Basil Ruysdael

The Last Hurrah -- Spencer Tracy portrays a down-to-earth big city mayor ruthlessly thwarted by political enemies.

Blackboard Jungle -- Glen Ford is riveting as a dedicated teacher whose idealism fades under the tensions that rip his classroom apart. Anne Francis and Sidney Poitier co-star.

The Last Hurrah is a comedy filmed in a single continuous shot. Set at a graduation party in Los Angeles, an eclectic group of brainy philosophy students, train-hopping hippies, aspiring prophets and drug-addled hipsters come together for one wild night. At the eye of the storm are three best friends, all with the same problem - women. Jason can't get enough of them, Steve can't let go of the one he's got and Will can't understand them at all. The brainy grad students will have to work through their issues fast, because tonight's house party is their last crack at the women of the philosophy department. In the spirit of Richard Linklater and Woody Allen, The Last Hurrah is a smart, witty, ensemble-driven comedy that wonders if the over examined life is really worth living.

Derived from the Old Testament, the story revolves around the character of Ruth, a pagan priestess who serves in her temple under the High Priestess, and who falls in love with a Hebrew man named Mahlon. This love brings her spiritual beliefs into question as she has trouble reconciling her pagan religion with his belief in one invisible deity. By the time they marry, she has decided to convert to Judaism, but her newfound spiritual beliefs are put to the test when Mahlon dies. Ruth travels back to Bethlehem with Mahlon's mother, Naomi, where she suffers religious persecution for her prior beliefs as a pagan, and she and Naomi grow closer as they try to survive the hardships of poverty together. This relationship and her own spiritual reflection strengthen her belief in Judaism, and she again finds love with another Hebrew man, Boaz.