The misleading ad campaign utilized during this movie's grind-house run to lure in that fanbase, which exclaims, "She Corrupted The Youthful Morality Of An Entire School!", unabashedly suggests a film far different than what actually unfolds here. The Teacher is most assuredly not a raunchy romp about a nymphomaniac administrator who beds a slew of lucky high school lads, and in fact the bulk of the film is devoted to a Mrs. Robinson-esque tale about an abnormally saccharine love connection between an attractive high school instructor named Diane and an awkward, freshly graduated young man named Sean.
Since the titular educator is brought to life by the lovely Angel Tompkins, it's definitely not hard to buy in to the budding affair between Diane and Sean. Infinitely difficult to swallow, however, is how much time Sean spends resisting advances that 99.99% percent of the 18 year-old boys in the world would willingly and enthusiastically submit to immediately. When Sean finally succumbs to Diane's none-too-subtle wiles, his technique is astounding, and he somehow manages to have sex with her without removing, or even unzipping, his trousers.
Diane and Sean's canoodling is hampered by the presence of an ardent admirer named Ralph who follows Diane around like a deranged, lovesick puppy, and shows his ardor by peering into her windows and spying on her with binoculars. The stalker's devotion is so all-encompassing that it isn't even limited to the land, and when Diane and Sean take a ride on her boat to pursue some high seas nookie, our diligent lurker dutifully dons a full frogman suit and snorkel gear to swim out and peep into the windows of her vessel.
Matters are complicated further because Diane's swimfan is actually the older brother of Sean's best friend, who dies in an accident which the skewed creeper blames Sean for. George's obsession with Diane merges with his mission to punish Sean for his perceived transgression, and his peeping eventually evolves into menacing the couple with a knife.
Aside from a generous allotment of nudity from Tompkins, nothing in the film veers anywhere near the exploitation elements enthusiasts will rightfully be expecting from a purported "grind-house" movie. Even the sexual component is decidedly un-kinky, and since the film features lighthearted scenes of Diane and Sean sharing intimate dinners, frolicking in the pool, and confessing their eternal love to one another, the allegedly "torrid" affair is actually a pretty sweet display of courting. The downer finale diffuses this impression a bit, but since the film up to that point is so innocuous, the climax seems to belong to another movie entirely.
This isn't to say that The Teacher isn't a fairly enjoyable effort. Despite often-atrocious dialogue, stilted acting, and the relentlessly silly handling of the evil George subplot, it's easy to get wrapped up in the romance and root Diane and Sean on as they pursue their forbidden love. There's a fair share of both intentional and accidental humor, the former providing a few quirkily amusing scenes, the latter providing diversions for fans of inept film-making. Plus, if you enjoy '70s supermarket music, you'll find a veritable treasure trove on the score here.
However, this whole thing is far too harmless to warrant inclusion on the grind-house circuit, and I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the theaters where this film was paired with some of the more infamous offerings of the era. I can only imagine the stupefied faces of audiences expecting the deviancy promised on the poster, when this is what they got instead.
Unless you're enthralled by the prospect of seeing Angel Tompkins repeatedly bare her breasts (granted, this isn't entirely unpleasant), you probably don't need a lesson from The Teacher. But for what it's worth, I'm not sorry I sat through this, and considering how often I've spent my evening slogging through a piece of artless trash and wondered, "why the hell did I watch that, and when I'm on my death bed, will I wish I had that time back?", I'd consider this offering a comparatively decent exercise.
Since the titular educator is brought to life by the lovely Angel Tompkins, it's definitely not hard to buy in to the budding affair between Diane and Sean. Infinitely difficult to swallow, however, is how much time Sean spends resisting advances that 99.99% percent of the 18 year-old boys in the world would willingly and enthusiastically submit to immediately. When Sean finally succumbs to Diane's none-too-subtle wiles, his technique is astounding, and he somehow manages to have sex with her without removing, or even unzipping, his trousers.
Diane and Sean's canoodling is hampered by the presence of an ardent admirer named Ralph who follows Diane around like a deranged, lovesick puppy, and shows his ardor by peering into her windows and spying on her with binoculars. The stalker's devotion is so all-encompassing that it isn't even limited to the land, and when Diane and Sean take a ride on her boat to pursue some high seas nookie, our diligent lurker dutifully dons a full frogman suit and snorkel gear to swim out and peep into the windows of her vessel.
Matters are complicated further because Diane's swimfan is actually the older brother of Sean's best friend, who dies in an accident which the skewed creeper blames Sean for. George's obsession with Diane merges with his mission to punish Sean for his perceived transgression, and his peeping eventually evolves into menacing the couple with a knife.
Aside from a generous allotment of nudity from Tompkins, nothing in the film veers anywhere near the exploitation elements enthusiasts will rightfully be expecting from a purported "grind-house" movie. Even the sexual component is decidedly un-kinky, and since the film features lighthearted scenes of Diane and Sean sharing intimate dinners, frolicking in the pool, and confessing their eternal love to one another, the allegedly "torrid" affair is actually a pretty sweet display of courting. The downer finale diffuses this impression a bit, but since the film up to that point is so innocuous, the climax seems to belong to another movie entirely.
This isn't to say that The Teacher isn't a fairly enjoyable effort. Despite often-atrocious dialogue, stilted acting, and the relentlessly silly handling of the evil George subplot, it's easy to get wrapped up in the romance and root Diane and Sean on as they pursue their forbidden love. There's a fair share of both intentional and accidental humor, the former providing a few quirkily amusing scenes, the latter providing diversions for fans of inept film-making. Plus, if you enjoy '70s supermarket music, you'll find a veritable treasure trove on the score here.
However, this whole thing is far too harmless to warrant inclusion on the grind-house circuit, and I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the theaters where this film was paired with some of the more infamous offerings of the era. I can only imagine the stupefied faces of audiences expecting the deviancy promised on the poster, when this is what they got instead.
Unless you're enthralled by the prospect of seeing Angel Tompkins repeatedly bare her breasts (granted, this isn't entirely unpleasant), you probably don't need a lesson from The Teacher. But for what it's worth, I'm not sorry I sat through this, and considering how often I've spent my evening slogging through a piece of artless trash and wondered, "why the hell did I watch that, and when I'm on my death bed, will I wish I had that time back?", I'd consider this offering a comparatively decent exercise.