A controversial drama about a schoolteacher accused of assaulting a teenage pupil. Laurence Olivier is sternly superb as the teacher, while Sarah Miles, in her film debut, oozes sex appeal as the precocious girl. On the whole, though, this is seedily unimpressive stuff from the 'kitchen sink' era, with Simone Signoret wildly miscast as Olivier's taunting wife and little indication from Terence Stamp that he was about to burst through to stardom in the British cinema. Far too long, with an ending that just doesn't ring true.


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