The George McKenna Story

The George McKenna Story is a 1986 biographical television film directed by Eric Laneuville, which stars Laneuville's St. Elsewhere co-star Denzel Washington and Lynn Whitfield.^[1] It involves the events at George Washington Preparatory High School in South Los Angeles. The film was later (after Denzel Washington became a superstar) re-released on video under the title Hard Lessons.^[2]

The George McKenna Story
Film poster made for re-release under the title Hard Lessons
Genre	Biography Drama
Written by	Charles Eric Johnson
Directed by	Eric Laneuville
Starring	Denzel Washington Lynn Whitfield
Music by	Herbie Hancock
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producer	Howard Lipstone
Producer	Linda Otto
Production location	Houston
Cinematography	Isidore Mankofsky
Editor	Robin Wilson
Running time	93 minutes
Production company	Landsburg Company
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	November 11, 1986 (1986-11-11)

Cast

• Denzel Washington as school principal George McKenna
• Lynn Whitfield as Bobbie Maxwell
• Earl Billings as Mr. Rogers
• Ray Buktenica as Alan Keith
• Akosua Busia as Cynthia Byers
• Richard Masur as Ben Proctor
• Michael Milburn as Brimm Leader

Reception

The George McKenna Story won a Christopher Award in the category of "Television Specials".^[3]

At Rotten Tomatoes the film received two negative reviews from critics.^[4]