Spare the Rod (film)
Encyclopedia
Spare the Rod is a 1961 British social drama, directed by Les Norman
and starring Max Bygraves
, Geoffrey Keen
, Donald Pleasence
and Richard O'Sullivan
. The film was based on a novel by Michael Croft and deals with an idealistic schoolteacher coming to a tough area of East London to teach in a secondary modern school
at a time when such establishments were largely starved of attention and resources from education authorities and were widely regarded as dumping grounds with sub-par teaching standards, for the containment of non-academically inclined children until they reached the school-leaving age.
Spare the Rod was likened on its release to a British Blackboard Jungle
, and later as a precursor in theme to the better-known To Sir, with Love
(1967). A contemporary reviewer described the film as "a courageous portrayal of the unhappier side of British education...an honest, honourable piece, which recognises that there are good teachers, discouraged teachers, and some that are not fit for the job." This was Bygraves' last feature film before he made the decision to channel his career towards light entertainment rather than acting. O'Sullivan's role as a wayward but promising pupil is a counterpoint to his similar role two years earlier in the comedy Carry On Teacher
.
views, arrives to take up a post at Worrell Street School in a socially deprived area of East London. He is assigned a class of pupils in their last year before leaving school and finds himself in charge of a group of rebellious, badly-behaved teenagers from poor home backgrounds, with no interest in education, who register their defiance of authority by fighting, throwing classroom furniture around, whistling and laughing during bible readings and smoking in class. The school's headmaster Jenkins (Pleasence) is well-meaning but has long become despondent with the seemingly insurmountable challenges posed by his pupils and is resigned to merely serving out his time until retirement. His view that corporal punishment is the only way to maintain even some semblance of order in the classrooms ("You'll never be able to handle them unless you're as tough as they are") is anathema to Saunders, who states his intention to try all other methods of discipline rather than resort to physical violence.
Saunders' teaching colleagues are all resistant to any change in the school's punishment policy, with their attitudes informed either by disillusion and the fear of otherwise losing control of their pupils completely, or in the case of Arthur Gregory (Keen) by a seeming relish for corporal punishment which borders on the sadistic. All share the view that it is useless to try to provide a meaningful education to children who they have already written off as leaving school only to drift into dead-end jobs, and that the best they can hope to do is to maintain some degree of order in the classroom. Saunders sticks to his principles and starts to make some little headway with his class, although they are baffled by his refusal to rise to provocation and disobedience. He spots particular promise in one of the main trouble-makers Fred Harkness (O'Sullivan), and tries to encourage the boy to explore his potential. The first time Saunders caned any pupils involved Harkness, though it is revealed in a later scene that it was not Harkness's fault, in fact, he was trying to prevent several other pupils from rioting. When Saunders offers him a handshake and an apology at the end of the scene, Harkness refuses and marches out of the room, all trust between them smashed.
Matters come to a head when as a prank the pupils lock Gregory in the school toilets overnight. The following morning Gregory seeks revenge on those he considers the ringleaders, singling Harkness out for punishment. His assault on the boy escalates beyond reasonable bounds, with him delivering roughly ten strokes of the cane to his left hand, which was twisted behind his back, and Saunders has to step in to restrain him. Taking advantage of the situation, the other pupils instigate a full-scale classroom riot. Saunders then finds himself being held responsible for undermining the school's strict discipline protocol. He is forced to examine whether he can continue to teach in such an environment, but has the consolation of finally connecting fully with Harkness and convincing him he is talented enough to aspire to something better on leaving school.
Les Norman
Leslie A. Norman was a British director and producer. His career spanned nearly fifty years, from 1930 until 1978, and in that time he tried his hand at many different jobs, including editor, producer, and writer...
and starring Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves
Max Bygraves OBE is an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs...
, Geoffrey Keen
Geoffrey Keen
Geoffrey Keen was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many famous films.-Early life:Keen was born in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England, the son of stage actor Malcolm Keen. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School. He then joined the Little Repertory Theatre in Bristol for whom...
, Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
and Richard O'Sullivan
Richard O'Sullivan
Richard O'Sullivan is an English comedy actor who is probably best known to British and Australian audiences for his role as Robin Tripp in the 1970s sitcoms Man About the House and Robin's Nest and as the title character in the period family adventure series Dick Turpin.O'Sullivan also starred...
. The film was based on a novel by Michael Croft and deals with an idealistic schoolteacher coming to a tough area of East London to teach in a secondary modern school
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
at a time when such establishments were largely starved of attention and resources from education authorities and were widely regarded as dumping grounds with sub-par teaching standards, for the containment of non-academically inclined children until they reached the school-leaving age.
Spare the Rod was likened on its release to a British Blackboard Jungle
Blackboard Jungle
Blackboard Jungle is a 1955 social commentary film about teachers in an inner-city school. It is based on the novel of the same name by Evan Hunter.-Plot:...
, and later as a precursor in theme to the better-known To Sir, with Love
To Sir, with Love
To Sir, With Love is a 1967 British drama film starring Sidney Poitier that deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. James Clavell both directed and wrote the film's screenplay, based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by E. R. Braithwaite.The film's title song...
(1967). A contemporary reviewer described the film as "a courageous portrayal of the unhappier side of British education...an honest, honourable piece, which recognises that there are good teachers, discouraged teachers, and some that are not fit for the job." This was Bygraves' last feature film before he made the decision to channel his career towards light entertainment rather than acting. O'Sullivan's role as a wayward but promising pupil is a counterpoint to his similar role two years earlier in the comedy Carry On Teacher
Carry On Teacher
Carry On Teacher is the third Carry On film, released in 1959. It features Ted Ray in his only Carry On role, alongside series regulars; Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques. Leslie Phillips and Joan Sims make their second appearances in the series here, having made...
.
Plot
John Saunders (Bygraves), a supply teacher with progressive anti-corporal punishmentCorporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
views, arrives to take up a post at Worrell Street School in a socially deprived area of East London. He is assigned a class of pupils in their last year before leaving school and finds himself in charge of a group of rebellious, badly-behaved teenagers from poor home backgrounds, with no interest in education, who register their defiance of authority by fighting, throwing classroom furniture around, whistling and laughing during bible readings and smoking in class. The school's headmaster Jenkins (Pleasence) is well-meaning but has long become despondent with the seemingly insurmountable challenges posed by his pupils and is resigned to merely serving out his time until retirement. His view that corporal punishment is the only way to maintain even some semblance of order in the classrooms ("You'll never be able to handle them unless you're as tough as they are") is anathema to Saunders, who states his intention to try all other methods of discipline rather than resort to physical violence.
Saunders' teaching colleagues are all resistant to any change in the school's punishment policy, with their attitudes informed either by disillusion and the fear of otherwise losing control of their pupils completely, or in the case of Arthur Gregory (Keen) by a seeming relish for corporal punishment which borders on the sadistic. All share the view that it is useless to try to provide a meaningful education to children who they have already written off as leaving school only to drift into dead-end jobs, and that the best they can hope to do is to maintain some degree of order in the classroom. Saunders sticks to his principles and starts to make some little headway with his class, although they are baffled by his refusal to rise to provocation and disobedience. He spots particular promise in one of the main trouble-makers Fred Harkness (O'Sullivan), and tries to encourage the boy to explore his potential. The first time Saunders caned any pupils involved Harkness, though it is revealed in a later scene that it was not Harkness's fault, in fact, he was trying to prevent several other pupils from rioting. When Saunders offers him a handshake and an apology at the end of the scene, Harkness refuses and marches out of the room, all trust between them smashed.
Matters come to a head when as a prank the pupils lock Gregory in the school toilets overnight. The following morning Gregory seeks revenge on those he considers the ringleaders, singling Harkness out for punishment. His assault on the boy escalates beyond reasonable bounds, with him delivering roughly ten strokes of the cane to his left hand, which was twisted behind his back, and Saunders has to step in to restrain him. Taking advantage of the situation, the other pupils instigate a full-scale classroom riot. Saunders then finds himself being held responsible for undermining the school's strict discipline protocol. He is forced to examine whether he can continue to teach in such an environment, but has the consolation of finally connecting fully with Harkness and convincing him he is talented enough to aspire to something better on leaving school.
Cast
- Max BygravesMax BygravesMax Bygraves OBE is an English comedian, singer, actor and variety performer. He appeared on his own television shows, sometimes performing comedy sketches between songs...
as John Saunders - Geoffrey KeenGeoffrey KeenGeoffrey Keen was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many famous films.-Early life:Keen was born in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England, the son of stage actor Malcolm Keen. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School. He then joined the Little Repertory Theatre in Bristol for whom...
as Arthur Gregory - Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
as Mr. Jenkins - Richard O'SullivanRichard O'SullivanRichard O'Sullivan is an English comedy actor who is probably best known to British and Australian audiences for his role as Robin Tripp in the 1970s sitcoms Man About the House and Robin's Nest and as the title character in the period family adventure series Dick Turpin.O'Sullivan also starred...
as Fred Harkness - Betty McDowallBetty McDowallBetty McDowall is an Australian film and television actress. She was born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1933.Her television appearances include episodes of Z-Cars, The Saint and The Prisoner.-Partial filmography:* The Shiralee...
as Ann Collins - Peter Reynolds as Alec Murray
- Jean AndersonJean AndersonJean Anderson was an English actress born in Eastbourne, Sussex. She is best remembered for her television roles as hard-faced matriarch Mary Hammond in the 1970s BBC drama The Brothers and as rebellious aristocrat Lady Jocelyn "Joss" Holbrook in the 1980s Second World War series Tenko .She is...
as Mrs. Pond
- Eleanor SummerfieldEleanor SummerfieldEleanor Summerfield was a British actress.Summerfield was born in London in 1921. She received her acting training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In the mid-1960s, she played P. G. Wodehouse' character Aunt Dahlia in the BBC One's World of Wooster. She was a team member on BBC Radio 4's...
as Mrs. Harkness - Mary MerrallMary MerrallMary Merrall , born Elsie Lloyd, was an English actress whose career of over 60 years encompassed stage, film and television work.-Stage career:...
as Miss Fogg - Aubrey WoodsAubrey WoodsAubrey Woods is an English actor. He was born in London.His television credits include: Z-Cars, Up Pompeii!, Doctor Who , Blake's 7, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Ever Decreasing Circles...
as Mr. Bickerstaffe - Rory MacDermot as Mr. Richards
- Jeremy BullochJeremy BullochJeremy Bulloch is an English actor. He is best known for the role inside the costume of the bounty hunter Boba Fett in the original Star Wars trilogy, though he did not voice the character...
as Angell - Claire Marshall as Margaret
- Annette Robertson as Doris
External links
- Spare the Rod at BritMovie