Conrack (1974)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Pat Conroy (novel)
Irving Ravetch (writer) ...

Release Date:

28 August 1974 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

One beautiful man. His story is true.

Plot:

A young, white teacher is assigned to an isolated island off the coast of South Carolina populated mostly by poor black families...

Plot Keywords:

Island | Teacher | School | South Carolina | Rural Setting

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jon Voight	...	Pat Conroy
Paul Winfield	...	Mad Billy
Madge Sinclair	...	Mrs. Scott (school principal)
Tina Andrews	...	Mary
Antonio Fargas	...	Quickfellow
Ruth Attaway	...	Edna
James O'Rear	...	Postman
Gracia Lee	...	Mrs. Sellers
C.P. MacDonald	...	Mr. Ryder
Jane Moreland	...	Mrs. Webster
Thomas Horton	...	Judge
Nancy Butler	...	Mrs. Ryder
Robert W. Page	...	Mr. Spaulding
Hume Cronyn	...	Mr. Skeffington (school superintendent)
Mac Arthur Nelson	...	Mac

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Sweden:Btl | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Brunswick, Georgia, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Conrack is Los Angeles Clippers' great Elgin Baylor's favorite movie.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Cat in the Hat (2003)

Soundtrack:

Flight of the Bumblebee

Despite formula, quite moving

Pat Conroy's autobiographical book "The Water Is Wide" proves to be something of a Southern "Up The Down Staircase", yet despite the teacher-going-against-the-odds formula, "Conrack" really does move the audience with each little breakthrough and creative flash. These students (uneducated black kids on an island off South Carolina) are actually shown learning, and their collective wide-eyed innocence is remarkably sweet. The one actual actress in the bunch (Tina Andrews, an amazing performer) plays the "tough nut" Conrack has to crack, and once she falls under his charms, it all seems a breeze. But the story is not ready-made for a happy ending, and I wasn't prepared for the quiet simplicity of the finale. It's beautifully done. The script veers off course every now and then, but director Martin Ritt is very smart to always fall back on Jon Voight's solid presence. Scenes such as the one where he drives around in his van venting his frustrations over a loudspeaker don't add up to much, but the whole film is filled with episodes which spark emotion, and the actual ending is their payoff. **1/2 out of ****