The Cheerleaders (1973)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Paul Glickler

Writers:

Ace Baandige (screenplay)
Paul Glickler (screenplay)

Release Date:

March 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

From Chin to Ankles With the Cheerleaders

Plot:

A group of cheerleaders from the local high school decide to show their school spirit for their football team by sleeping with the opponents the night before the game so that they can be so worn out the opposition won't be able to play.

Plot Keywords:

Kidnapping | High School | Cheerleading | Cheerleader | Girl

Cast

Stephanie Fondue	...	Jeannie Davis
Denise Dillaway	...	Claudia
Jovita Bush	...	Bonnie
Brandy Woods	...	Debbie
Kimberly Hyde	...	Patty (as Kim Stanton)
Clair Dia	...	Suzie (as Sandy Evans)
Richard Meatwhistle	...	Jon
Jonathan Jacobs	...	Norm
Raoul Hoffnung	...	Novi
Patrick M. Wright	...	Coach Gannon (as Patrick Wright)
Terri Teague	...	Isabel
Jack Jonas	...	Daddy
Jay Lindner	...	Mom
Charles Goldman	...	Sal
John Bracci	...	Vinnie

Also Known As:

Return to Montclair High (USA)
The 18 Year Old Schoolgirls (UK)

Runtime:

Australia:81 min | USA:84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:18 | Australia:R | France:-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R (DVD rating) | USA:X (self applied)

Filming Locations:

Gilman Street, Berkeley, California, USA

Trivia:

The school bus driver was the actual driver assigned to drive the school bus for the film. He was not an actor. The director asked him if he wanted to be in the movie and have a love scene while driving the bus. The driver quickly agreed to be in the movie.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: As the cheerleaders walk by the school janitor on the way to the locker room.

Quotes:

[On the way to the locker room, the girls run into creepy janitor Novi]
Suzie: There's MALARIA in the AREA!
Debbie: I think it's an anti-social disease!

Movie Connections:

Followed by The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974)

Soundtrack:

I Like What You're Doing To Me

Former Theater Operator Comments

I found "The Cheerleaders" to be the best of the sexploitation films, much more entertaining than 'Flesh Gordan', 'Beyond the Valley of the Dolls', 'Fritz the Cat' The crowds really loved the picture, the laughter tended to drown out some of the following lines. Everyone left with a smile on their face. We played it to a packed house nightly. The print that we has was x-rated, though soft core. I do not believe it was a self imposed x, as the beginning of the had the MPAA X rating with the blue background preceeding the title and credits. I was operating the Star Theater in Coshocton, Ohio. We opened the film the first week of January 1974. The prosecuter saw our advance advertising and threatened to arrest us if we showed the film. I had a partner, and we first decided to 'pull' the film and got 'Lady Sings the Blues' as a backup-even changed the marquee to 'Lady Sings the Blues'. We reconsidered and called the prosecuter's bluff, showed 'The Cheerleaders', we did not get arrested. The Coshocton Tribune's lead story on 01/04/74 was 'Theater Told to Pull X Rated Feature'. We sold out in 15 minutes of opening, the film held the house record until beaten by 'The Exorcist'. We brought it back a few months later with equally good ticket sales. Why? word of mouth, it was a crowd pleaser, this was before videos, DVD's, cable was basic, the raunchy language and nudity still had shock value-especially in a small town.