TO SIR, WITH LOVE II (TV)
Summary
A television film serving as a sequel to the 1967 film “To Sir, With Love,” about a teacher who chooses to oversee a class of overlooked teenaged delinquents in the hopes of improving their lives.
Mark Thackeray is retiring from his administrative position at North Quay Secondary School after thirty years of educative service, although he feels as though he could do more with his career. He and Pamela, his friend and former student, attend a retirement party held at the school in his honor. Mark gives a speech thanking the school for giving him the opportunity to do the job that he loves, and expresses regret that his wife did not survive to see the end of his career. He also reveals that he has decided to take a teaching position at an inner-city high school in Chicago, Illinois. He arrives in Chicago and attempts to find members of the Douglas family after finding out that their home was torn down years ago. He consults the police for help, and while there observes a gang member being arrested; the desk officer wearily explains that the youth has been arrested numerous times for extortion and gang violence, but that they lack the resources necessary to keep him and people like him imprisoned or off the streets. He rents a room in a boarding-house and reports to his first day at work at John Adams High School, which is visibly dilapidated and strewn with graffiti. He has arrived a day earlier than expected, and the school has not yet finished setting up his classroom. The principal, Horace, a friend of his who visited him in London fifteen years ago, takes him in and introduces him to the other teachers, who greet him warmly. Mark soon learns about the dire situation involving the school’s educational failings and dropout rates; students are separated into the higher-achieving “A” students and the delinquents and troublemaking students labeled “H.” Mark swiftly offers to take over teaching the “H” students himself, but Horace is reluctant to assign him there, citing that Mark has not been in a classroom in years and that the students are both “uneducable” and dangerous. However, when no other teacher takes the job, Horace feels he has no choice but to give it to Mark, at least temporarily.
He reports for his first day on the job, immediately encountering problems with the unruly and seemingly uncontrollable students. Mark does his best to rein them in, taking an authoritarian stance with them to get them to behave. Once they are all seated, Mark begins his first lesson; the subject is American History, although the students make their disrespect towards Mark clear. One student comes in late and is especially disrespectful towards Mark. His attempts ultimately produce no results, as the students refuse to listen to him at all. The next day, the students continue their behavior and throw Mark’s briefcase out a window, angering Mark. As punishment he has the student who tossed it out recover it, and later he breaks up a fight amongst the students while trying to impress the importance of history as a means of self-identification. He begins by telling the students about his own life story, including his upbringing in Guiana and eventual move to England. This leads to something of a confrontation with one student, Danny Laredo, who seems to assume a position of importance amongst his fellow students. That night, several of the students are attacked in a gang fight, including Wilsie Carrouthers, the late student from earlier. Several members of both sides are injured, but they all flee before the police can arrive, with the rival gang leader promising revenge. The police discover one member of the rival gang unconscious at the scene, and the next day they arrest Wilsie, much to the distress of his brother Arch.
Mark speaks to each of his students to ascertain how they see themselves and what values are important to them. This ends up causing a debate in class when one student, Rebecca Torrado, says she defines herself by her appearance, sexuality, and popularity. This offends another student, who she believes that a woman’s appearance and image does not define who she is. Mark also begins to understand the social dynamics between the students, including Stan, who views himself as a “nobody” because he is constantly bullied. As class is dismissed, Mark notices a cut on Arch’s face sustained in the gang fight, but Wilsie suddenly appears and tells Mark to stay away from his brother. Horace tells Mark about the gang incident and that Wilsie and Arch lead the gang that was attacked. Horace believes he needs someone “experienced” who understands the students better to teach the class, but Mark believes that Horace is letting prejudice and circumstance define his conception of the students and their behaviors. Mark teaches a lesson about the Civil Rights Movement, focusing on the use of nonviolence as an effective means of protest. This leads to a continuation of the discussion about self-identification and one student, Evie Hillis, is frustrated at her fellow students’ hypocrisy and deception about themselves, claiming to Mark that everyone is frightened of the world around them, although the others denigrate her for this opinion. She explains that her mother is an actress and, based on her relationship with her she has written a poem about “pretending to be someone you’re not,” expressing feelings of abandonment, loneliness, and confusion about her identity. Evie becomes quite emotional and runs out of the classroom.
Later, Mark talks to another teacher about Evie’s poem, and is happy that one of his students seems to be learning something. He suddenly darts out when he sees Wilsie receiving some sort of mysterious package on school grounds, believing that he is trying to smuggle a gun into school without alerting the metal detectors. Mark discusses the situation with Wilsie logically, pointing out that even if Wilsie were to shoot him he would almost certainly be caught by the police stationed one floor below them. He promises to turn the gun in to the police, but not give up Wilsie to them, if he hands over the gun. Wilsie indeed has a handgun and gives it to Mark, although he implies that he had it as a form of protection from his many rivals trying to kill him. Wilsie meets Arch and the rest of the gang downstairs and exit the school, staring down the rival gang waiting for them outside. Wilsie attempts to intimidate the other gang into backing down by pretending to have a gun; his bluff works and the other gang allows them to pass without incident. Mark turns in the gun, claiming to have found it hidden in the bathroom, and the suspicious policeman accepts it. Mark is pleased to learn that his actions have prevented further gang violence for the time being.
The theme of Mark’s next lesson is “survival” and what one needs to accomplish it. Each student has different ideas about the subject, and some become quite heated over the topic. They indicate that the school does not seem to care about them, as they have been placed in the “H” class. Mark believes they can change the school’s mind about their lot in life. When one student expresses dismay that people see her only for being African-American and nothing else, Mark replies that this view is ultimately up to her ability to “survive” and carry herself with dignity. To help prove his point, he leads the class out of the school to conduct an “experiment” in how people perceive others based on race, utilizing students of various races all interacting with people at a particular bus stop. The point Mark makes is that people have great agency over how they are perceived, and that treating others with respect is likely to make them reciprocate that respect. One day, after class, Mark is approached by Rebecca, who confesses that she does not like her own preoccupation with her appearance and her concerns about what others think about her. Frankie, another student, arrives to pick up Rebecca, interrupting her tear-filled admission. Frankie roughs up Rebecca, angry that she kept him waiting, as she continues to cry. It is implied that Frankie is making money off of prostituting Rebecca to other students.
While out walking, Mark comes across Stan tending to flowers in a community garden. He speaks with him, and Stan says that he enjoys gardening, although he doesn’t want the other students to find out for fear that they will further bully him. Mark agrees, although he sees nothing shameful about what Stan does. Mark gets Stan an afterschool part-time job as an assistant florist, and gets Evie to agree to visit a local newspaper for a job. Arch is ambushed by the rival gang while coming out of a convenience store. He is let off with a cut on his throat, and asked to deliver a threatening message to his brother. Mark announces to the class that he will be looking for afterschool work for any interested parties, although Frankie takes offense to this, believing that Mark is only looking after his fellow African-Americans and that no one is out to help white people like him. Wilsie takes offense to this and offers a retort to Frankie, raising the point that African-Americans are only recently being afforded job opportunities and that Mark is not proposing that anyone by “given” jobs. After class, Mark tells Wilsie that he is impressed by his ability to speak the “simple truth” and his natural charisma. Wilsie, however, is frustrated that Mark is trying to tell him how to live his life, believing that his lessons have no bearing on the harsh lifestyle he must embody in order to survive. Mark tries to encourage Wilsie to use his leadership skills in more positive ways, such as changing the system he despises through legitimate channels. Wilsie says he does not care what happens to him, but Mark tries to motivate him via his concern for his brother. Mark also finds it interesting that Wilsie has not dropped out of school despite being legally able to do so.
Danny approaches Mark about the job offer situation, but it becomes clear that he is doing so as part of a scam he is running between several other students. Mark believes that Danny is wasting his natural intelligence on such petty matters. Later, Mark tracks down Evie’s dilapidated basement apartment and asks her why she did not take the job he found for her, she simply states that she did not need a job. Evie claims that her mother lives there with her, but is on tour at the moment and will return soon. However, Mark realizes that she is lying and that her mother is never coming home. Evie is afraid of being placed in a foster home, and admits that her mother is imprisoned and in a drug rehabilitation program. Mark promises not to put her in foster care and instead proposes that he find someone to stay with her to allow her to remain there. Evie is extremely grateful and starts sobbing. Mark holds a class discussion about gender roles and sexual expectations of men and women, turning into something of a debate between students of either gender. The discussion turns to Mark’s own romantic history, and he talks about his late wife, and he admits that when he was very young he had a romantic relationship with a woman from Chicago whose family was visiting Guiana, and he becomes quite wistful thinking about her.
Mark is called out of class into Horace’s office, where he is questioned by a pair of police detectives. They ask him about the gun he turned in, which turns out to be the same weapon used in a shooting several months ago, resulting in a police officer becoming seriously injured. They ask him who he got the gun from, but he refuses to tell them. In light of this revelation, Horace feels he has no choice but to remove Mark from his teaching position. His class confronts him before he leaves, asking him for the reason for his departure. Rebecca saw him coming out of Horace’s office along with the police detectives and believes that Mark is leaving after giving someone up to the police, making Wilsie nervous. Mark turns in his keys to Horace and expresses his belief that Horace has given up on the school’s students and resents the implication that his word means nothing. He believes Horace has abandoned his principles as an educator in favor of securing his position in a more political context. Evie changes her mind about taking the job and starts working for the newspaper, and after searching through the archives visits Mark to show him what she found. However, she expresses anger that he is leaving and believes he is giving up on the students. She reveals that she found an old newspaper article on an “Emily Douglas,” who turns out to be the woman he had a relationship with in his youth. Evie reveals that Emily got married many years ago, but her husband recently died and she has a son who wants to meet Mark.
He ends up meeting Emily’s son at a local hospital; she is ill and they go to visit her. He tells Mark that Emily was very much in love with him, leaving him confused as to why she vanished without telling him why. It is revealed that Emily’s father intercepted Mark’s many letters to her, and that Mark came to Chicago partially to attempt to get back in touch with her. Mark and Emily finally reunite, and they talk about their latent feelings for each other and reminisce about their romance. She says that she left suddenly due to the influence of her father, and that she was “confused” back then. She also reveals that he is the father of her son, and the two of them share a warm embrace. That night, Mark returns to his apartment to find an agitated Danny waiting for him. He reveals that he secured another gun for Wilsie; Wilsie told him about the first incident, and Danny says he obtained it from another of his “business” partners, and that Wilsie is thus not guilty of using it in the police shooting. Mark asks Danny to explain this to the police, although Danny fears going to jail. He realizes that Mark never gave the police Wilsie’s identity, and that this was the reason he was fired from the school. Mark insists that they must find Wilsie and talk him out of his feud with his rival’s gang, and Danny reluctantly agrees to stand up for Wilsie if Mark can find him.
Mark visits Wilsie and Arch’s home, finding Arch and his mother there. He speaks with her, telling her about the situation Wilsie has become embroiled in. Arch’s mother believes Mark’s story and gets Arch to take Mark to Wilsie, hiding out at a garbage dump. He threatens Mark with his gun, still convinced that Mark has given him up to the police despite Mark’s insistence to the contrary. They argue about Wilsie’s need to take responsibility for his own life before they are interrupted by the arrival of the rival gang, assaulting them with their own firearms. Wilsie is both outnumbered and outgunned, and tries to engineer a one-on-one confrontation between himself and the leader of the other gang. Mark stands up and tries to speak to the other gang to get them to stand down. As police sirens approach, the other gang realizes it is too risky to shoot a teacher and scrambles to leave. Wilsie is impressed by Mark’s courage and hands over his gun, but Mark insists that he must hand in the gun to the police himself. Mark leads Wilsie and Danny to the police station, where Wilsie turns in the gun and Danny makes a statement testifying towards Wilsie’s innocence in the police shooting.
The next day, Wilsie and Danny arrive in class, assuaging their classmates’ fears that they were arrested. Horace attempts to assign a new teacher to the class, but they refuse to accept him until Horace tells them why Mark was fired. They ask that Horace treat them with respect in accordance with Mark’s lessons, and refer to him as the “real teacher” that they deserve. They turn the incident into a demonstration of passive resistance, also in accordance with Mark’s teachings. They continue their demonstration until Mark comes back into the school; Horace hires him back, allowing him to resume teaching his class, followed by a throng of other students. Everyone cheers as Mark steps back in to the classroom. Mark eventually attends the students’ graduation ceremony, and muses about how many of his students are moving on to productive and fulfilling roles with their lives. During the graduation party, Frankie (who did not graduate) arrives and attacks Stan and Rebecca, despite Rebecca yelling at him that she broke up with him. Mark nearly intervenes, but the entire class joins Rebecca in her rebuke of him and they stand up against Frankie, driving him out. Mark reveals to his class that he intends to stay in Chicago and continue teaching. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:32:36
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:57388
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Drama; TV - Drama
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Craig Baumgarten … Executive Producer
- Cedric Scott … Executive Producer
- Gary Adelson … Executive Producer
- Richard Stenta … Producer
- Steve Kent … Co-Producer
- Deborah Edell Underwood … Associate Producer
- Peter Bogdanovich … Director
- Philip Rosenberg … Writer
- E.R. Briathwaite … Based on characters from a book by
- Trevor Lawrence … Music by
- Sidney Poitier … Cast, Mark Thackeray
- Christian Payton … Cast, Wilsie Carrouthers
- Dana Eskelson … Cast, Evie Hillis
- Fernando Lopez … Cast, Danny Laredo
- Casey Lluberes … Cast, Rebecca Torrado
- Michael Gilio … Cast, Frankie Davanon
- LZ Granderson … Cast, Arch Carrouthers
- Bernadette L. Clarke … Cast, LaVerne Mariner
- Jamie Kolacki … Cast, Stan Camelli
- Saundra Santiago … Cast, Louisa Rodriguez
- Cheryl Lynn Bruce … Cast, Emily Taylor
- Lulu … Cast, Barbara Pegg
- Judy Geeson … Cast, Pamela Dare
- Daniel J. Travanti … Cast, Horace Weaver
- John Beasley … Cast, Greg Emory
- Christopher Birt … Cast, Mark Taylor
- Antonia Bogdanovich … Cast, Lynn Guzman
- Pauline Brailsford … Cast, Very British Woman
- Dante Burress … Cast, Wilsie's Gang Pal
- Delle Chatman … Cast, Florist Driver
- Neil Flynn … Cast, Det. Dennis
- Joe Forbrich … Cast, Rob Doerr
- Jeffrey Baldwin Gibson … Cast, 2nd Dignitary
- Irma P. Hall … Cast, Old Woman
- Melton Jackson … Cast, Tommie Rahwn
- Doug Johnson … Cast, Bill Plummer
- Joan Kohn … Cast, Helen Goldfarb
- Paulette McDaniels … Cast, Secretary
- Kenneth Northcott … Cast, 1st Dignitary
- David Pease … Cast, Mr. Vollick
- Juan Ramirez … Cast, Det. Alvarez
- Russ Reed … Cast, Old Man
- Nicholas Rudall … Cast, 3rd Dignitary
- Juan Sanchez Jr. … Cast, Tommie's Gang Pal
- Eddie "Bo" Smith Jr. … Cast, School Guard
- Jeff Still … Cast, Sgt. Giametti
- Peter Talhame … Cast, Louis
- Jackie Taylor … Cast, Mrs. Carrouthers
- Jason Winer … Cast, Leo Radatz
- Kris Wolff … Cast, Billy Lopatynski
- John Watson Sr. … Cast, Publisher
- Cedric Young … Cast, Cabbie