New teacher Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) meets the two "big men" in his high school homeroom class, Artie (Vic Morrow) and Greg (Sidney Poitier). Shot in 1955 by director Richard Brooks, from a screenplay he wrote from Evan Hunter's novel. Nominated for 4 Oscars, Blackboard Jungle was one of Sidney Poitier's earliest films and easily shows the camera presence and depth of his acting ability. The film was Vic Morrow's first film in one of Hollywood's most prolific and difficult careers. Excluding the 152 episodes (1962-67) of the successful television series Combat, Morrow is credited with over 100 film and television appearances in a career cut short by the tragic 1982 Twilight Zone helicopter accident. His career was marked by bouts of heavy drinking and lack of quality work, but Morrow always found a way back, and was in the process of another comeback when the Twilight Zone tragedy hit. Typecast as a heavy after Blackboard, Morrow took a break from acting to study directing at USC. His "hero" break came with the role of Sgt. Sanders in Combat, which was originally an alternating lead with Rick Jason as Lt. Hanley. Morrow's popularity allowed him to demand the majority of the future leads.
Blackboard Jungle is credited with being the first film to feature Rock and Roll. The opening credits are over Bill Haley's Rock Around the Clock.

