The Principal

The Principal is a 1987 action thriller film starring Jim Belushi, Louis Gossett Jr. and Rae Dawn Chong. Written by Frank Deese and directed by Christopher Cain, it was filmed in Oakland, California, and at Northgate High School in nearby Walnut Creek and distributed by TriStar Pictures on Panavision. Belushi reprised his role as Rick Latimer in the 1991 film Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe. Plot After spotting his ex-wife Kimberly in a bar one night with her attorney, alcoholic high-school teacher Rick Latimer instigates a fight with him, culminating in Rick bashing the hapless man's car with a baseball bat. Rick is arrested for the incident. Finding that Rick's behavior is tarnishing the school district's image, the board of education decides to transfer him elsewhere and send him to Brandel High, a crime-ridden and gang-dominated institution where unruly kids are sent after being expelled from other schools. Initially, Rick is just as lost, incorrigible, & hopeless as the students of "Brand X" (the nickname that everyone derisively calls the school).