To Sir with Love (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“To Sir with Love” is the theme from James Clavell‘s 1967 film To Sir, with Love. The song was performed by British singer and actress Lulu (who also starred in the film), and written by Don Black and Mark London (husband of Lulu’s longtime manager Marion Massey). Mickie Most produced the record, with Mike Leander arranging and conducting. The song peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and became the best-selling single of 1967 in the United States.

Background

At the time, it made Lulu only the second British female artist to top the US charts during the listing’s Rock era after Petula Clark‘s “Downtown” in 1965—and third in the overall history of the US charts after “Downtown”

and Vera Lynn‘s “Auf Wiederseh’n Sweetheart” in 1952—and so far the first of two Scottish female solo artists to achieve the feat.

Sheena Easton became the second when she topped the US charts with “Morning Train (9 to 5)” in May 1981.

For 44 years, Lulu and Easton were the only Scottish solo artists to have topped the Billboard Hot 100—a record that ended when Calvin Harris topped the chart alongside Rihanna on their collaboration “We Found Love” in November 2011.

Oscar Nomination

The film’s director, James Clavell and Lulu’s manager Marion Massey were angered and disappointed when the title song was not included in the nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 40th Academy Awards in 1968. Clavell and Massey raised a formal objection to the exclusion, but to no avail.

Chart performance

“To Sir With Love” was initially recorded by Lulu (with The Mindbenders, who also acted in the film). It was released as a single in the United States in 1967 and in October reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for five weeks. The single ranked No. 1 in Billboard‘s year-end chart. It became a gold record.

Canada’s RPM magazine put the song at No. 2 for the year 1967. “To Sir with Love” did not chart in the UK, as it appeared only as a B-side to “Let’s Pretend” (released in the UK on 23 June 1967), which reached No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Cover versions

• Herbie Mann‘s instrumental rendition charted concurrently with Lulu’s run on the pop chart, reaching No. 93 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

• Madeline Bell covered the song on her 1968 album Doin’ Things.

• The Jackson 5 covered it during the Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 sessions in 1969.

• The Residents recorded a cover of the song for the album The Third Reich ‘n Roll as a part of “Swastikas on Parade”
• Al Green covered the song on his 1978 album, Truth N’ Time.

• In 1983, American actress Vicki Sue Robinson released a version of the song that peaked at number seven on the Australian Kent Music Report and was the 58th biggest selling single in Australia in 1984.

• New Zealand singer Ngaire Fuata covered the song which was released as a single in 1990 where it spent 5 weeks at No. 1 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. It was included in her self-titled debut album Ngaire released in 1991.

• Soul Asylum sang the song with Lulu on their MTV Unplugged show.

• Natalie Merchant, as part of 10,000 Maniacs, recorded a cover with Michael Stipe (of R.E.M.) at the MTV Rock n’ Roll Inaugural Ball in 1993 to be released later as part of their Campfire Songs compilation album.

• Susanna Hoffs covered the song on her self-titled solo album.

• The Trash Can Sinatras recorded a version for their 1996 album A Happy Pocket. It was released later that year as the fourth and final single from the album reaching number 88 in the UK singles chart.

• Jann Arden released it on Happy? on 23 September 1997 in Canada and 8 June 1998 in the United States as a bonus track on international release.

• Will Friedle, as Eric Matthews, sings a humorous rendition of the song to a retiring Mr. Feeny (William Daniels) in “Graduation”, the season five finale of Boy Meets World which aired May 15, 1998.
• Brother-and-sister duo Melky Sedeck covered the song on their album Sister & Brother, released in 1999.

• Chaka Khan recorded a version accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra for her 2004 album ClassiKhan.

• Scottish singer Midge Ure also did a version from his 2008 cover versions CD 10.

• The cast of Glee covered the song in the final episode of the first season of the TV show, which aired on 8 June 2010.

• Katey Sagal & The Forest Rangers recorded their version of the song in 2012 for 12th episode of the 5th season of the TV show, The Sons of Anarchy.

• Cecily Strong and Sasheer Zamata covered the song on Saturday Night Live on 21 January 2017 as a musical tribute to former President Barack Obama, who had just left office the previous day.

• The ReWlettes recorded a version and released video January 2021.

• Susan Cowsill (of The Cowsills) performs an acapella version as well as a version backed by her siblings and husband during live performances.

• Lesley Gore covered the song on her shelved, but soon re-released album, Magic

• Teresa Teng

• Tracy Huang

• Tina Arena

• To Sir With Love as A tribute to a Bahamian icon, Sir Sidney Poitier

• To Sir With Love – Saxophone Music & Backing Track

• Nikki Yanofsky / Dan Kanter – To Sir With Love

• Ally McBeal – Ally and Al Green – To Sir With Love

To Sir, with Love (Film)

To Sir, with Love
UK theatrical release poster. By Source, Fair use, Link
Directed by	James Clavell
Screenplay by	James Clavell
Based on	To Sir, With Love 1959 novel by  E. R. Braithwaite
Produced by	James Clavell John R. Sloan
Starring	Sidney Poitier Judy Geeson Christian Roberts Suzy Kendall The Mindbenders Lulu
Cinematography	Paul Beeson,  B.S.C.
Edited by	Peter Thornton
Music by	Ron Grainer
Production company	Columbia British Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	14 June 1967 (US) 29 October 1967  (UK)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$625,000 or $600,000
Box office	$42,432,803 or $22 million

To Sir, with Love is a 1967 British drama film that deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. It stars Sidney Poitier and features Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall, Patricia Routledge and singer Lulu making her film debut. James Clavell directed from his own screenplay, which was based on E. R. Braithwaite‘s 1959 autobiographical novel of the same name.

The film’s title song “To Sir with Love“, sung by Lulu, peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States for five weeks in the autumn of 1967 and ultimately was the best-selling single in the United States that year. The movie ranked number 27 on Entertainment Weekly‘s list of the 50 Best High School Movies.

A made-for-television sequel, To Sir, with Love II (1996), was released nearly three decades later, with Poitier reprising his starring role.

Plot

In the mid-1960s, Mark Thackeray, an immigrant to Britain from British Guiana, has been unable to obtain an engineering position despite an 18-month job search. He accepts a teaching post for Class 12 at North Quay Secondary School in the tough East End of London, as an interim position, despite having no teaching experience.

The pupils there have been rejected from other schools, and Thackeray is a replacement for a teacher who recently died. The pupils, led by Bert Denham and Pamela Dare (who later develops a strong crush on Thackeray), behave badly: their antics range from vandalism to distasteful pranks. Thackeray retains a calm demeanour but loses his temper when he discovers something being burned in the classroom stove, which turns out to be a girl’s sanitary towel. He orders the boys out of the classroom, then reprimands all the girls, either for being responsible or passively observing, for what he says is their “slutty behaviour”. Thackeray is angry with himself for allowing his pupils to incense him. Changing his approach, he informs the class that they will no longer study from textbooks. Until the end of term, he will treat them as adults and expects them to behave as such. He declares that they will address him as “Sir” or “Mr. Thackeray”; the girls will be addressed as “Miss” and boys by their surnames. They are also allowed to discuss any issue they wish. He gradually wins over the class, except for Denham who continually baits him.

Thackeray arranges a class trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum in South Kensington which goes well. The trip is represented by a series of still photographs as Lulu sings “To Sir with Love“.

He loses some support when he defuses a potentially violent situation between his student Potter and the gym teacher, Mr. Bell. He demands that Potter apologise directly to Bell, even if he believes Bell was wrong. The group later refuses to invite Thackeray to the class dance. When mixed-race student Seales’ white English mother dies, the class takes a collection for a wreath but refuses to accept Thackeray’s donation. The students decline to deliver the wreath in person to Seales’ house, fearing neighbourhood gossip for visiting a “coloured” person’s house.

The headmaster tells Thackeray that the “adult approach” has failed, and future outings are cancelled. Thackeray is to teach the boys’ gym classes until the headmaster can find a new permanent gym teacher. Meanwhile, Thackeray receives an engineering job offer in the post.

Pamela Dare’s mother asks for Thackeray to talk to her daughter about her behaviour at home, but this annoys Pamela, whom Thackeray believes is infatuated with him. During a gym class, Denham smugly challenges Thackeray to a boxing match. Thackeray initially declines but then reluctantly agrees. Denham delivers several harmless blows to Thackeray’s face, but the bout comes to an abrupt end after Thackeray’s lone punch is to Denham’s solar plexus, which doubles Denham over in pain. Thackery attends to Denham and then, without fanfare, exits the gym unhurt to the amazement of the class. Thackeray compliments Denham’s ability and suggests he teach boxing to the younger pupils next year. Denham, finally impressed by Thackeray, expresses his admiration for Thackeray to his classmates. Thackeray regains their respect and is invited to the class dance. Later, when Thackeray attends the funeral of Seales’ mother, he is touched to find that his lectures on personal choice and responsibility have had an effect, and the entire class has attended.

At the dance, Pamela persuades Thackeray to be her partner for the “Ladies Choice” dance. Afterward, the class presents to Thackeray “a little present to remember us by”. Too moved to speak, Thackeray retires to his classroom.

A rowdy couple abruptly enters the classroom. They mock Thackeray’s gift, a silver tankard and card inscribed “To Sir, with love” signed by the entire departing class, and goad Thackeray that they will be in his class next year. After they leave, Thackeray stands and rips up the engineering job offer, reconciled to the work he has ahead of him. He then takes a flower from the vase on his desk, places it in his lapel, and leaves.

Cast

• Sidney Poitier as Mr Mark Thackeray
• Judy Geeson as Pamela Dare
• Christian Roberts as Bert Denham
• Suzy Kendall as Miss Gillian Blanchard
• Lulu as Barbara “Babs” Pegg
• Faith Brook as Miss Grace Evans
• Geoffrey Bayldon as Mr Theo Weston
• Patricia Routledge as Clinty Clintridge
• Ann Bell as Mrs Dare
• Christopher Chittell as Potter
• Adrienne Posta as Moira Joseph
• Edward Burnham as Mr Florian, headmaster
• Rita Webb as Mrs Joseph
• Gareth Robinson as Tich Jackson
• Lynne Sue Moon as Miss Wong
• Anthony Villaroel as Seales
• Richard Willson as Curly
• Michael Des Barres as Williams
• Fred Griffiths as Market Stallholder
• Marianne Stone as Gert
• Dervis Ward as Mr Bell (P.T. Teacher)
• Fiona Duncan as Euphemia Phillips
• Mona Bruce as Josie Dawes
• Margaret Heald as Osgood
• Sally Cann as Schoolgirl
• Stewart Bevan as Schoolboy
• The Mindbenders as Themselves
• Nicholas Young (uncredited)

Production

Sidney Poitier and James Clavell wanted to do the film, but Columbia was reluctant. They agreed to make the film for small fees, provided Poitier got 10% of the gross and Clavell 30% of the profits. “When we were ready to shoot, Columbia wanted either a rape or a big fight put in,” said Martin Baum, Poitier’s agent. “We held out, saying this was a gentle story, and we won.”

The film was shot in Wapping (including the railway station) and Shadwell in the East End of London, in the Victoria and Albert Museum and at Pinewood Studios.

Reception

Upon its U.S. release, Bosley Crowther began his review by contrasting the film with Poitier’s role and performance in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle; unlike that earlier film, Crowther says “a nice air of gentility suffuses this pretty color film, and Mr. Poitier gives a quaint example of being proper and turning the other cheek. Although he controls himself with difficulty in some of his confrontations with his class, and even flares up on one occasion, he never acts like a boor, the way one of his fellow teachers (played by Geoffrey Bayldon) does. Except for a few barbed comments by the latter, there is little intrusion of or discussion about the issue of race: It is as discreetly played down as are many other probable tensions in this school. To Sir, with Love comes off as a cozy, good-humored and unbelievable little tale.”

Halliwell’s Film and Video Guide describes it as “sentimental non-realism” and quotes a Monthly Film Bulletin review (possibly contemporary with its British release), which claims that “the sententious script sounds as if it has been written by a zealous Sunday school teacher after a particularly exhilarating boycott of South African oranges”.

The Time Out Film Guide says that it “bears no resemblance to school life as we know it” and the “hoodlums’ miraculous reformation a week before the end of term (thanks to teacher Poitier) is laughable”. Although agreeing with the claims about the film’s sentimentality, and giving it a mediocre rating, the Virgin Film Guide asserts: “What makes [this] such an enjoyable film is the mythic nature of Poitier’s character. He manages to come across as a real person, while simultaneously embodying everything there is to know about morality, respect and integrity.”

The film premiered and became a hit one month before another film about troubled schools, Up the Down Staircase, appeared.

The novel’s author, E.R. Braithwaite, loathed the film, particularly because of its omission of the novel’s interracial relationship, although it provided Braithwaite with some financial security from royalties.

To Sir, with Love holds an 89% “Fresh” rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes based on 28 reviews. The film grossed $42,432,803 at the box office in the United States, yielding $19,100,000 in rentals, on a $640,000 budget, making it the sixth highest grossing picture of 1967 in the US. Poitier especially benefited from the film’s success, for he had agreed to a mere $30,000 fee in exchange for 10% of the gross box office receipts, thus arranging one of the most impressive payoffs in film history. In fact, although Columbia insisted on an annual cap to Poitier of $25,000 to fulfill the percentage term, the studio was forced to revise the deal with Poitier when they calculated that they would be committed to 80 years of payments to him.

Despite the character of Mark Thackeray being a leading role, the film has been criticised in modern times for Portier’s portrayal of the Magical Negro trope. Specific criticism of the portrayal was directed at the character’s service as the sounding board and voice of reason for white antagonists.

Soundtrack

To Sir, with Love
UK theatrical release poster. By Fontana Records – My photo of the album cover, Fair use, Link
Soundtrack album by various
Released	1967
Genre	Traditional pop
Label	Fontana (UK)
Singles from To Sir, with Love
“To Sir with Love“ Released: 1967

The soundtrack album features music by Lulu, The Mindbenders, and incidental music by Ron Grainer. The original album was released on Fontana Records. It was re-released onto CD in 1995. AllMusic rated it three stars out of five.

The title song was a Cash Box Top 100 number-one single for three weeks.

1. “To Sir With Love” (lyrics: Don Black; music: Mark London) – Lulu
2. School Break Dancing “Stealing My Love from Me” (lyrics & music: Mark London) – Lulu
3. Thackeray meets Faculty, Then Alone
4. Music from Lunch Break “Off and Running” (lyric: Toni Wine; music: Carole Bayer) – The Mindbenders
5. Thackeray Loses Temper, Gets an Idea
6. Museum Outings Montage “To Sir, with Love” – Lulu
7. A Classical Lesson
8. Perhaps I Could Tidy Your Desk
9. Potter’s loss of temper in gym
10. Thackeray reads letter about job
11. Thackeray and Denham box in gym
12. The funeral
13. End of Term Dance “It’s Getting Harder all the Time” (lyrics: Ben Raleigh; music: Charles Abertine) – The Mindbenders
14. To Sir With Love – Lulu

James Clavell and Lulu’s manager Marion Massey were angered and disappointed when the title song was not included in the nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 40th Academy Awards in 1968. Clavell and Massey raised a formal objection to the exclusion, but to no avail.

Awards and honours

Other honours

The film is recognised by American Film Institute in these lists:

• 2004: AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs:
  • “To Sir With Love” – Nominated

See also

• The Hindi film Imtihan (1974) starring Vinod Khanna as the teacher, and Tanuja as his love interest, was inspired by the film
• The Egyptian comedy Madrast Al-Mushaghebeen was inspired by the film.
• Up the Down Staircase, also released in 1967
• List of teachers portrayed in films

Watch the movie

To Sir, with Love II (Film)

To Sir, with Love II
To Sir, with Love II DVD cover. By Fair use, Link
Genre	Drama
Based on	Characters from E. R. Braithwaite‘s book To Sir, With Love
Written by	Philip Rosenberg
Directed by	Peter Bogdanovich
Starring	Sidney Poitier Christian Payton Dana Eskelson
Theme music composer	Trevor Lawrence
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Richard Stenta
Cinematography	William Birch
Editor	Dianne Ryder-Rennolds
Running time	92 minutes
Production companies	Verdon-Cedric Productions, Inc.Adelson/Baumgarten Productions, Inc.TriStar Television
Release
Original network	CBS
Original release	April 7, 1996 (United States)

To Sir, with Love II is a 1996 American television film directed by Peter Bogdanovich (his first made-for-TV film). A sequel to the 1967 British film To Sir, with Love, it stars Sidney Poitier reprising the role of Mark Thackeray. Like the first film, it deals with social issues in an inner city school.

Plot

Mark Thackeray (Sidney Poitier), from British Guiana by way of California, took a teaching position in a London East End school in the 1967 film. He spent twenty years teaching and ten in administrative roles. He has taught the children of his former pupils, and is now retiring.

Thackeray’s former students, Pamela Dare and Barbara Pegg (Judy Geeson and Lulu reprising their roles from the original film), come to the farewell party. Thackeray announces that he is leaving for an inner-city school in Chicago where he will teach again. In Chicago, he meets his former colleague Horace Weaver (Daniel J. Travanti), who is the principal of the school. Thackeray learns that there is an A class with good students and an H (for “horror”) class for the “no-gooders”. He convinces the principal to let him take the H class as, in his own admission, that is what he does best. His new pupils are noisy, unruly and engaged in destructive behaviours. As he did in London, he starts by teaching them respect for others. He addresses the pupils as Mr or Miss and their last names, and expects to be called Mr. Thackeray or Sir by them in return.

Gradually, he learns their personal stories: Wilsie (Christian Payton) is a gang leader who protects his younger brother. A black female battles against double prejudice. Evie (Dana Eskelson) hides growing up without parents to avoid being fostered. A fellow teacher, Louisa Rodriguez (Saundra Santiago), admires him.

It is revealed that as a teenager in British Guiana, Thackeray fell in love with a girl from Chicago. They lost contact and he went to Britain to study, became a teacher, and got married. Now a widower, Thackeray took this teaching opportunity hoping to find his earlier love.

At the new school, he sets out to teach the troubled students their true potential by taking their fates in their hands. He teaches about the non-violent resistance of the historic fighters of civil rights. When he discovers Wilsie smuggling a gun into the school, he confronts him and convinces him to yield the weapon and he delivers it to the police as a found object.

Later, the police pressure him to reveal the identity of the gun owner because the gun had been used to kill a police officer. He refuses and has to leave the school.

Evie, who works at a newspaper, investigates Thackeray’s old love, Emily Taylor (Cheryl Lynn Bruce). Evie arranges for him to meet Taylor, and also meets her son. Thackeray learns that Taylor returned his affections, but her father kept Thackeray’s letters from her because she was pregnant with Thackeray’s son.

Thackeray learns that Wilsie is hiding because he thinks that the police are after him. He convinces Wilsie’s brother to take him to the hiding place. Thackeray convinces Wilsie to give up violent gang life. After he confronts a rival gang looking for Wilsie, Wilsie and a friend with access to more firearms turn themselves in to the police.

The pupils stage a “stand in” to force the principal to reinstate their beloved teacher.

The term ends with a graduation ceremony, and a dance like in the original movie, where Thackeray announces that he is not returning to Britain but staying in Chicago to teach the new generation.

Cast

• Sidney Poitier as Mark Thackeray
• Christian Payton as Wilsie Carrouthers
• Dana Eskelson as Evie Hillis
• Fernando López as Danny Laredo
• Casey Lluberes as Rebecca Torrado
• Michael Gilio as Frankie Davanon
• LZ Granderson as Arch Carrouthers
• Bernadette L. Clarke as LaVerne Mariner
• Jamie Kolacki as Stan Cameli
• Saundra Santiago as Louisa Rodriguez
• Cheryl Lynn Bruce as Emily Taylor
• Daniel J. Travanti as Horace Weaver
• Lulu as Barbara Pegg
• Judy Geeson as Pamela Dare
• Kris Wolff as Billy Lopatynski
• Mel Jackson as Tommie Rahwn
• John Beasley as Greg Emory
• Antonia Bogdanovich (the director’s daughter) as Lynn Guzman
• Jason Winer as Leo Radatz

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Scott Pierce of Deseret News dismissed the film as a remake of the original film, but praises Sidney Poitier for succeeding in this movie with sheer talent. John Leonard of New York describes the film as “a bad idea that turned into a pretty good” one and praises Peter Bogdanovich and Philip Rosenberg for being able to “make characters in the 60s work just as well in the 90s”.

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