''Why Shoot the Teacher?'' is a 1977 Canadian comedy-drama film 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

Bud Cort Walter Edward Cox, known professionally as Bud Cort, is an American actor and comedian, known for his portrayals of Harold in Hal Ashby's film ''Harold and Maude'' (1971) and the eponymous hero in Robert Altman's film '' Brewster McCloud'' (19 ...

Samantha Eggar Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar (born 5 March 1939) is a retired British-American actress. After beginning her career in Shakespearean theatre she rose to fame for her performance in William Wyler's thriller '' The Collec ...

Kenneth Griffith Kenneth Griffith (born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths, 12 October 1921 – 25 June 2006) was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker. His outspoken views made him a controversial figure, especially when presenting documentaries which have been ca ...

, and

Chris Wiggins Christopher John Wiggins (January 13, 1931 – February 19, 2017) was an English-born Canadian actor. Career He started out as a banker in his home country before he began his acting career in Canada, where he moved in 1952. Wiggins is probably ...

. It is based on a book of the same name by

Max Braithwaite John Victor Maxwell Braithwaite (7 December 1911 – 19 March 1995) was a Canadian novelist and non-fiction author. He was born in Nokomis, Saskatchewan and spent his youth in a number of communities in that province. As an adult he moved to Onta ...

Plot

The plot is set in 1935, during the Depression. Max Brown (

) is an urban east-province Canadian fresh from college who travels to Western Canada to accept a teaching position at a one-room rural schoolhouse in the fictional settlement of Willowgreen,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

, because there are no other jobs available. He decides to live in the school's basement, having to adapt to teaching in the

Depression-era The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

rural setting, especially given the bleakness of the settlement. His students at first are rebellious, but it eventually changes to a connection between student and teacher as Max gets into a love for Alice Field (played by

), going to him for emotional support. Max barely gets paid and he suffers through the paltry winter of Willowgreen, especially suffering given his physical and emotional isolation in the town, only finding solace in Harris Montgomery (played by Gary Reineke) and Alice Field, who both try to use him to solve their problems of political socialism and her being a war bride of Britain. Max eventually begins to understand Willowgreen and the rural struggles, as the inspector (Kenneth Griffith) comes in to look at his work, which does not end too well. The school year ends as Max is getting on a train back east, but before the credits roll, he tells us he returned the following September to teach another year at Willowgreen.

Cast

as Max Brown *

as Alice Field *

as Lyle Bishop *

Gary Reineke Gary Reineke (born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian actor. Early life Reineke was born in Scarborough, Ontario on May 27, 1945. Career Reineke has appeared in more than eighty films since 1974, and was a Genie Award nominee for Best Supporting Act ...

as Harris Montgomery *

John Friesen John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

as Dave McDougall * Michael J. Reynolds as Bert Field *

as Inspector Woods * Scott Swan as Dan Trowbridge

Production notes

''Why Shoot the Teacher?'' was filmed on location at

Hanna, Alberta Hanna is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada. History The town was first settled in 1912 and was incorporated in 1914. It was named after David Blyth Hanna, the third vice president of the Canadian Northern Railway. It was a division poin ...

. The film was produced with the assistance of the

Canadian Film Development Corporation Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in ...

Reception

James DeFelice won a 1978

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

for the film's adapted screenplay. The film also won the Golden Reel Award for attaining higher box-office gross revenues of that year than any other Canadian film with a gross of $1.8 million. It was later screened at the 1984 Festival of Festivals as part of Front & Centre, a special retrospective program of artistically and culturally significant films from throughout the history of Canadian cinema. Carole Corbeil, "The stars are coming out for Toronto's film festival". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', September 6, 1984.

References

External links

''Why Shoot the Teacher?'' at the ''Canadian Film Encyclopedia''''Why Shoot the Teacher?'', movie review at ''The New York Times''
* {{IMDb title, 0076920, Why Shoot the Teacher? 1977 films Canadian comedy-drama films Canadian Screen Award-winning films English-language Canadian films Films set in Saskatchewan Films shot in Alberta Films about educators Films set in 1935 Films directed by Silvio Narizzano 1970s English-language films 1970s Canadian films