To Sir, With Love

The second of three uses of the title song, sung by Lulu (who plays student “Babs”) off camera, among those joining Thackeray (Sidney Poitier, title character) for a cleverly edited visit to the Victoria And Albert Museum in London, vignettes featuring Judy Geeson and Suzy Kendall bracketing, in To Sir, With Love, 1967.

Not always remembered, another big musical moment, as the top Manchester band The Mindbenders (Ric Rothwell, Bob Lang and Eric Stewart shown) appear improbably at the inner-city London school dance, with a song by Ben Raleigh and Charles Albertine, introduced by Lulu (as Babs) a truce and dance between the title character Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) and coming-around rebel Pamela (Judy Geeson), near the ending of To Sir, With Love, 1967.

Lulu sings the smash hit theme song, by Marc London and Don Black, then Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) gets some East London in his face on a bus ride, in the opening to To Sir, With Love, 1967. directed by James Clavell, himself best known as a novelist, and from the autobiographical novel by Edward Ricardo Braithwaite.

Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) on his first day has just finished taking roll call at North Quay Secondary, facing students (Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall, Christian Roberts et al) in To Sir, With Love, 1967.

West Indian Thackeray (Sidney Poitier) into the fray, meeting colleagues Weston (Geoffrey Bayldon) and Evans (Faith Brook) on his first day at his East London high school, in James Clavell's To Sir, With Love, 1967.

Laurence Fishburne on Sidney Poitier in "To Sir, With Love" (1967) and how it affected him in this out-take from TCM's Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence.