''Deadly Lessons'' (also known as ''Highschool Killer'') is a 1983 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

horror film starring

Donna Reed Donna Reed (born Donna Belle Mullenger; January 27, 1921 – January 14, 1986) was an American actress. Her career spanned more than 40 years, with performances in more than 40 films. She is well known for her portrayal of Mary Hatch Bailey in ...

Larry Wilcox Larry Dee Wilcox (born August 8, 1947) is an American actor best known for his role as California Highway Patrol officer (later captain) Jonathan "Jon" Baker in the television series '' CHiPs'', which ran from 1977 to 1983 on NBC. A Vietnam ve ...

David Ackroyd David Ackroyd (born May 30, 1940) is an American actor, who first came to prominence in soap operas such as ''The Secret Storm'' and '' Another World''. Early life On May 30, 1940, Ackroyd was born in East Orange, New Jersey; he moved to Way ...

Diane Franklin Diane Franklin is an American actress, producer, and model. Education Franklin attended New York University for one year in 1981–1982 before dropping out to become a professional actress. She continued her education thirty years later when ...

Ally Sheedy Alexandra Elizabeth Sheedy (born June 13, 1962) is an American actress. Following her film debut in 1983's '' Bad Boys'', she became known as one of the Brat Pack group of actors and starred in '' WarGames'' (1983), ''The Breakfast Club'' (1985) ...

, and

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress. She is the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', for which she has received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Perform ...

. The film premiered on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

on March 7, 1983.

Plot

A teenaged girl, Stephanie Aggiston, is sent to Starkwater Hall Boarding School, a prestigious private girl's academy, for the summer to brush up on advanced French. Stephanie is a country girl and finds the school to be a bit snobbish. She makes friends with Marita Armstrong, Calli and Shama, who is a Saudi princess and her roommate. Murders began occurring and Det. Russ Kemper comes to investigate. As more girls are killed, everyone worries about who will be next. Stephanie attempts to find the murderer herself. She enlists the help of the new attractive stable boy, Eddie Fox, who falls in love with her for 'not being like the other girls.' Suspicion soon falls on Eddie as the murderer. As the summer progresses, the girls are slowly evacuated from the school. Marita is kidnapped on the day she is set to leave by the school's janitor, Robert Hartigan. Robert binds and gags Marita in his quarters on campus, somehow deluded into thinking his daughter was Marita's mother (which is not true). When Marita is able to signal for help from her captivity, Stephanie has Kemper follow her as she heads out "alone" to attract Robert's attention, allowing Kemper to make an arrest and save Marita. Later, Stephanie is ambushed and chased by a mysterious figure, dressed all in black. The person is revealed to be Kemper, the real killer. The first death, Tember Logan, was an accident, as she drowned. It gave Kemper the idea to kill the other victims as a means of getting revenge on Miss Wade, who is revealed to be his mother, for abandoning him as a child. The murders were a means of ruining the reputations of both the school and her. He is apprehended and taken away.

Cast

as Miss Wade, School's Headmistress *

as Detective Russ Kemper *

as John Ferrar *

as Stephanie Aggiston *

as Marita Armstrong * Donald Hotton as Robert Hartigan *

Deena Freeman Deena Freeman (born February 11, 1956) is an American actress who has appeared in movies, television and commercials. Freeman is most remembered for her role as April, the niece of Henry Rush in the sitcom ''Too Close for Comfort'' (1981–1982) ...

as Lauren Peele * Vicki Kriegler as Shama * Krista Errickson as Tember Logan *

Bill Paxton William Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and filmmaker. He appeared in films such as '' Weird Science'' (1985), ''Aliens'' (1986), '' Near Dark'' (1987), '' Tombstone'' (1993), ''True Lies'' (1994), '' Apollo 1 ...

as Eddie Fox *

Renée Jones Renée Jones (born October 15, 1958) is a former American dramatic actress. Jones is best known for playing Lexie Carver on NBC's long-running soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', a role she began in 1993. She has been nominated five times for ...

as Calli *

as Libby Dean *

Robin Gammell Robin Gammell (born September 22, 1936) is a Canadian film, television and stage actor."Transplanted to Hollywood". ''The Globe and Mail'', January 24, 1981. Career Gammell began acting as a junior ensemble member at the Stratford Shakespeare F ...

as Morgan Rank *

Rick Rossovich Frederic Enrico Rossovich (born August 28, 1957) is an American actor. Rossovich began acting in the early 1980s, first gaining recognition for portraying Ron "Slider" Kerner in the 1986 film ''Top Gun''. Rossovich's other movies include the thri ...

as Craig *

Ellen Geer Ellen Ware Geer is an American actress, professor, and theatre director. Personal life Geer was born in New York City, the daughter of actors Herta Ware and Will Geer. Her father was best-known for playing Grandpa Zebulon "Zeb" Walton on ''Th ...

as Mrs. Grant

External links

* 1983 television films 1983 films 1983 horror films ABC network original films American horror television films American teen horror films 1980s teen horror films 1980s high school films American high school films Films directed by William Wiard 1980s American films {{US-tv-horror-film-stub