The Pom Pom Girls (1976)

Director:

Joseph Ruben

Writers:

Joseph Ruben (written by)
Joseph Ruben (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

May 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

They Were the Girls of Our Dreams ...

Plot:

A football player at Rosedale High School is amorous of one of the cheerleaders, who is going with another guy...

Plot Keywords:

Cheerleader | High School | Prank | Angst | American Football

Cast

Robert Carradine	...	Johnnie
Jennifer Ashley	...	Laurie
Michael Mullins	...	Jesse
Lisa Reeves	...	Sally
Bill Adler	...	Duane
James Gammon	...	Coach
Susan Player	...	Sue Ann
Cheryl Smith	...	Roxanne (as Rainbeaux Smith)
Diane Lee Hart	...	Judy
Lou Fant	...	Principal
John Lawrence	...	Sheriff
Sondra Lowell	...	Miss Pritchitt (as Sandra Lowell)
Faith Christopher	...	Mother
John Sebastian	...	Father
Jim Kester	...	Hardin Tough
Cooper Huckabee	...	Hardin Tough

Directed by
Joseph Ruben

Writing credits
Joseph Ruben		(written by)
Joseph Ruben		(story) and
Robert J. Rosenthal		(story) (as Robert Rosenthal)

Produced by
Cal Naylor	....	associate producer
Joseph Ruben	....	producer
Marilyn Jacobs Tenser	....	executive producer (as Marilyn J. Tenser)

Original Music by
Michael Lloyd

Cinematography by
Stephen M. Katz		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George Bowers

Production Management
Dennis Thomann	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alan Grabelsky	....	second assistant director
Cal Naylor	....	assistant director
Robert J. Rosenthal	....	second unit director (as Robert Rosenthal)

Art Department
Larry Lasker	....	props

Sound Department
Alex Van Der Kar	....	sound mixer (as Alex Van De Kar)
Harry Wowchuk	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Steve Walsh	....	special effects

Stunts
Harry Wowchuk	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jack Behr	....	first camera assistant
Rick Brown	....	second grip
Bill Decker	....	best boy (as William Decker)
Bob Harkins	....	key grip
Sandy Kroopf	....	second camera assistant
Mike Paladin	....	still photographer (as Michael Paladin)
Gregory Peters	....	electrician
Stu Spahn	....	gaffer (as Stu Spawn)

Casting Department
Yvonne Maddox	....	extra casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Diana Daniels	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Robert Spiegel	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Michael Lloyd	....	music producer
Michael Lloyd	....	musical supervisor

Other crew
Robin Fink	....	location manager
Rick Gahring	....	production assistant
Hannah Hempstead	....	script supervisor
Marsha Mayer	....	production secretary

Thanks
Jennifer McCoy	....	special thanks
Sali Mills	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Crown International Pictures

Distributors

• Crown International Pictures (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• Rhino Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• BCI Eclipse (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• MCM Video (video)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (in the "Too Cool for School Collection")
• Saguenay Films (Canada)

Other Companies

• Doneil Productions  sound effects
• Westheimer Company  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | UK:15 | USA:PG (edited for re-rating) (1977) | USA:R (original rating) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Chaminade High School - 7500 Chaminade Avenue, West Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Crown International Pictures

Trivia:

Both Bill Adler and Robert Carradine performed their own stunts in the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Johnny and Duane are having their "food battle" in the school cafeteria, near the end, there is a drinking straw wrapper stuck to the back of Johnny's head, which disappears, and then reappears.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Making the Cut: A Look Back at the Centerfold Girls (2009) (V)

The teenage dream of the '70s lives on...

...1976 saw two particularly notable depictions of high school life on the big screen. The one released later in the year, CARRIE, was a nightmare; the earlier release, THE POM POM GIRLS, was the dreamy ideal (at least to most high schoolers of the period). Interestingly, the dream has aged somewhat better than the nightmare, even if CARRIE is much more frequently run on cable nowadays. In a departure from the Crown International Pictures drive-in norm of the period, the young ladies aren't subjected to any hideously sexist hijinks (can't say that for THE VAN or VAN NUYS BLVD.), there seems to be genuine respect and friendship between the boys and girls, and what happens in this movie (except for the fire truck prank) actually seem plausible. There's even an airy quality to the soundtrack music, lifted from the previous year's debut album by Cotton Lloyd & Christian (including Michael Lloyd, whose record productions for The Osmonds these high schoolers obviously grew up on), that's surprisingly refreshing. Even James Gammon, playing a head football coach over a decade before MAJOR LEAGUE, seems rooted in the period. If you were part of the American Class of '76, this is your picture...