''The Class of Miss MacMichael'' is a 1978 British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Silvio Narizzano Silvio Narizzano (8 February 192726 July 2011) was a Canadian film and television director who worked primarily in the United Kingdom. His directorial credits included the critically acclaimed films ''Georgy Girl'' (1966) and '' Loot'' (1970), w ...

, and starring

Glenda Jackson Glenda May Jackson (born 9 May 1936) is an English actress and former Member of Parliament (MP). She has won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice: for her role as Gudrun Brangwen in the romantic drama ''Women in Love'' (1970); and again for ...

Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...

, and

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

. It was based on a novel by Sandy Hutson.

Plot

The film depicts the attempts of an idealistic teacher, Miss MacMichael, to inspire her pupils in an

inner-city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists sometim ...

London school. While trying to help the teens she works with, she also must fight the ultra authoritarian headmaster, Mr Sutton.

Cast

as Conor MacMichael *

as Terence Sutton *

as Martin West *

Rosalind Cash Rosalind Theresa Cash (December 31, 1938October 31, 1995) was an American actress. Her best-known film role is in the 1971 science-fiction film ''The Omega Man''. Cash also had another notable role as Mary Mae Ward in ABC's ''General Hospital'' ...

as Una Ferrar *

John Standing Sir John Ronald Leon, 4th Baronet (born 16 August 1934) is an English actor and baronet who is known as John Standing. He is the stepson of John Clements. Early life Standing was born in London, the son of Kay Hammond (née Dorothy Katherin ...

as Charles Fairbrother *

Phil Daniels Philip William Daniels (born 25 October 1958) is an English actor, musician and singer, most noted for film and television roles playing Londoners, such as the lead role of Jimmy Cooper in ''Quadrophenia'', Richards in '' Scum'', Stewart in ''Th ...

as Stewart *

Pamela Manson Pamela Manson (30 September 1928 – 19 March 1988) was a British actress who in her 30–year career on film, television and stage is best known for playing comedy roles. She was also a political activist who was a member of Equity, and the In ...

as Mrs. Bellrind

Production

Although the film was shot in Britain it was financed entirely from the United States which the director thought was "disgraceful".

Reception

Reviews of the film were mostly negative, dismissing the film as routine and predictable, and criticizing

's role and performance.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' wrote, "Brut productions, which once brought you Glenda Jackson in 'A Touch of Class,' this time presents her in circumstances that are decidedly déclassé...Miss Jackson does nothing here that she hasn't done better elsewhere." Variety criticized the film as, "Treading the usual characterizations and situations", but added, "Though predictable, and the script serviceable for this of-treated theme, with direction average, it has Glenda Jackson adding her presence to the part of a dedicated teacher who eschews a second marriage to stay with her impossible charges." Time Out denounced the film, writing, "Reed, as the neo-fascist headmaster of a school for delinquents, parodies his boorish film persona to the point of farce, alternately strutting around like a boiled turkey or oiling his way with the school's visitors, while Jackson goes at her role of committed teacher/lone befriender of kids with jaw-forward heartiness. Add to this conflict in styles the film's confused intentions -- black comedy, the horrific realities of reform schools, a sentimental belief that understanding will overcome - and you have a mess."

References

External links

* 1978 films 1978 comedy-drama films 1970s English-language films Films about educators Films directed by Silvio Narizzano Films scored by Stanley Myers British comedy-drama films 1978 comedy films 1978 drama films 1970s British films {{comedy-drama-film-stub