Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Allan Arkush

Writers:

Richard Whitley (screenplay) &
Russ Dvonch (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 August 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Tagline:

Hey ho, Let's go!

Plot:

A group of rock-music-loving students, with the help of the Ramones, take over their school to combat its newly installed oppressive administration.

Plot Keywords:

Ramones | High School | Rock 'n' Roll | B Movie | Hall Monitor

Cast

P.J. Soles	...	Riff Randell
Vincent Van Patten	...	Tom Roberts
Clint Howard	...	Eaglebauer
Dey Young	...	Kate Rambeau
Mary Woronov	...	Miss Evelyn Togar
Paul Bartel	...	Mr. McGree
Dick Miller	...	Police Chief
Don Steele	...	Screamin' Steve Stevens
Alix Elias	...	Coach Steroid
Loren Lester	...	Fritz Hansel
Daniel Davies	...	Fritz Gretel
Lynn Farrell	...	Angel Dust
Herbie Braha	...	Manager
Grady Sutton	...	School Board President
Chris Somma	...	Shawn

Also Known As:

Disco High (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:12 | Iceland:L (re-rating) | Finland:S (1990) | UK:15 (cut) | USA:PG (certificate #25611) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

El Segundo High School - 640 Main Street, El Segundo, California, USA

Company:

New World Pictures

Trivia:

The notoriously cheap Corman, also a publicity genius, invited music journalists to work as extras in return for getting to be on the set and interview the principles.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Tom calls Riff from his van, he mentions that he is listening to the "new Ramones album." The song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" can be heard in the background. The problem is "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" is from the Ramones' first album "Ramones" (1976). Had Tom actually been listening to their newest album, he would have been listening to "Road to Ruin" (1978)...which does not include the song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend".

Quotes:

Miss Togar: [to Hansel and Gretel] Oh, go and monitor the halls!

Movie Connections:

Featured in End of the Century (2003)

Soundtrack:

Rock 'n' Roll

"Hey Kate, I'm getting some static!"...."Not as much as you're going to get."

P.J. Soles should have become a big star after playing Riff Randall, #1 fan of the punk rock group the Ramones. She's so exuberant, you don't care that she's obviously too old to still be in high school (that fact is leveled out by having all the high schoolers look 24). It's a fast-paced frolic that doesn't cop-out; everything gets blown to smithereens at the end, and that's just as it should be. Mary Woronov, an innately kinky and funny presence as the Nazi-like principal, gets a great, one-of-a-kind bit at the beginning where Frisbees fly dangerously close to her head (how many takes did they use on that, or was it a fluke?) and Dey Young is very appealing as Soles' best, Kate Rambeau. The weakest link, ironically enough, in this "High School" chain-gang is the Ramones. They can't act, they're not funny, and their concert segment goes on too long. One Ramones song, "I Want You Around", is treated as a fantasy and is well captured; other incidental songs are good, particularly a rare Paul McCartney & Wings ballad heard near the beginning ("Did We Meet Somewhere Before?"). Good show! *** from ****