High School Confidential! is a 1958 American crime drama film directed by Jack Arnold, starring Mamie Van Doren, Russ Tamblyn, Jan Sterling, John Drew Barrymore, Jackie Coogan, Diane Jergens and Michael Landon.
The film also features a cameo by Jerry Lee Lewis who opens the movie singing "High School Confidential" which Lewis co-wrote with Ron Hargrave. Lewis released the title track as a Sun Records 45 single which became a Top 40 hit, reaching #21 in the Billboard charts.Reemes, 1988 p. 233: Notes section, footnote no. 5: “released by Sun Records as part of a tie-in with the film.”
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.
Plot Mike Wilson, a young police officer, poses as a student under the alias Tony Baker and thus infiltrates a high school in order to investigate a narcotics ring. He lives in an apartment with Gwen Dulaine, a married woman who pretends to be his aunt in public but attempts to seduce him in private.
"Tony" flirts with pupil Joan Staples and incurs the wrath of teacher Arlene Williams as he makes acquaintances in school. He discovers that Joan uses marijuana and inquires about where she purchases it. He ultimately learns that a mysterious man known only as "Mr. A" is the one who sells drugs to the students, helped by an assistant called Bix.
With help from an undercover cop, Quinn, who risks his life to save Mike's, the criminals are apprehended and Joan promises Mike that her drug use is over.
Cast
Veteran character actor Charles Halton appears uncredited in his last role as Mr. Robinson, the high school principal.
Production
The movie was produced by Albert Zugsmith, the first of a six-picture deal he had signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM would receive 75% of the profits, Zugmsith 25%.Universal Pictures, Trying to Erase Loss, Joins in Switch to Independent Producers By STANLEY W. PENN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. W10 July 1958: 7.Reemes, 1988 p. 110: See here for brief background on Zugsmith’s departure from Universal-International and contract with MGM
In January 1958, Russ Tamblyn, who had just made the movie Tom Thumb (1958), was assigned to star. Filming began in February 1958.JULIE LONDON CAST WITH GARY COOPER New York Times 16 Jan 1958: 32.
George Raft had been cast in a role in the film but in March 1958, MGM announced Jackie Coogan would be playing the part instead. No explanation was given.ROLE AS CO-STAR FOR MEL FERRER. New York Times 5 Mar 1958: 36.
The film was based on an original script by Lewis Meltzer and screen story by Robert Blees. and according to critic Dana M. Reemes “utterly preposterous from beginning to end.”Reemes, 1988 p. 216–217: In Filmography section. And p. 115: “...utterly preposterous…”
High School Confidential! was conceived by Zugsmith, Meltzer and Blees and as a teenage exploitation film with an anti-marijuana message.Reemes, 1988 p. 112: Zugsmith’s “choice of subject, his casting Mamie Van Doren, and the exploitation campaign…” Director Jack Arnold recalls an exchanges with producer Zugsmith regarding the film’s style and theme:
Box office According to MGM records the film earned $1,290,000 in the US and Canada Please note figures are for US and Canada only and are domestic rentals accruing to distributors as opposed to theatre gross and $625,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $578,000. However, the follow-up films Zugsmith made for MGM, including The Beat Generation and Platinum High School, lost money.
In popular culture This film is sampled on White Zombie's album La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 on four 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...").
In the 1980 song "High School Confidential" by the Canadian new wave band Rough Trade (album: Avoid Freud), singer Carole Pope refers to the star of this film, Mamie Van Doren.
The film notably features a nihilistic beat style poem titled "High School Drag" performed by cast member Phillipa Fallon. It was released as a single in 1958 as the B-side to “Christopher Columbus Digs the Jive", performed by John Drew Barrymore in the film. Cashbox magazine reviewed the single, and called it an "unusual affair that could make it." A contemporary reviewer for the film noted that Barrymore's "story of Columbus in jive talk" and Fallon's "shivery existentialist poem" were standout scenes in the movie.
See also List of American films of 1958 List of cult films List of drug films List of hood films
References
Sources Reemes, Dana M. 1988. Directed by Jack Arnold. McFarland & Company, Jefferson, North Carolina 1988.
External links
Alan Arkush on High School Confidential at Trailers from Hell