesture of genuine affection.
Not that there aren't obstacles to overcome: in addition to trying to get through to hardcase student Christian Roberts, Thackeray must face down the resistance and hostility of his fellow teachers. The sweetly sentimental finale amply displays the vocal talents of Lulu, who thrills the title song. To Sir, With Love was one of the biggest money-spinners of 1967 alone with films: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night, Sidney Poitier had quite a year. Based on the novel by E. R. Braithwaite.
To Sir, With Love became a true movie classic with a great soundtrack.
Courtesy of Paul Thompson
The ending of 'To Sir, with love' - Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) tears up his letter of acceptance for an engineering job, and decides to stay at the school.
"The time has come, For closing books and long last looks must end, And as I leave, I know that I am leaving my best friend, A friend who taught me right from wrong, And weak from strong, That's a lot to learn, What, what can I give you in return?" . . . To Sir, With Love
Lulu Interview:
In Lulu's native UK, "To Sir, With Love" was never released in its own right, instead, it appeared as the B-side to the 1967 No. 11 hit "Let's Pretend."
"To Sir, with Love" moved on to higher grounds, initially recorded by Lulu (with The Mindbenders, who also acted in the film). Her single was released in 1967 and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining in the top position for five weeks and earning the number one position for the entire year. Canada's RPM Magazine put the song at #2 for the year 1967. In fact, the song holds the distinction of being the only song by a British artist to hit number-one on the US charts and not even chart in the UK. The song makes notable use of Stylish Melisma.
“To Sir With Love”, one of the greatest one-hit wonders.
ER Braithwaite best known for his 1959 novel To Sir, With Love, based on his experiences as a black teacher in a London school, which was turned into a successful film.
When ER Braithwaite, who passed at aged 104, found doors closed to him in Britain because of his colour, he reacted by writing a novel, To Sir, With Love (1959), which became an international bestseller and was made into a film starring Sidney Poitier. Though he went on to write five other novels, often dealing with black-white relations, none had the impact of his first. Full Article by John Mair.
“I feel fortunate that this piece of work I did 50 years ago is still well and alive. I have some assurance that this little book will outlive me and the interest of others for years to come.”― ER Braithwaite
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