Lean on Me (film)
| Lean on Me | |
|---|---|
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | John G. Avildsen |
| Produced by | Norman Twain |
| Written by | Michael Schiffer |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Bill Conti |
| Cinematography | Victor Hammer |
| Edited by |
John G. Avildsen John Carter |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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March 3, 1989 |
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Running time
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124 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million |
| Box office | $31,906,454 |
Lean on Me is a 1989 dramatized biographical film written by Michael Schiffer, directed by John G. Avildsen and starring Morgan Freeman. Lean on Me is loosely based on the story of Joe Louis Clark, a real life inner city high school principal in Paterson, New Jersey, whose school is at risk of being taken over by the New Jersey state government unless students improve their test scores on the New Jersey Minimum Basic Skills Test. This film's title refers to the 1972 Bill Withers song of the same name. Parts of the film, including the elementary school scenes, were filmed in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.
In 1987, the once successful Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, has deteriorated due to drugs and crime. The majority of students cannot pass basic skills testing and not even teachers are safe from gang violence. Mayor Bottman (Alan North) learns that the school will be turned over to state administration if 75% of the students cannot pass the minimum basic skills test. He consults school superintendent Dr. Frank Napier, (Robert Guillaume), who suggests the school hire elementary school principal Joe Clark, aka "Crazy Joe" (Morgan Freeman), who was a teacher at Eastside High, as the new principal. The mayor is reluctant at first, but Clark is hired.
Clark immediately effects radical changes. He expels 300 students identified as drug dealers or abusers and troublemakers. He institutes programs to improve school spirit including repainting graffiti covered walls and requiring students to learn the school song and be punished if they cannot sing it on demand. When one of the expelled students is found beating up another student, Clark orders the doors of the school chained shut since alarmed security doors cannot be purchased. Some parents react strongly to these measures including Leonna Barrett (Lynne Thigpen), mother of one of the expelled students, who presses the mayor to oust Clark. Clark likewise comes into conflict with members of the faculty, including Mr. Darnell, an English teacher who Clark suspends for picking up a piece of trash during a disciplinary confrontation, and Mrs. Elliot, a choir teacher who is insubordinate towards Clark after he cancels a pre-planned choral event.
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