Halls of Anger

Halls of Anger is a 1970 American drama directed by Paul Bogart. The drama features Calvin Lockhart, Janet MacLachlan, Jeff Bridges and James A. Watson Jr.

Roger Greenspun, the film critic for The New York Times, gave the film a mixed review, and wrote, The picture initially portends sensationalism, with the racial scales reversed and the wellbehaved white youngsters harassed and tormented by the black students. What steadies the whole thing is the excellent performance of Calvin Lockhart, as a sane, realistic Negro teacher who more or less holds together the teeming school and the picture itself...But the pictures urgent plea for racial sanity in the classroom is almost methodically blunted by the use of standardseeming types. The few faculty whites are oafs or hardheads. There is the pretty Negro teacher, nicely played by Janet MacLachlan, who supports and comforts Lockhart. As the fieriest black student and the spunkiest white newcomer, James A. Watson Jr. and Jeff Bridges do well in characterizations that rate more exploration.Film critic Monica Sullivan praised the acting of Jeff Bridges, if not the film, The young Bridges stands out in the cast, because his focus on his role is like a laser beam. He pours 100 of his energy into making his character believable and it is. The making of Halls Of Anger might be a more riveting experience than the film itself. ........

Source: Wikipedia