School Spirit

Last updated
School Spirit
School spirit 85.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Alan Holleb
Written by Geoffrey Baere
Produced by Ashok Amritraj
Jeff Begun
Starring Tom Nolan
Roberta Collins
Larry Linville
CinematographyRobert Ebinger
Edited bySonya Sones
Music by Tom Bruner
Production
companies
Chroma III Productions
New Horizons
T&A Production
Distributed byNew Concorde Pictures
Release date
  • October 30, 1985 (1985-10-30)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

School Spirit is a 1985 American comedy film about a college student who is killed in a car accident and returns as a ghost to haunt his school. The film was directed by Alan Holleb, and stars Tom Nolan, Roberta Collins, and Larry Linville.

Contents

It was one of the first films from Roger Corman's new distribution company, Concorde Pictures, along with films like Barbarian Queen , Loose Screws, Cocaine Wars, and Wheels of Fire. [1] [2] Corman said he had to form his own distribution company because the owners of New World Pictures — which he sold — refused to distribute this and Wheels of Fire. [3]

Cast

Production

The film was based on an idea of Geoffrey Bare called College Ghost about a campus Casanova who comes back as a ghost to help a nerd get laid. He pitched it unsuccessfully, but director Allan Holleb felt it had possibilities. They adjusted the script and ended up selling it to Roger Corman, who had worked with Holleb on Candy Stripe Nurses . Corman agreed to help make the film. [4]

Holleb says one of his inspirations was the Italian film Il Sorpasso (1962). [5]

Some of the finance came from a consortium of Indian doctors. It had been arranged by Ashok Amritraj, who became a successful producer. [6]

Scenes at college were filmed at a veterans' hospital in Brentwood. [7]

The special effects were done in the style of old Topper movies due to the low budget. [8]

Reception

ThePhiladelphia Daily News called it "an affably low-rent soft-core item that dares to tackle such compelling subjects as life, death, mortality, morality and overaged schoolgirls who like to flex their mammary glands." [9]

The Los Angeles Times called it a "vulgar, ugly looking little film of no visual distinction or ambition." [10]

The Philadelphia Inquirer critic wrote, "By my count, there are 37 naked female breasts in the movie... (one aspiring actress appears only in profile; she must have a bad agent). I mention this because there's really no other reason for the movie to exist. There are no hot sex scenes, no terrific new jokes, no remotely funny performances. Just jiggle, jiggle, jiggle... a cheapo, one-gimmick teen sex comedy that's so thin and so exploitative that it couldn't even interest a minor distribution company." [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bogdanovich</span> American film director (1939–2022)

Peter Bogdanovich was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. He started his career as a film critic for Film Culture and Esquire before becoming a prominent filmmaker as part of the New Hollywood movement. He received accolades including a BAFTA Award and Grammy Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Corman</span> American film director, producer, and actor (born 1926)

Roger William Corman is an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are low-budget cult films including some which are adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Theroux</span> British journalist (born 1970)

Louis Sebastian Theroux is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received three British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American International Pictures</span> Film production company

American International Pictures is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing films from 1955 until 1980, a year after its acquisition by Filmways in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Linville</span> American actor (1939–2000)

Lawrence Lavon Linville was an American actor known for his portrayal of the surgeon Major Frank Burns on the television series M*A*S*H.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Dante</span> American filmmaker (born 1946)

Joseph James Dante Jr. is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. His films—notably Gremlins (1984) alongside its sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with 1960s radicalism and cartoon comedy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyd Nolan</span> American actor (1902-1985)

Lloyd Benedict Nolan was an award-winning American stage, film and television actor who rose from a supporting player and B-movie lead early in his career to featured player status after creating the role of Captain Queeg in Herman Wouk's play The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial in the mid-1950s. Nolan won a Best Actor Emmy Award reprising the part in 1955 TV play based on Wouk's classic tale of military justice.

<i>Desperately Seeking Susan</i> 1985 film by Susan Seidelman

Desperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn and Madonna. Set in New York City, the plot involves the interaction between two women – a bored housewife and a bohemian drifter – linked by various messages in the personals section of a newspaper.

<i>Tales of Terror</i> 1962 film by Roger Corman

Tales of Terror is a 1962 American International Pictures comedy horror film in colour and Panavision, produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson, and Roger Corman, who also directed. The screenplay was written by Richard Matheson, and the film stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone. It is the fourth in the so-called Corman-Poe cycle of eight films, largely featuring adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories and directed by Corman for AIP. The film was released in 1962 as a double feature with Panic in Year Zero!.

<i>Ladybugs</i> (film) 1992 film by Sidney J. Furie

Ladybugs is a 1992 American sports-comedy film starring Rodney Dangerfield and directed by Sidney J. Furie. Dangerfield plays a Denver businessman who takes over a girls soccer team that the company he works for sponsors. The film also stars Jackée Harry as his assistant coach, Ilene Graff as his girlfriend, Jonathan Brandis as his girlfriend's son, and Vinessa Shaw as his boss' daughter.

<i>The Warrior and the Sorceress</i> 1984 film by John Broderick

The Warrior and the Sorceress is a 1984 Argentine-American fantasy action film directed by John C. Broderick and starring David Carradine, María Socas and Luke Askew. It was written by Broderick and William Stout (story).

<i>The Intruder</i> (1962 film) 1962 American film directed by Roger Corman

The Intruder, also known as I Hate Your Guts, Shame and The Stranger, is a 1962 American drama film directed and co-produced by Roger Corman and starring William Shatner. The story, adapted by Charles Beaumont from his own 1959 novel of the same name, depicts the machinations of a racist named Adam Cramer, who arrives in the fictitious small Southern town of Caxton in order to incite white townspeople to racial violence against black townspeople and court-ordered school integration.

<i>Screwballs II</i> 1985 film by Rafal Zielinski

Screwballs II, also known as Loose Screws, is a 1985 Canadian teen sex comedy film. It is a sequel to Screwballs and was one of the first releases from Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures.

<i>Tower of London</i> (1962 film) 1962 film by Roger Corman

Tower of London is a 1962 historical drama and gothic horror film directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price and Michael Pate. The film was produced by Edward Small Productions.

<i>Deathstalker</i> (film) 1983 sword and sorcery film

Deathstalker, also known as El cazador de la muerte, is a 1983 Argentine-American sword and sorcery film directed by James Sbardellati, and starring Rick Hill, Barbi Benton, Bernard Erhard and Lana Clarkson.

Roberta Collins was a film and television actress who was known for her attractive physique, blonde, curly hair, and Marilyn Monroe appearance. She starred in many exploitation films, including the prostitute Clara in Tobe Hooper's Eaten Alive and Matilda the Hun in the science-fiction film Death Race 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Harvey</span> American actor (1967–1998)

Rodney Michael Harvey was an American actor, model, and dancer.

<i>Sweet Kill</i> 1973 film by Curtis Hanson

Sweet Kill is a 1973 B-movie written and directed by future Academy Award winner Curtis Hanson. The film was Hanson's directorial debut and was executive-produced by Roger Corman. It stars 1950s heartthrob Tab Hunter and was the last film of actress Isabel Jewell.

<i>Crime Zone</i> 1988 American film

Crime Zone is a 1988 American-Peruvian science fiction action film directed by Luis Llosa, written by Daryl Haney and starring David Carradine, Peter Nelson, Sherilyn Fenn, and Michael Shaner. Carradine plays a mysterious stranger who recruits young lovers in an illicit romance to commit a crime spree in a futuristic police state, while promising them an avenue for escape. The film was executive produced by Roger Corman, who came up with the original concept.

Street Justice is a 1987 American action film directed by Richard C. Sarafian.

References

  1. HANDICAPPING THE OSCAR FIELD: [Home Edition] London, Michael. Los Angeles Times 22 Mar 1985: 1.
  2. MOVIE REVIEW `COCAINE WARS' TOES THE LOW-BUDGET LINE: [Home Edition] Wilmington, Michael. Los Angeles Times 10 Feb 1986: 7.
  3. LONDON, MICHAEL (March 6, 1985). "Corman, New World Sue In A Battle For Control". Los Angeles Times.
  4. Borseti p 204-205
  5. Borseti p 206
  6. Borseti p 206
  7. Borseti p 206
  8. Borseti p 207
  9. 'SCHOOL SPIRIT': AS SOFT-CORE, IT'S A SUPER BORE BALTAKE, JOE. Philadelphia Daily News29 Oct 1985: 52.
  10. A FAILING GRADE FOR 'SCHOOL SPIRIT' Wilmington, Michael. Los Angeles Times 17 Dec 1985: g5.
  11. FILM: MINDLESS 'SCHOOL SPIRIT' FLUNKS OUT Lyman, Rick. Philadelphia Inquirer26 Oct 1985: C.5.

Notes