Two Joes, two Arties

Some intertextuality, perhaps:

In Up the Down Staircase (dir. Robert Mulligan, 1967), Miss Barrett’s (Sandy Dennis) greatest classroom challenge is Joe Ferone (Jeff Howard). In The Blackboard Jungle (dir. Richard Brooks, 1955), Mr. Dadier’s (Glenn Ford) nemesis is Artie West (Vic Morrow).

In The Incident (dir. Larry Peerce, 1967), one of the thugs terrorizing subway passengers is named Joe Ferrone (Tony Musante). He makes a point of telling the passengers his name. His fellow thug is named Artie (Vic Morrow). He offers no last name. The credits have him as Artie Connors.

Up the Down Staircase was released just a few months before The Incident, but Bel Kaufman’s novel appeared in 1965. It’s difficult not to think that the thug in the subway car is, in some way, meant to be seen as Joe Ferone, a couple of years out of high school. And Artie is, well, an Artie.

I can find nothing online to suggest that anyone has ever made the Ferone–Ferrone Artie–Artie connections.