''High School U.S.A.'' 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 for ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian-American retired actor. Beginning his career in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1 ...

Nancy McKeon Nancy Justine McKeon (born April 4, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' and Jinny Exstead on ''The Division''. Early life and family Nancy Justine McKeon was born on ...

, Anthony Edwards, and

Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for portraying eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Layne in '' River's Edge'' (1986), Andy Warhol in ''The Door ...

, directed by

Rod Amateau Rodney Amateau (December 20, 1923 – June 29, 2003) was an American film and television screenwriter, director, and producer. Career Among the programs that he directed were '' The Dennis Day Show'', ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', ...

. The film originally aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

on October 16, 1983. Several of the main actors appeared in sitcoms that were popular at that time. These include

Todd Bridges Todd Anthony Bridges (born May 27, 1965) is an American actor. He portrayed Willis Jackson on the sitcom ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and had a recurring role as Monk on the sitcom ''Everybody Hates Chris.'' Bridges worked as a commentator on the telev ...

and

Dana Plato Dana Michelle Plato (née Strain; November 7, 1964 – May 8, 1999) was an American actress. An influential " teen idol" of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Plato was recognized for her television work, for which she was included on VH1's list o ...

from ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson ...

'', Nancy McKeon from '' The Facts of Life'', and Michael J. Fox from ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States f ...

'', as well as a number of former 1950s and 1960s sitcom stars, including Tony Dow,

Frank Bank Frank Bank (April 12, 1942 – April 13, 2013) was an American actor, particularly known for his role as Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford on the 1957–1963 situation comedy television series '' Leave It to Beaver''. Bank was cast in fifty episodes ...

, and Ken Osmond from '' Leave It to Beaver''.Scott, Vernon (9 July 1983)
Hickman Back in Television
''Albany Herald'' (UPI copy)

Plot

The film focuses on the intrigue inside Excelsior Union High School. J.J. Manners, becomes enamored with Beth Franklin, the girlfriend of Beau Middleton, who somehow manages to be the class president despite alienating most of the school; he is also their football team's

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. Middleton is also the richest student, a spoiled young man who drives around in a

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and ori ...

convertible A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers. A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving ex ...

. The core story involves Manners and Middleton competing for the affections of Beth. Ultimately this rivalry culminates in a

drag race Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...

between the two. The result of the race tips the balance and changes the dynamics within the school irrevocably. In the end, J.J. ends up winning Beth's affections. Other storylines include a genius, Otto, who has created a

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

that he believes to be capable of traveling into space (the robot also humiliates Beau Middleton at the end of the film by pulling down his trousers before the entire student body). Archie Feld is a socially impaired boy who stands out as nervous about interacting with the opposite sex, all while surrounded by friends who all struggle with the intricacies of intergender relationships. Also, Beau Middleton's father has created an incentive for the teachers by offering a sizable reward for the best teacher. Subsequently, the teachers focus extra effort on impressing Beau with their worthiness of the reward.

Cast

– J.J. Manners *

– Beth Franklin *

– Archie Feld *

– Mr. Gerardi *

Crystal Bernard Crystal Lynn Bernard (born September 30, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for her roles as Helen Chappel-Hackett on the sitcom ''Wings'' (1990-1997), Amy on '' It's a Living'' (1985–1989), and K.C. Cunningham on ...

– Anne-Marie Conklin *

– Otto Lipton *

– Cara Ames * Jon Caliri – Jerry *

Angela Cartwright Angela Margaret Cartwright (born September 9, 1952) is a British actress primarily known for her roles in movies and television. On television, she played Linda Williams, the stepdaughter of Danny Williams (played by Danny Thomas) in the long- ...

– Miss D'Angelo * Kelly Ann Conn – Swoozie *

Bob Denver Robert Osbourne Denver (January 9, 1935 – September 2, 2005) was an American comedic actor who portrayed Gilligan on the 1964–1967 television series '' Gilligan's Island'', and beatnik Maynard G. Krebs on the 1959–1963 series '' The ...

– Milton Feld *

Elinor Donahue Elinor Donahue (born Mary Eleanor Donahue, April 19, 1937) is an American actress, best known today for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson on the 1950s American sitcom ''Father Knows Best''. Early ...

– Mrs. Franklin * Tony Dow – Principal Pete Kinney * Anthony Edwards – Beau Middleton * Steve Franken – Dr. Fritz Hauptmann * Jonathan Gries – Dirty Curt *

Dwayne Hickman Dwayne Bernard Hickman (May 18, 1934 – January 9, 2022) was an American actor and television executive, producer and director, who worked as an executive at CBS and had also briefly recorded as a vocalist. Hickman portrayed Chuck MacDonald, B ...

– Mr. Plaza * Lauri Hendler – Nadine * Barry Livingston – Mr. Sirota * Jerry Maren – Robot * David Nelson – Mr. Krinsky, janitor * Ken Osmond – Baxter Franklin * David Packer – Danny * Cathy Silvers – Peggy * Tom Villard – Crazy Leo Bandini * Kaley Ward – Chris *

Dawn Wells Dawn Elberta Wells (October 18, 1938 – December 30, 2020) was an American actress known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom '' Gilligan's Island''. Early life Wells was born to Evelyn (née Steinbrenner) and Joe Wesley Well ...

– Miss Lorilee Lee *

Michael Zorek Michael Zorek is an American film and television actor who has appeared in films and television series such as ''Private School'', ''Family Ties'', '' The Facts of Life'', ''Hot Moves'', '' The Woman in Red'', ''Camp Nowhere'' and '' Teen Wolf To ...

– Chuckie Dipple

Production

Casting

According to stand-up comedian and future ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1 ...

'' star

Joel Hodgson Joel Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer, comedian and television actor. He is best known for creating ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K'') and starring in it as the character Joel Robinson. In 2007, ''MST3K'' was list ...

, he was asked to be one of the stars of the proposed series. Hodgson turned the offer down after telling the network he did not think the material was good. The network raised their offer, thinking his refusal was a bargaining ploy. Because of this experience, Hodgson decided Hollywood was too shallow to work with and quit the industry until 1987, when he created ''MST3K''. Fox and Glover would go on the following year to work together again in ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 19 ...

''.

Filming

Fox met McKeon on set and the two of them dated for a while, and starred in another TV movie, ''Poison Ivy''.

Pilot

A one-hour pilot was created due to the success of the original movie, but no longer featuring the star teen actors. It was not picked up by the network, and was aired on May 26, 1984 (the Saturday evening of Memorial Day weekend).Sherwood, Rick (26 May 1984)
TV Weekend
''Spokane Chronicle'' Crystal Bernard, Crispin Glover, Jonathan Gries, Ken Osmond, and Michael Zorek were the only cast members to return for the pilot (with Osmond playing a teacher instead of a parent).

Barbara Billingsley Barbara Billingsley (born Barbara Lillian Combes; December 22, 1915 – October 16, 2010) was an American actress. She began her career with uncredited roles in '' Three Guys Named Mike'' (1951), ''The Bad and the Beautiful'' (1952), and '' Inv ...

and

Jerry Mathers Gerald Patrick Mathers (born June 2, 1948) is an American actor best known for his role in the television sitcom '' Leave It to Beaver'', originally broadcast from 1957 to 1963, in which he played the protagonist Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver, the y ...

, the only two ''Leave It to Beaver'' cast members who weren't in the film, joined the pilot while Dow and Bank did not return. Similarly, David Nelson did not return while his mother and brother (and ''Ozzie and Harriet'' co-stars),

Harriet Nelson Harriet Nelson (formerly Hilliard; born Peggy Lou Snyder; July 18, 1909 – October 2, 1994) was an American actress and singer. Nelson is best known for her role on the sitcom ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. Early life and career Ne ...

and

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

, joined the cast. Other classic TV stars to join included

Dick York Richard Allen York (September 4, 1928 – February 20, 1992) was an American radio, stage, film, and television actor. He was the first actor to play Darrin Stephens on the ABC fantasy sitcom ''Bewitched''. He played teacher Bertram Cates in t ...

(from ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

''),

Burt Ward Burt Ward (born Bert John Gervis Jr. , July 6, 1945) is an American actor, animal welfare activist and businessman. He played Dick Grayson's Robin, the sidekick of Batman (played by Adam West), in the television series ''Batman'' (1966–1968), ...

and

Julie Newmar Julie Newmar (born Julia Chalene Newmeyer, August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer, and singer, known for a variety of stage, screen, and television roles. She is also a writer, lingerie designer, and real-estate mogul. She won the Ton ...

(both from ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

'').

References

External links

* * {{Amg movie, 22397 1983 television films 1983 films 1980s teen comedy films NBC network original films American coming-of-age comedy films American high school films Films directed by Rod Amateau American teen comedy films Films scored by Miles Goodman 1980s English-language films 1980s American films