Phantom Killer (1942)

Director
William Beaudine

Cast
Dick Purcell - Edward Arlington Clark
Joan Woodbury - Barbara Mason
John Hamilton - John G. Harrison
Mantan Moreland - Nicodemus

I found the movie Phantom Killer after purchasing a three-film collection of black and white "phantom" movies at a Half-Priced Books in Kansas City.
The set also includes The Phantom of 42nd Street (1945) and The Phantom of Chinatown (1940). The latter stars Chinese-born American actor, Keye Luke (Gremlins, Gremlins 2). I'll get to those later.
The movie centers around John G. Harrison (John Hamilton), a deaf-mute philanthropist, who's supposedly witnessed seen leaving Cromwell Finance Corp where a murder has taken place.
A janitor named Nicodemus (Mantan Moreland) witnessed a man similar in appearance to Harrison leave the Finance Corp. The man also asked Nicodemus for a light for his cigar, and for the time.
Nicodemus later finds the Cromwell president dead.
However, other people witnessed Harrison attending a charity function at the time of the murder.
Assistant District Attorney Edward Clark (Dick Purcell) knows Harrison is guilty, but can't figure out how. Still, he has a "feeling" based on the fact that other murders around the city were committed on nights when Harrison was attending charity functions. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!
His journalist girlfriend, Barbara Mason (Joan Woodbury) doesn't understand his inclination as there's no way someone can be two places at once...or...is there?
On top of this, a physician has previously examined Harrison and can confirm that he is a deaf-mute. Yet, someone matching his exact description verbally asked Nicodemus for a light and the time.
During a trial, Nicodemus identifies Harrison as the man he saw at the Cromwell building.
Meanwhile, Mason has been interviewing Harrison for an in-depth story, and continues to work against Clark's investigation believing Harrison to be innocent.
It's an intriguing story for sure.
They used Nicodemus's character as a comic relief during a questioning scene at the trial.
Nicodemus, being a black man, was portrayed rather juvenile as his testimony prompted laughter from court observers rather than just convey relevant information.

Mantan Moreland (center) as Nicodemus in Phantom Killer

His was that typical low-quality humor, not stupid but not intelligent either, that's often seen with black characters in early movies.
Nicodemus had a crucial role in the movie as he was a key eyewitness to something big. Yet, he was portrayed as being not the brightest witness in the story despite his crucial testimony. Even in 1942, Nicodemus could have been written a whole lot better than he was - an important character, yet still the joke.
It was out of place for a court scene.
Still, I admire movies from this era as actors generally put their best effort into their roles, which is evident in Phantom Killer.
Even Moreland as Nicodemus put in all he had in his character.
Director William Beaudine later went on to director episodes of the TV series The Green Hornet as well as Lassie. He also directed a movie I've been trying to get my hands on for some time  - Billy the Kid vs. Dracula.
Phantom Killer is a quick fix for any film noir fan. It's like reading a cheap paperback from a used bookstore. The story is a nice getaway for an hour. And then the mystery is solved - back to real life.
In this movie, the conclusion is suggested very early on. It risks spoiling the entire movie because once one of the characters suggests how the crime was committed, it's pretty obvious.
Phantom Killer is an overall enjoyable popcorn crime drama. It's very much a period movie, which goes without saying. Fans of movie serials and early crime stories should get something out of it.

Class of 1984 (1982)

Face the music, teacher teacher!

Director
Mark L. Lester

Cast
Perry King - Andrew Norris
Timothy Van Patten - Peter Stegman
Roddy McDowall - Terry Corrigan
Michael J. Fox - Arthur

Class of 1984 started as an informative drama, then became an action thriller, and ended as a horror movie. I've never seen a movie do that before.
It's listed on IMDB.com as an "action, crime, drama" film. I wasn't sure what this movie really wanted to be. The overall feeling was that its a sort of dystopian movie about the "current" state of American public schools and what they're likely going to become...in 1984.
It was entertaining, though, despite whatever genre it actually is.
The most notable part of this Canadian-American movie is that it starred Michael J. Fox (credited as Michael Fox). This was just before he hit major fame by starring in the sitcom Family Ties.  
The movie begins with a small prologue stating some facts about how many teachers are physically abused by their students in American high schools, and that this movie is based on true events. I thought maybe this would be a follow-up on American schools from what was portrayed in the movie Blackboard Jungle (1955). If Class of 1984 is to be believed, then nothing improved between 1955 and 1982.
Also, for this review, there will be spoilers.
Andrew Norris (Perry King) starts a new job as a music teacher at an inner-city high school. He's not accustomed to the gangs within the student body, nor the metal detector at the front door, the graffiti adorning every inch of the campus walls, and the drugs saturating the school grounds.
On his first day, he meets another teacher named Terry Corrigan (Roddy McDowall) who carries a gun to school. Corrigan tells the new teacher it's "for protection."
Norris learns that on top of his teaching duties, he also must work as a security guard during his off-periods.
During his very first class, a group of students make it a point to disturb him and his students. And some of them aren't even a part of his class.

Perry King (center) and Timothy Van Patten (left) in Class of 1984.

These rufians are part of a gang led by Peter Stegman (Timothy VanPatten) and they'll do whatever he demands.
Norris finally gets them to leave, and the other students in the class tell him they intend to learn music.
Trying to get as accustomed to the school as he can, Norris decides he wants to have his advanced students put an orchestra together and hold a concert later in the year.
Meanwhile, we see just how far gone Stegman and his gang are. They not only sell drugs in school (that was super bad in the early 80s), they also operate a strip club (there is nudity in this movie), and wreak violence where they can for the sake of violence.
Norris and Stegman's gang grow increasingly at odds the more Norris learns of Stegman's crimes and such.
At one point in the movie, Norris sees one of the gang members standing guard at the bathroom, pushing people away who try to walk in. Inside, there's a drug deal going down. A clean cut looking student is buying something from Stegman's gang. One of Norris's good students, Arthur (Michael J. Fox) is witness to the deal but won't talk for fear of retribution.
As Norris approaches, the look-out warns everyone he's coming. They toss the evidence into a urinal. When Norris checks out the scene, he finds the small bag of drugs they tossed. But that's not enough to bust anyone.
The turmoil between the music teacher and the gang continues to escalate until it reaches an ultimate showdown.
On the night of the orchestral concert, the gang breaks into Norris's home while his wife, Diane (Merrie Lynn Ross) is home alone preparing to attend the concert.
Stegman pins her to the bed and pretends to rape her while one of the other gang members takes a Polaroid photo.
They kidnap her and take her back to the school.
Just minutes before the concert, a gang member shows up and passes the photo to someone to hand to Norris.
Shocked at what he's seeing, Norris runs after them without saying a word to anyone.
The movie never has a dull moment.
I wondered why these far-gone students even bothered to attend school if their so void of morality, responsibility and self-control.
I recently watched and reviewed the 1987 movie The Principal with John Belushi as the new principal of an inner-city high school. I asked the same question with that film. However, Class of 1984 does provide a bit of an answer.
In one scene, Norris feels the necessity to visit Stegman's home to speak with his parents. He finds that his mom is ready to jump at the defense of her son in a heartbeat. She is either blind to her son's activities, or Stegman is really great at hiding it all from her. But no doubt she makes sure he goes to school. Her role certainly makes a clear point about a parent's part in their child's behavior.
All the while, the police and school security are not much help as none of them ever has any hard evidence of any crime. The law is portrayed as favoring students no matter how far their crimes go. Meanwhile, teachers suffer at the unsympathetic binds of the law.

Michael J. Fox and Erin Noble 

I appreciate how Norris is portrayed as flawed in his own way. He allowed himself to deal with the intimidation impulsively. It's easier, and maybe more satisfying that way, but in his authoritative position it works more in the favor of the antagonists. 

He grows too violent, lowering himself to the level of the thugs albeit justified in his own mind because he's the authority.
In the final climax of the movie, Norris and one of Stegman's cronies find themselves in a shop room. They both tackle each other, and the thug pins Norris onto a table saw inches away from the blade. He turns the machine on and tries to push Norris's face into it, but Norris gets the upper hand. He pins the thug onto the table saw, and has the thug's arm outstretched in front of the spinning, wheezing blade.
He looks at the blade. We know what he's thinking. There's no way he'll go through with it. But, he does. He slices the guy's arm clean off. When he gets off the table, screaming in pain, Norris slams him backside down onto the blade and leaves him for dead.
The horror aspect of this movie continues as two other gang members chase him into the school's auto repair classroom.
Norris pours gasoline on the floor and one of the thugs goes up in flames. The other member tries to run over Norris with a car. She crashes into a wall, and Norris releases another car on the lift over her. It crashes on top and pins her in, barely conscious.
The entire scenario with Norris is hard to justify. Sure, his actions are based on self-defense, but he resorted to murder in a way that's very retaliatory. Can that be justified?
The movie intended to be raw, gritty, and revealing. I think it tried to hard to showcase violence in public schools. The thugs weren't just bad. They were irredeemably bad and over their heads in anti-social behavior. Thanks to the beginning of the movie, I was under the impression this was going to be more of an informative movie rather than a picture similar to Escape From New York. It went a little over-board on the revealing part, making the issue of crime in public schools as in-your-face as it possibly could.
The performances are great. Each actor seems to put a lot of effort into their roles, specifically Timothy Van Patten. They try to make something that would leave an impression on audiences, and entertaining them as well. It shows.
For what it is, Class of 1984 is an entertaining movie.

Don't Fast Forward This One: Is A Christmas Story Really a Stupid Movie?

The holiday staple A Christmas Story is a movie people either love or hate. I have yet to find someone in between.
For those who love it, it's an intense fandom. For those who hate it, it's with an unwavering, fixed disdain. It's like the Marshmallow Peep of movies. It's either enjoyed or hated. There's no in-between. 
I'm in the fan camp with this one. I find it original, and a simple entertaining story.
I'm very honest when I say I cannot understand the dislike some have for this traditional Christmas movie - one that's on the same holiday movie classics list as It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, and A Christmas Carol. It's very relatable. It's not pretentious nor is the story and comedy over-the-top and ridiculous. For anyone who hasn't seen this film, or know nothing about it, it's a narrated story set in fictional Hohman, Indiana back in the post-war 1940s. It centers on young Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) and his quest for someone to give him a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas.
Despite his requests to his mom, his teacher, and even Santa Claus, all he's given is the same warning, "you'll shoot your eye out." It has become a Christmas catchphrase that surely everyone has heard whether they've seen this movie or not.

Then again, with TNT and, I think other networks, running A Christmas Story on a 24-hour loop during the holidays since 1997, and the obnoxious onslaught of merchandise bombarding us every holiday season for the last 20 or so years, I understand the disgust. That's what saturating a market with merchandise can do - even to Star Wars, but that's getting off topic. All that saturation turned a rather quiet gem of a movie into a victim of exploitation. With that much Christmas Story inundation, I can maybe see why people would be sick of it. All that commercialism has taken something away from the movie. 
Fans can even visit the actual house in Cleveland, Ohio where the exterior shots were filmed.
Someone purchased that house, gutted the inside, and refurbished it to look as close to the movie as possible, right down to the small details. Despite my dislike for the commercialism of A Christmas Story, I admit I want to see this house for myself.
I see aspects of my own youth in some scenes and characters. Ralphie's teacher even reminds me of my second grade teacher, all the way down to her hair and vintage dresses.
Speaking of commercialism, there was a part two released in 2012 despite the original movie not ending on any kind of cliffhanger whatsoever. I don't know if anyone asked for a sequel, but I think Hollywood is long past that.
A Christmas Story 2 is one giant cash grab of a movie that takes void of all the charm, honesty, and simplicity of the original. Never has a sequel been so unnecessary. 
It sucks out the small-town charm and simplicity of A Christmas Story.

I've only seen copies of part two sold bundled with the first movie. That's probably the only way producers could get anyone to buy a copy.
It's not the first sequel, though. The 1994 film It Runs in the Family (aka My Summer Story) was the first. Like A Christmas Story, that movie was directed by Bob Clark and narrated by Jean Shepherd - I'll get to him shortly.
There was also some horrific, completely forgettable live TV musical production called A Christmas Story LIVE! that aired in 2017 which...I just don't want to talk about it.
A Christmas Story was no commercial success when it was released in 1983. It took a lot of years to grow on audiences the way it has. Even critic Roger Ebert gave it a good review back in 2000.
But to determine if it's not really a good movie and deserves to be ignored, I'll start with its roots.
The movie is based on the writings of humorist Jean Shepherd, specifically his book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash. It's a novel about American homelife. The stories come from those which Shepherd used to tell over the radio.
Shepherd narrates the movie.
His writing can keep a reader glued just by his careful choice of words when describing a day-to-day situation. His relatable stories about childhood flow so nicely. His writing is fun to read. It's poetic with creative use of words. And it's certainly not pretentious. Shepherd is hilarious and a wonderful storyteller. His cleverness is clear in the movie as many of his narrations are lifted straight from his writings.
"Only one thing could pull me from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window" he narrates at one moment in the movie when Ralphie and his younger brother, Andy, leave the stimulation of their dad's leg lamp - an advertising piece for Nehi (pronounced 'knee-high') soda - in the front room window to tune into Little Orphan Annie on the family radio.

Incidentally, this same Nehi leg lamp scene was first enacted in the 1976 made-for-TV film "Phantom of the Open Hearth" based on Shepherd's writings. 

"There it was. Nehi orange! It was so spectacularly gassy that violent cases of the bends were common among those who gulped it down too fast. It would clean out your sinuses faster than a Roto-Rooter," Shepherd narrates in that film.
Anyways, at another moment in "A Christmas Story" when Ralphie has to write a theme for homework, Shepherd describes Ralphie's eagerness and satisfaction with his finished work by saying, "Oh, rarely did the words flow from my penny pencil with such feverish fluidity."
Shepherd later describes the Parker's activities of Christmas morning by stating, "we plunged into the cornucopia quivering with desire and the ecstasy of unbridled avarice."
His words expose the humor in typical American behavior for his readers to see and laugh at.
Having watched A Christmas Story every holiday since my age was in the single digits, these quotes have stuck with me.
A Christmas Story has a lot of good things going for it in and of itself. Its cast for instance.
Actor Jack Nicholson was originally considered for the role of the "old man" - Ralphie's dad. The
part ultimately went to actor Darren McGavin, who was known for his playing Kolchak in the TV series Night Stalker.
Actress Melinda Dillon, who may be recognized from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, played Ralphie's mom.
And Peter Billingsley, who aside from a role in an episode of Little House on the Prairie as well as roles in movies such as If Ever I See You Again, Honky Tonk Freeway, Paternity, and Death Valley, wasn't a major child star back then.
Without the distraction of big-name actors, it's easier for audiences to relate to the characters. They can appreciate the movie for what it else rather than watching it just to see their favorite actors. The movie is A Christmas Story, not "that Jack Nicholson Christmas movie about the kid who wants a BB gun."
Incidentally, we never find out what the names of Ralphie's parents are. They're just Mrs. Parker and Mr. Parker - the old man. But they're every person's mom and dad, making them relatable to audiences.
Remember when your mom did this, and your dad did that.
The depiction of the not-so-stereotypical Midwest American family works in the favor of A Christmas Story.
The era the movie is set in is often looked upon by people who never lived through the decade as golden. It's an era that certainly didn't have the circumstances we do today. Men were men, and women were women back then. Father knew best. Mom stayed home and took care of the house. Everything must have been perfect in America. That's generally the depiction we see in movies and television.
But the Parker family, though not falling apart, possess a lot of imperfections. They're not a completely dysfunctional family. There are still ties that bind. But they are far from the ideal Americana family we think so many families of the early to mid-part of the 20th century must have been like thanks to movies and television.
The exhausted Mrs. Parker can't get a warm dinner because dad and the kids keep asking her to scoop more supper onto their plates.
The dad basks in the appreciation he received after winning some newspaper contest and being rewarded with a gaudy "major award." 
That attention and appreciation isn't something he must receive much of, if at all, from his family. They seem too engrossed in their own goals and tasks. So, he'll take it from wherever he can get it.
Otherwise, he curses and swears at his coal furnace, and whatever else is causing him grief - a broken lamp, his frozen Oldsmobile. 

"That sonavabitch would freeze up in the middle of summer on the equator!"

 He's not the brightest man on the block, but he's no imbecile or deadbeat.
The kids, Ralphie and Andy, aren't bad kids, but are certainly not outstanding overachievers. Ralphie is a day dreamer. His little brother Andy is, well...he's a part of things, too.

And the ending is a charming one. The one person who gives Ralphie his BB-gun for Christmas is the one person Ralphie doesn't ask - his dad. 

The situations in the movie are very relatable - bullies, homework assignments, picking out a Christmas tree, going to visit Santa at the mall. 

The movie is a collection of small moments certainly not dripping, or even damp, with the syrupy perfect goodness often seen in portrayals of post-World War II era America. None of it is far-fetched humor overdoing the imperfections of the Parker family. For all practical purposes, they're a normal family. And thanks to humorist Jean Shepherd, we can see the humor, through the Parker family, in what we as Americans do and have always done, especially around the holidays. 

The audience is on the outside looking in on, and laughing out loud at, the big details and the small idiosyncrasies. 
This movie can really open a conversation among audiences. "It's funny because in my family, we used to..."

This is the gold standard for satire. It allows the subject matter to poke fun of itself without any mean spirit or ill intent. There's still much love and respect for the time period, for Christmas, for the season, for that time in all kids lives where they pursued their holy grail of Christmas gifts.  
With the overblown commercialism of A Christmas Story, I can understand why a lot of people roll their eyes when the movie comes up in conversation. I'm bothered by that, too. Not everyone is going to like this movie or relate to the story or the characters. But I think to say it's a stupid movie is, perhaps, misguided. It's a movie that has a lot going for it and still does despite the onslaught of merchandising, and the unnecessary, stupid A Christmas Story 2.

Jean Shepherd

Correction: 12/10/2020

I mention that It Runs in the Family, released in 1994, is the "first sequel" to A Christmas Story. This isn't correct. The 1988 made-for-TV movie from American Playhouse called Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss is considered the first sequel. 

Before this, another made-for-TV production called The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski aired on American Playhouse in 1985 It follows the character Ralph Parker and his family. 

Midnight Madness (1980)

"How long are you gonna keep driving around without knowing where we're going?"

Directors
Michael Nankin
David Wechter

Cast
Adam - David Naughton
Laura - Debra Clinger
Scott - Michael Fox
Harold - Stephen Furst
Melio - Andy Tennant

I'm convinced Midnight Madness was Disney's attempt to make their own version of Animal House which was released two years before. After all, it stars Stephen Furst who played Kent Dorfman in Animal House. It centers around a group of stereotypical college student factions. There's a lot of drinking (for a Disney flick). The topic of one guy's virginity comes up. And there's attention to cleavage. All this is before Disney created Touchstone Pictures so they could release movies with more mature themes.
In Midnight Madness, Furst plays blue team leader Harold whose gluttonous and careless behavior reminds me of John Belushi's character "Bluto" from "Animal House." 

The rest of the characters are as cliche as 'cliche-ably' possible.
There's the mindless college jocks, the nasel-voiced nerds with Coke bottle glasses, the fat guy who hoards junk food, giggling sorority girls, and the straight "normal" guy. He's played by David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London).
There is a lot to say about this movie. I don't even know where to begin, so I'll just jump in somewhere.
It's Michael J. Fox's first movie, credited as Michael Fox. I can't recall seeing any movie with Michael J. Fox credited as "co-starring."
Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman) makes a cameo as the proprietor of the Pinball Arcade. On a side-note, his other Disney credits include the voice of Max in Flight of the Navigator, the voice of Lock in The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the droid pilot's voice in the early version of the Star Tours ride at Disneyland.
In Midnight Madness, a grad student named Leon, assisted by his two lovelies, Sunshine and Candy, gather a group of college students to play an involved cat and mouse game called the "Great All-Nighter." 
He organizes group leaders, who initially refuse to play, but eventually agree thanks to existing rivalries.
The game is a race-to-the-finish all around Los Angeles, following clues set by Leon that'll ultimately lead the teams to a finish line.
Leon also turns his apartment into game central where he, Candy and Sunshine keep track of the teams locations and status on a giant wall map.

Each team, along with Leon inside his apartment, have their own subplots.
For instance, Adam (David Naughton), the yellow team's leader, finds his little brother Scott (Michael J. Fox) at a bus stop during the game.
Adam is disappointed in his brother as Scott constantly finds trouble. It turns out to be an attempt to gain Adam's approval. With the help of Adam's love interest, Laura (Debra Clinger), Adam will surely see his little brother as more than someone who just causes trouble. It's predictable as can be.
Meanwhile, Leon's neighbors initially complain about all the noise coming from his apartment. But one by one, their intrigue in the game pulls them in.
All the while, Leon's landlady, Mrs. Grimhaus (Irene Tedrow) threatens him with eviction as neighbors complained about his noise level. She finds that the more they're interested in the game, the more they don't have any complaints after all. There's a lot going on in this movie.
There's a lot of content in this Disney "family" picture that made me think immediately of Animal House.
When we're introduced to Adam, a college student who later joins the yellow team, asks him how he can loose his virginity. Thanks, Disney!
One of the clues has players in a restaurant looking for something "between the melons." While the game participants find themselves inside a Johnie's Big Boy restaurant ordering a variety of melons, it turns out "melons" refers to cleavage on a waitress who's wearing a necklace that reads "hug me." (It's a Disney family movie?)
In another scene, players are instructed to visit L.A.'s  Griffith Observatory. When Adam arrives, he has to wait for a young obnoxious kid to finish his turn peering through the Observatory's telescope. The camera pans to the kids view through the telescope which is fixed on an unsuspecting young woman undressing in front of an apartment window. He calls his father over, who confronts Adam stating his son needs to observe Venus for a school assignment. The kid remarks, "If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get a view of Venus's two moons."
Later, players are instructed to visit a local Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery. Not only do we get a product placement for Pabst beer in this Disney movie, we get a tour of the brewery, along with commentary that Pabst Blue Ribbon is "cold, foamy, and thirst quenching." (Midnight Madness - drink up kids! Love, your pals at Disney.)
Scott, who's underage, tries to purchase beer at the bar inside the brewery, claiming it's for someone else. He's almost arrested as a result. Nice, Disney. Very nice! (Sarcasm intended).

Michael J. Fox as Scott.

Disney, however, didn't associate themselves with the movie until it was released on DVD in 2004, with the "Walt Disney Pictures Presents" logo. However, they made sure to include their essence in the movie with a shot of Mickey Mouse's star on the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame, as well as inserting an image of Mickey in the background of another scene.
Disney isn't known for its edginess, and to see it is just rather off-putting, though laughable. I guess had they founded Touchstone Pictures just a few years earlier, and released "Midnight Madness" through that, it wouldn't have been as much of a bother. Otherwise, it's like having a fun uncle stop by. But this time, he's uncharacteristically creepy and uncomfortable, pushing beer on your kids and offering advice on how to lose your virginity.
Co-director Michael Nankin was a writer for the horror movie The Gate which I reviewed on my horror film blog.
One awesome scene in an arcade has team members play a video game called Star Fire, which looks a lot like a first person shooter blasting TIE fighters from Star Wars. Oh, if people in 1980 only knew what would come years down the road as far as Disney and Star Wars are concerned.
It's the second live action Disney movie to score a PG rating (the first being The Black Hole.)
Once the characters received their first, and second clue, I thought the movie would be fun. It didn't take long before I lost interest in the clues altogether and where the characters had to go.
This movie dragged on, and on, and on. It's relentless with one silly joke and lame stereotype after another. 

The writers tried way too hard with their sight gags. And the acting is too often lazy.
The characters aren't even interesting by accident. It's all stale. It's ugly for a Disney movie. And it failed to entertain. I hated this movie. I would love to sit down with whomever gave the green light for Midnight Madness back then, and just pick their brain to determine what the hell they were thinking.
Even the soundtrack is forgettable. I'd put money on the claim that there's isn't one person out there who clearly remembers the soundtrack to this movie. Midnight Madness is worth nothing more than a pass. Too bad Disney doesn't keep this one locked away in their precious vault. Or better yet, sweep it under the carpet inside their precious vault. 

Coming Up Next...
Another Michael J. Fox movie that's pre-Back to the Future. This one, which is non-Disney, promises to be a much better movie that what I just reviewed. 

The Principal (1987)

"No more!"

Director
Christopher Cain

Cast
James Belushi - Rick Latimer
Louis Gossett, Jr. - Jake Phillips
Rae Dawn Chong - Hilary Orazco
Michael Wright - Victor Duncan

There was a bit of a "new teacher, tough school" trend in movies back in the 1980s - Stand and Deliver, Class of 1984, Lean on Me are a few titles that come to mind. Even Sister Act which came out in 1992 comes to mind, changing the scenario a bit, and spawning a sequel.
The drama, comedy The Principal starring James Belushi, Louis Gossett, Jr., and Rae Dawn Chong fits very comfortably in this motif.
I like this movie. I think part of the reason is that The Principal was filmed in my beloved hometown, Oakland, California - the "paradise" that wasn't always found on postcards. This movie can explain why. So, please pardon this bias.
Otherwise, it's overall entertaining - more of a drama than a comedy. It's one of those movies that would air on Saturday or Sunday afternoon movie presentations on channel 20 or channel 44.
The movie opens with high school teacher, Rick Latimer (James Belushi), at the bar trying to heal some wounds.
He spots his ex-wife, Kimberly, walk in with another guy whom he recognizes as her divorce attorney.
So much for healing those wounds.
Latimer reacts by jumping over the bar, grabbing a baseball bat, and chasing this other guy out of the place.
He traps him in his car, causes some property damage with the bat, and ends up at the police station.
Soon after, Latimer finds himself in a mandatory meeting with the school district. With his hand still in bandages from the incident at the bar, he knows his career is about to end.
But the unexpected happens.
Sometime earlier, Latimer put in an application for a principal position. And the school district offers him precisely that - at Brandel High School.
"Why am I not excited about it," Latimer responds to the job offer.
Brandel is filled with students kicked out from other schools. It's the last rung on the education ladder with nothing else underneath to catch them if they fall off. Despite the chaos inside its walls, and the thugs and gangs inside - that all seemed exaggerated to me - Latimer has no choice but to take the job. A tough man for a tough place.
I couldn't help wonder if some of these students are that bad, why do they even bother to go to school.
On his first day, before he even has a chance to park his motorcycle, he witnesses a gang fight involving a car crashing through the chain link fence heading straight for two guys running for their lives.

A fight breaks out, and Latimer intervenes.
He brings two of these kids into his office, never once asking if they're actually students or not.
He realizes right then just what kind of a place he's in.
After telling one of the staff to call the police, the question they ask is why?
"Cops'll only ask you why you stopped them," Someone replies.
Latimer is determined to make Brandel a real school, with successful students. When it comes to the gang activities, drugs, and all that Brandel is known for, he enforces one painfully simple rule - "No more!"
And despite being in a battle of wills between himself and a few students, which leads to Latimer getting severely beaten up by gang leader, Victor Duncan (Michael Wright), he doesn't let anything get in his way.
Head of security at Brandel, Jake Phillips (Louis Gossett, Jr.,) slowly gains respect for Latimer as he realizes Latimer is actually making some progress with students. Latimer is not all talk and looking to quit at the first sign of difficulty. He takes Brandel by the horns and isn't going to let this opportunity be another failure. This is his final chance.
Some of the bad behavior comes across as just a bit over exaggerated - students just sitting in hallways, high as a cloud, with no care in the world. What would stop these kids from not coming to school? But this is probably me being nitpicky.
The story really focuses on the principal's determination, with a few instances of students overcoming the odds in their respective difficult lives.
One student, Treena Lester (Kelly Jo Minter - Nightmare on Elm Street 5) is busted in the girl's bathroom for practically setting up a drug stand in one of the stalls.
After Latimer flushes her inventory down the toilet, he finds out she's going to drop out of school. So, he pays her a visit at her low-rent apartment to encourage her not to quit, and finds she has a child.
Rather than see her quit school, he decides to tutor her himself. And even though she gets Victor and his gang to beat him up, he still doesn't quit on her.
These side stories make the movie, though the bottom line is all about Latimer, and that's fine.
The suspense, excitement, and interest last throughout the movie, and it is an entertaining film. It also had some funny dialogue at times from Belushi.
It does bolster up the rough interior of James Belushi more than the students of Brandel. He's a tough guy, so he's a tough principal. But his character's influence on certain students as well as certain faculty members is different. 

Of course, a movie like this wouldn't fly today. A certain loud political side would call this a "white savior" story. It was filmed before President Obama set race relations back about fifty years. 
It's weak around the edges. Audiences have seen this motif over and over. There are really no surprises in this movie. Yet, it still holds itself up.


Coming up next... 
Have you ever asked yourself what movies Michael J. Fox starred in before Back to the Future? I did, and I found out he was in two other movies...and his first was a Disney film.