Class of '44
| Class of '44 | |
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VHS cover
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| Directed by | Paul Bogart |
| Produced by | Paul Bogart |
| Written by | Herman Raucher |
| Starring |
Gary Grimes Jerry Houser Oliver Conant Deborah Winters |
| Music by | David Shire |
| Cinematography | Andrew Laszlo |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $6,350,000 (US/ Canada rentals) |
Class of '44 is the 1973 sequel to Summer of '42.
The film is a slice-of-life style autobiography of sorts, depicting Herman Raucher's (Gary Grimes) first year in college, where he falls in love with Julie (Deborah Winters) under the shadow of the growing threat of World War II. Jerry Houser and Oliver Conant reprise their roles as the other two members of Raucher's circle of friends, "The Terrible Trio," Oscar "Oscy" Seltzer and Benjie, although the latter only appears in the film for a matter of minutes.
The film received moderate and poor reviews upon its release. Although several venues granted free, or discounted, admission for moviegoers who graduated from high school in 1944, the film did not fare very well at the box office, mostly attributed to the film's breaking the "arty" format of the first film for a more standard approach, and the omission of any mention of the first film. The movie slipped into obscurity, and although Summer of '42 has been on DVD for several years, where it has been a relative commercial success, Warner Brothers released Class of '44 on made-to-order DVD in 2010.
The film was spoofed in the December 1973 issue of Mad magazine as "The Clods Of '44."
The film is also noted for being the feature film debut of John Candy in a very brief uncredited appearance at the beginning as a high school graduate who interacts with Hermie and Oscy.
Friends Hermie (an aspiring artist), Oscy (a jock), and Benjie (a nerd) graduate high school in the Spring of 1944, under the looming threat of World War II. At a post-graduation party, Hermie and Oscy are startled when Benjie tells them that he's enlisted in the Marines. While Hermie and Oscy spend the Summer working at a loading dock, Benjie goes to basic training; at Summer's end, they see him off on his way to fight in the Pacific Theater.
At their fathers' behest, Oscy and Hermie go to college. Much of the film consists slice of life vignettes depicting college life during wartime, with the effect of the war on the home front as a constant recurring theme.
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Wikipedia