I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Sandy Dennis plays a young teacher who is assigned to an inner city school in NYC in the early 1960s. You see here deal with tons of red tape at the school and students who don't care.Based on a 1964 book written by an actual NYC teacher. The tone of the film (and book) is light but it doesn't ignore the problems the students have. It offers no solutions but brings up some interesting questions. Shot at an actual NYC high school during the summer break which helps lead realism to the movie. All the acting is excellent.

As a former teacher in Title 1 School Districts I can attest that this movie fails to mirror reality on numerous levels. With "Up the Downstair case" we have simply established a meek, fragile and naive teacher attempting to begin her teacher career in a rough inner-city school district. Perspicously this is a fish out of water story where an idealistic person ventures into a realm far alien to her natural element. So the intrigue is to see how her challenges unfold in an environment filled with reprobates, corrupt faculty and chaos.In the end the ultimate conclusion brings forth a committed and dedicated soul who feels the altruistic need to nurture these young dregs. And when the situation arises she can rise to the occasion and make a difference in the lives of some people. Sandy Dennis is one of those actresses that always seems to be suffering from some form of anemia, as if she always has a cold. The casting is correct when you match her slight, waspish, and frail appearance next to the coarse creatures who inhabit the school, and she does look very out of place. Although her performance was admirable I didn't find it realistic nor believable that she could have subsisted an entire year in those conditions.Inner city schools today are literally hopeless and an anathema to American society. Completely dysfunctional and replete with juvenile delinquents, Title 1 schools are virtually gang lands where decadent and anti-social behavior breed. Up the downstair case barely scratches the surfaces of today's problems and conundrums pervading our urban landscapes. I am still waiting for a film that will accurately display an honest, forthright and succinct story where viewers can see the truth. The Principal (1987) with James Belushi focused more on the violence and ever present dangers in inner city schools, unfortunately a bit over the top it captures the feel and environment more truthfully. Up the Downstair case may be a valiant effort on one level of idealism, but it fails to present the real picture.

Having watched the film, it seems quite appropriate now that during one of its key sequences, schoolteacher Sandy Dennis is guiding her unruly English literature students through the famously antithetical opening of Charles Dickens' "A Tale Of Two Cities". That's because the sheer glossiness of UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE makes its intended 'realistic' portrayal of the American school system self-defeatingly superficial. On the other hand, however, its cliché-ridden narrative – the troubled class punk is truly a highly intelligent individual, a sensitive soul bearing an unrequited love for the school's playboy-teacher attempts suicide, a painfully shy student finally blossoms into a flamboyant actor, the schoolteacher eventually sticks her neck out for her put-upon students but, ungratefully, almost gets 'raped' into the bargain, she is about to quit her job but, naturally, thinks better of it at the end, etc. – is actually what makes it enjoyable viewing. It also helps that Sandy Dennis is very good in the lead, as she herself gains confidence in her dealings with the kids as the film moves along (to Fred Karlin's playful score).

The interior shots were of Haaren High School in Hell's Kitchen. I went there for 3 years, graduating in 1956. One of the exterior shots, where Sandy is going thru the door crowded by students, also looks like Haaren. It is the scene where the three doors were initially locked and she bangs to get in, and suddenly the doors open. That's exactly the way it was every day for me, for three years. I loved the movie, but a lot has to do with recognizing the background and the superb acting of Sandy. I seem to remember there being a rumor in the 60's about the original script calling for the girl who jumped out the window to die, but the preview audiences gave negative feedback and it became ambiguous in the final cut, claiming that she didn't die, at least not initially, because she hit a ledge on the way down. Anyone who wants to know what the interior of a typical New York City high school looked like back then should see this flick, they didn't spruce anything up. John P--Class of '56--jpuma@juno.com