High School Hellcats
| High School Hellcats | |
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Theatrical poster to High School Hellcats (1958)
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| Directed by | Edward L. Bernds |
| Produced by | Charles "Buddy" Rogers |
| Written by | Mark Lowell Jan Lowell |
| Starring | Yvonne Lime Bret Halsey Jana Lund |
| Cinematography | Gilbert Warrenton |
| Distributed by | American International Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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69 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
High School Hellcats is an American 1958 film about a high school girl gang. The film stars Yvonne Lime, Bret Halsey, and Jana Lund. It is part of a series of exploitation films about juvenile delinquents produced during the 1950s by American International Pictures.American International Pictures released the film as a double feature with Hot Rod Gang.
Joyce Martin is a transfer student at her new school. On her first day, she is sized up by the leader of the Hellcats, Connie. For her first test of initiation, Joyce is tricked into wearing slacks to school even though it is verboten by school policy. During class the teacher asks Joyce to be the blackboard volunteer, Joyce reluctantly gets up, and Miss Davis asks her why she is wearing slacks. Humiliated, she cuts class and goes to a nearby coffee shop and meets the coffee shop employee Mike, a college student who takes night classes, as he must financially support himself.
Joyce goes to a Hellcats meeting at an abandoned theater where she is officially introduced to the members of the Hellcats. Connie explains to her the premise of the group: the Hellcats are a girl gang who rule the social order of the school. If she is invited to join, she will be popular; if she fails, her life will be very rough. Joyce has passed the first test but must undergo two more before initiation. Good grades aren’t allowed and she may only date Hellcat-approved boys. Joyce agrees but she secretly begins dating Mike.
The girls meet to go shoplifting the next day. When they stop at the coffee shop afterward, Joyce is rude to Mike. Connie and Dolly tell her she should stay away from him.
The next initiation test requires Joyce to go up to Riff, who is with his girlfriend, and ask him to be her date at a dance. To the furor of his girlfriend, he agrees.
At the party, they decide to play a game of Sardines (game). In the dark, a scream is heard. When the lights come on, they find Connie’s body on the downstairs landing. She is dead. They agree to get out quickly and not say anything. A couple of boys drop Joyce off near her house. Mike drives by and she jumps into his car. The boys come over and try to beat Mike up but he is able to fend them off. Joyce and Mike go to his apartment. Joyce cries on his shoulder, says it was a terrible party, and eventually falls asleep in his arms. Joyce’s father is furious when she finally arrives home. Her mother defends her. Joyce says she won’t follow her father’s rules.
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