GB
1961
1hr 33mins
Dir: Leslie Norman
Starring: Max Bygraves and Betty McDowall
A young school supply teacher wins over tough kids at a London East End school
This social drama is based on the controversial anti-corporal punishment novel of the same name by Michael Croft and is very much the precursor of the 1967 film To Sir, With Love (qv). The school lies off Ravenscourt Avenue and in several scenes London Underground District Line R stock trains are crossing a viaduct in the background, on the section of track between Ravenscourt Park and Stamford Brook stations. An interesting aside is that during one of his lessons, Max Bygraves has pinned to the blackboard some postcards of man’s inventions including planes, boats and trains. Steam locomotives visible include Trevithick’s Penydarren, Stephenson’s Rocket, Liverpool & Manchester 0-2-2 Lion and an LMS ‘Duchess’, along with a Class 40 and a ‘Peak’ diesel!
