Rock 'n' Roll High School
| Rock 'n' Roll High School | |
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Original film poster
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| Directed by | Allan Arkush |
| Produced by |
Michael Finnell Roger Corman (executive) |
| Written by | Richard Whitley Russ Dvonch Joseph McBride |
| Story by |
Allan Arkush Joe Dante |
| Starring |
P. J. Soles Dey Young Vince Van Patten Clint Howard Mary Woronov |
| Cinematography | Dean Cundey |
| Edited by | Larry Bock Gail Werbin |
| Distributed by | New World Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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93 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $200,000 |
Rock 'n' Roll High School is a 1979 musical comedy film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Allan Arkush, and starring P. J. Soles, Vince Van Patten, and Clint Howard. The film featured the punk rock group the Ramones.
The movie is set in 1980. Vince Lombardi High School keeps losing principals to nervous breakdowns because of the students' love of rock 'n' roll and their disregard for education. Their leader, Riff Randell (P. J. Soles), is the biggest Ramones fan at Vince Lombardi High School. She waits in line for three days to get tickets to see the band, hoping to meet Joey Ramone so she can give him a song she wrote for the band, "Rock 'n' Roll High School".
When Principal Togar (Mary Woronov) takes her ticket away, Riff and her best friend Kate Rambeau (Dey Young) have to find another way to meet their heroes—by winning a radio contest. 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 a quite literal explosive finale.
Roger Corman, Executive Producer of the film, was looking to produce a modern teen film similar to the ones he made in his early career during the 1960s, with the focus on current music of the time. The initial title Disco High was selected for a story idea from Allan Arkush and Joe Dante. A script was developed by Richard Whitley, Russ Dvonch, and Joseph McBride. During this time, the film went through several different title changes including Heavy Metal Kids and Girl's Gym. Arkush directed the majority of the film, but Dante also helped when Arkush was suffering from exhaustion.
Corman originally wanted Cheap Trick or Todd Rundgren to play the band, but due to a conflict of schedules, he was forced to find an alternative. The Ramones were suggested by Paul Bartel, one of the actors in the film.
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