Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979)

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

Director:

Allan Arkush

Writers:

Richard Whitley (screenplay), Russ Dvonch (screenplay),

Stars:

P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Vince Lombardi High School keeps losing principals to nervous breakdowns because of the students' love of rock 'n' roll and their disregard of education. The putative leader of the students is Riff Randell, who loves the music of the Ramones. A new principal, the rock-music-hating Miss Evelyn Togar, is brought in and promises to put an end to the music craze. When Miss Togar and a group of parents attempt to burn a pile of rock records, the students take over the high school, joined by the Ramones, who are made honorary students. When the police are summoned and demand that the students evacuate the building, they do so, which leads to an explosive finale.

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Plot Keywords:

ramones | high school | rock 'n' roll | punk rock | school principal | 

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Taglines:

Hey ho, Let's go!

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Roger Corman: The Official DVD Website

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Disco High

Filming Locations:

Van Nuys High School - 6535 Cedros Avenue, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New World Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The high-school was portrayed by the non-operational Mount Carmel High School in South Central Los Angeles which had been closed-down since 1976. The building of the school blown-up at the end is the school which was scheduled for demolition. The explosion was five times bigger than it was supposed to be, and since the filming was at 3am, a lot of frightened neighborhood residents charged out of their homes, not knowing what had happened.

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Goofs

During filming of the concert scenes, the camera focused on P.J. Soles and Dey Young ran at the wrong speed, giving the footage a very speeded-up look. The filmmakers added the scenes into the picture anyway.

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Quotes

Riff: [classy] Come on, sexy.

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Connections

Followed by Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever (1991)

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Soundtracks

"So It Goes"
by Nick Lowe

User Reviews

A barrell full of fun and laughs!

Yet, another cult movie made by B-movie great Roger Corman. Unlike those ridiculous B-Movies he made prior to this one, Rock 'n Roll High School is actually cool! In this one, the protagonist is a teen girl who is a hard-core Ramones fan, and she and her fellow classmates are up against a dictator-like principal who wants to make the school a living hell. The girl, Riff wants to write music for her favorite band as well.

Rock 'n Roll High School is a really fun, edgy, tongue-in-cheek, feel good kind of movie! It's a teen movie I actually enjoy! Even today's teens can like this movie, too! The soundtrack is really enjoyable, and full of songs from The Ramones, Brownsville Station, Alice Cooper, and all those greats from the 1970's! It was cool to see Joey Ramone and the others make an appearence. Sadly, last year we lost Joey to cancer.

Want to see a real teen comedy? Then see Rock 'n Roll High School! This movie puts all those pathetically unfunny teen comedies of today (i.e. American Pie) to shame! I give this 5 stars!