THE BROWNING VERSION (1951)
What a noble profession teaching can be.  The shaping of young minds is viewed by many to be the most important job a person can have.  And yet not all teachers can be Mr. Holland or Mr. Keating, can they?  In fact, for every truly inspirational teacher, there are a several strict disciplinarians; instructors whose firm hand has choked the life out of their pupils.  Andrew Crocker-Harris is just such a teacher, whose career has come to an end.  Played by Michael Redgrave as a man deflated by years of academic bureaucracy and a loveless marriage, Crocker-Harris feels as if he has made absolutely no difference in the lives of his students.  It's the basic crisis of many teachers in film (Mr. Holland's Opus being a prime example), but the difference here is that he happens to be right.  As Crocker-Harris comes to terms with what he views as a wasted life, we are left with a heartbreaking portrait of a sadness and regret.