The Student Teachers (1973)

Part of New World Pictures' early seventies cycle of sex comedies kicked off by their 'Nurse' films, The Student Teachers (1973) applies the same, successful, formula to the world of education.  Switching out trainee nurses for trainee teachers, the film follows the adventures of three new entrants to their profession, setting up three storylines which intersect at various points.  As with the 'Nurse' films, much of the plot involves the conflict caused by their attempts to pursue new, progressive, methods in the face of the staid conservatism of their profession's establishment.  One storyline involves student teacher Rachel (Susan Damante) and her attempts to run after school sex education classes, having found the official curriculum on the subject to be inadequate.  Another follows art teacher Tracy (Brook Mills) as she tries to persuade the school to accept photography as a legitimate art form to be taught, while Jody (Brenda Sutton) becomes involved in a community education project for drop out kid, employing a Vietnam vet turned hippie biker to help with teaching duties.  All, of course, find their efforts opposed by the authorities.  Rachel's sex education classes are condemned, particularly by the school's Coach, as being immoral and are blamed for a series of rapes of female students.  Tracy also doubles as a nude model for her art teacher boyfriend, (who is skeptical as to the artistic merits of photography), and finds her topless posing the subject of some voyeuristic secret photography on the part of one of her students,  Faced with a lack of finance for the community project, Jody sets up a drug deal that is part of an elaborate scheme to steal the local drug king pin's money in order to fund the project.

The mixing of sex, nudity and humour, with each story also taking in some darker turns before an upbeat resolution, was typical of the 'Nurse' franchise.  Indeed, it was the formula that producer Roger Corman insisted upon - the directors and writers of each individual film had considerable leeway in terms of style, content and plot, provided that they included three main storylines encompassing the aforementioned elements.  In the case of The Student Teachers, director and co-writer Johnathon Kaplan, (who would go on to enjoy critical and popular success with 'legitimate' films like The Accused (1988), Love Field (1992) and Brokedown Palace (1990)), juggles the stories quite deftly, managing their intersections in order to ensure that they don't feel disconnected.  Tracy's voyeuristic photography student proves instrumental in unmasking the rapist, the revelation of whose identity vindicates Rachel and clears her sex education classes of blame, for instance, while the climax of Jody's story - the fake drug deal - (which also serves as the movie's climax), involves all three main characters.  There's nothing particularly unexpected or wholly original in The Student Teachers, but it is very neatly put together and entertainingly executed, with generally likeable (if variable) performances from the cast and a decent pace.  Seen at this distance in time, the most striking thing about The Student Teachers is that significant elements of its storylines are once again relevant, with various aspects of sex education and even art history once again under attack in the US education system, particularly in Republican run states.  The identity of the rapist in the film should perhaps give pause for thought for those supporting such reactionary policies.