Themes: Teachers and Students, Fighting the System, Race Relations
Main Cast: Jon Voight, Paul Winfield, Madge Sinclair, Tina Andrews, Antonio Fargas
Release Year: 1974
Country: US
Run Time: 107 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Jon Voight stars in this story, based on fact, about a teacher determined to make a difference in the lives of his students. In the late 1960s, Pat Conroy (Jon Voight) is given a teaching position on a small island off the coast of South Carolina. Conroy discovers that the school is little more than a shack and his students are functionally illiterate, can't count, and don't even know what country they're in. (They also mispronounce his name as "Conrack," a name that sticks.) The school's principal, Mrs. Scott (Madge Sinclair), has taught the students to believe that they're lazy and stupid, and the result is a group of kids who've been ignored and have no useful skills. Conroy responds by throwing out the rule book and teaching lessons that will be useful in their daily lives. The students respond eagerly as Conroy plays classical music, shows them movies, teaches them to swim, and explains the importance of brushing their teeth. However, many local leaders are unhappy with Conroy and his methods, while Conroy is not afraid to say that institutional racism is largely to blame for the neglect heaped on the students. The real Pat Conroy, whose book The Water is Wide was the basis for this picture, later became a respected novelist; his fiction includes The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, both later made into films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The best of the films made from Pat Conroy novels, Conrack is missing much of the overwrought melodrama that characterized adaptations such as The Prince of Tides or The Lords of Discipline. Jon Voight's convincing performance prevents the amiable Conrack (based on the author's memoir The Water is Wide) from succumbing to the sentimentality of the other films. Voight's work as the young Conroy was a departure from the more offbeat, challenging roles the actor had chosen up to that time, including his Oscar-nominated work in 1969's Midnight Cowboy. Director Martin Ritt gives the film a gentle, easygoing feel that helps capture the mood of rural South Carolina; the film's rhythms may seem dated to modern audiences. Conrack fits into the rather overstuffed Hollywood tradition of "inspirational teacher" movies, including Blackboard Jungle and Stand and Deliver. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Hume Cronyn - Skeffington; Ruth Attaway - Edna; Johnny Bell - Jonny; LaCiisia Hardee - LaCrisia; William Hunter III - William; MacArthur Nelson - Mac; James O'Reare - Postman; Margaret Perry - Margaret; Kathleen Turner - Kathy; Freida Williams - Freida; Martin Ritt; Gracia Lee - Mrs. Sellers; John Kennedy - John; Dennis Williams - Dennis
Credit
Richard Kobritz - Associate Producer, Lynn Stalmaster - Casting, Irby Smith - First Assistant Director, Martin Ritt - Director, Frank Bracht - Editor, John Williams - Composer (Music Score), Walter Scott Herndon - Production Designer, John A. Alonzo - Cinematographer, Harriet Frank, Jr. - Producer, Martin Ritt - Producer, John McCarthy - Set Designer, David Ronne - Sound/Sound Designer, Harriet Frank, Jr. - Screenwriter, Irving Ravetch - Screenwriter, Marvin Weldon - Script Supervisor, Pat Conroy - Book Author
The story follows a young teacher (Jon Voight) in 1969 assigned to an isolated Yamacraw Island off the coast of South Carolina populated mostly by poor black families. He finds out that the children as well as the adults have been isolated from the rest of the world and speak a dialect called Gullah and "Conrack" is their way of saying his name "Conroy." The school is a two room school with the Principal (Madge Sinclair) teaching grades one through four and Conrack teaching the higher grades. He discovers that they know very little. He tries to teach them about the outside world and comes in conflict both with the principal and Mr. Skeffington (Hume Cronyn), the superintendent. This comes to a head when he takes them to Beaufort on the mainland to go trick or treating, which the superintendent has forbidden. He also must overcome parental fears of "the river." As a result, he's fired. As he leaves the island for the last time, the children come out to see him leave, bringing along a record player on which they play the beginning movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as he leaves.
Critical reception
The film received a primarily positive response upon its release and currently has a "Fresh" score of 88% on reviewing site, Rotten Tomatoes. It has never been released on DVD though it remains available through other means, such as VHS as well as online streaming.
