High School Confidential (film)

High School Confidential
Directed by Jack Arnold
Produced by Albert Zugsmith
Written by Robert Blees
Lewis Meltzer
Starring Mamie Van Doren
Russ Tamblyn
Jan Sterling
John Drew
Jackie Coogan
Jerry Lee Lewis
Music by Albert Glasser
Cinematography Harold J. Marzorati
Edited by Ben Lewis
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
  • June 13, 1958
Running time
85 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $532,000[1]
Box office $1,915,000[1]

High School Confidential is a 1958 crime drama film directed by Jack Arnold, starring Mamie Van Doren, Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, John Drew, Jackie Coogan, and Michael Landon.

The film also features a cameo by Jerry Lee Lewis who opens the movie singing a song of the same name, which Lewis co-wrote with Ron Hargrave.[2][3] Lewis released the title track as a Sun Records 45 single which became a Top 40 hit, reaching #21 on the Billboard charts.[4] The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.[5]

Cast

Box Office

According to MGM records the film earned $1,290,000 in the US and Canada and $625,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $578,000. However the follow up films Zugsmith made for the studio - Girl Town, The Beat Generation and Platinum High School - all lost money.[1]

In popular culture

This film in sampled on White Zombie's album La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 on four separate occasions. The "Do you want to start a rumble?" conversation, the "Drop it, buster!" line, the "tomorrow's a drag" poem, and the Columbus speech ("the only thing square about this world...").

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. Crouse, Richard (2003-09-01). The 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen. ECW Press. p. 115. ISBN 1-550-22590-1.
  3. Denisoff, R. Serge; Romanowski, William D. (1990). Risky Business: Rock in Film. Transaction Publishers. p. 96. ISBN 0-887-38843-4.
  4. Havers, Richard; Evans, Richard (2010-04-01). The Golden Age of Rock 'N' Roll. Book Sales Inc. p. 76. ISBN 0-785-82625-4.
  5. Wilson, John (2005). The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 0-446-69334-0.

External links