The Teacher (1974)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

In spite of the title, there is no classroom setting. Diane (Angel Tompkins) is separated from her husband and likes teen boys like John (Jay North). She is stalked by a creep (Anthony James) who drives an inconspicuous white Cadillac hearse. Diane's pastimes include sun bathing topless and taking showers.I actually prefer the European counterparts which include classroom scenes. The story was boring and the acting left much to be desired. The confrontation at the swimming pool left be scratching my head. The only reason to watch the film is to see Angel Tompkins shower.Parental Guide: No F-bombs, near sex, nudity (Angel Tompkins)

I saw this at a drive-in in high school and it really taught me a lesson in the lower depths of blah banality. This is one of those movies that's like a porn film with the sex taken out. James had quite a career, but it's amazing he lowered himself to do this movie. Not that he was a star. I guess he just liked working. What else can I say? Angel Thompkins got to be in a couple of studio films. She started in soaps, apparently. Yawn. Jay North. Well, let's face it, "Dennis The Menace" wasn't exactly a great sit com in the first place. She mostly did garbage TV. Anyway, it would have been a better world if "The Teacher" had never been made, but I guess it doesn't make much difference in the long run.

Sean and Lou are two average teenage boys spending the summer getting in to a little mischief by spying on their sexy teacher from a fourth floor walk-up with a pair of binoculars Lou stole from his older brother, Ralph. Ralph, a crazed Vietnam vet, surprises the boys and accidentally knocks his younger brother to his death. Shocked and upset, he ultimately blames the death on Sean. With nothing more than hearsay evidence, Sean is found "not guilty" making Ralph even more insane and psychotic. To make matters worse, the sexy teacher, who Ralph had also been stalking, now takes a liking to Sean whose now becoming a man. Ralph hatches an evil plan to teach Sean a lesson. This is typical drive-in fare but you can't knock those 70s movies. A little T&A went a lot further back then. There are some recognizable faces like Jay North (aka "Dennis the Menace", who at this time was probably pushing 30) stars as the 18 yo Sean. Anthony James (slimy, lanky baddie character actor from "In the Heat of the Night", "High Plains Drifter" and "Unforgiven") plays the unstable vet, Ralph. Also a brief cameo appearance by Barry Atwater and the mothers of John Cassavettes and Gena Rowlands. There are a few nice-looking women, especially the gorgeous California girl, ex-model Angel Tompkins as the teacher. If you appreciate good drive-in flicks give this one a whirl. It's nothing special but worth it just to see Dennis the Menace get his groove on.

Awful film that deserves at the very least a two rating but is redeemed by the frequently topless Angel Tompkins and her flawless physical features, i.e. breasts. Jay North plays mop-topped Sean Roberts who while not learning the usefulness of a comb spends his summer vacation spying on his gorgeous former teacher who likes to sunbathe topless. When one of his peeping sessions leads to the accidental death of his best friend Lou he becomes relentlessly pursued by, the nuttier than a Planters factory, friend's older brother Ralph, who by the way, happens to live in the abandoned warehouse where the two scamps spy on the nude Tompkins. Did I mention Ralph keeps all of his belongings inside a red coffin? How about the fact that he drives a white hearse? Ralph is also obsessed with the teacher and is played with over-the-top gusto by Anthony James, the only actor worth noting who isn't nude. When a budding affair begins between Sean and the emotionally frustrated Mrs. Diane Marshall it pushes Ralph over the edge. Either that or he wants to kill him because of the hairy wildfire of a mane on top of Sean's head. Sean and Diane are supposed to be neighbors as that is the vehicle used to initiate the relationship yet the address on Sean's home is in 160th block of whatever and Diane's home is in the 120th block of whatever. A forty block difference a neighbor it does not make. (Sorry, I used to be a mailman.) The absurdity of the notion that the beautiful Tompkins would sacrifice her own marriage for the dopey Jay North is too much to believe. This movie might as well be considered science fiction. The love scenes, which basically consist of dry-humping, have all the sexual heat of being encased inside an iceberg. This is one of those movies where all Sean has to do is tell the police the truth and his problems are over but he's too stupid for that. I blame his hair. Never before has a pair of breasts saved a film from a rating it so richly deserves. Just fast forward to the nude scenes and call it a day.