Rock ‘n’ Roll High School *** (1979, P J Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard) – Classic Movie Review 9358

It’s pretty, teenage delinquent, Ramones fan Riff Randell (P J Soles) versus the strict, non-musical, rock ‘n’ roll-hating new Vince Lombardi high school principal Miss Togar (Mary Woronov), in director Allan Arkush’s Roger Corman-produced 1979 anarchic, rebellious teen comedy drama Rock ‘n’ Roll High School.

It is a funny cult movie with a feisty heroine and plenty of top rock and roll tunes (Chuck Berry, Alice Cooper, Todd Rundgren, Nick Lowe, Ritchie Valens).

Vincent Van Patten plays Tom Roberts, the dull boy who has his sights set on Soles.

Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Marky Ramone are punk-rock band The Ramones, who provide and perform many of the songs, and it’s these that spark the movie and give it its deserved cult status. The Ramones were named the second-greatest band of all time by Rolling Stone magazine behind the Beatles but never had a single in the top 40 US national charts.

Also in the cast are Clint Howard, Dey Young, Paul Bartel, Dick Miller, Don Steele, Alix Elias, Loren Lester, Daniel Davies, Lynn Farrell, Herbie Braha, Grady Sutton, Chris Somma, Marla Rosenfield, Barbara Ann Walters, Terry Soda and Joe Van Sickel.

It is written by Richard Whitley, Russ Dvonch and Joseph McBride, from a story by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante.

It is shot at Van Nuys High School, 6535 Cedros Avenue, Van Nuys, Los Angeles; El Segundo High School, 640 Main Street, El Segundo, California; Mira Costa High School, 701 S. Peck Avenue, Manhattan Beach, California; and Mount Carmel High School, 7011 South Hoover Street, Los Angeles.

The belated sequel Rock ‘n’ Roll High School Forever (1991) stars Corey Feldman and Mary Woronov.

Todd Rundgren was to star as the musical act but the two sides could not agree. A Warner Bros executive suggested the Ramones, who recorded for Sire Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros Records, and Arkush, a fan of the band, readily agreed.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9358

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