School Spirit

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.

This article is about the 1985 comedy film. For the term, see School spirit. For the Into the Dark episode, see School Spirit (Into the Dark).
School Spirit
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlan Holleb
Produced byAshok Amritraj
Jeff Begun
Written byGeoffrey Baere
StarringTom Nolan
Roberta Collins
Larry Linville
Music byTom Bruner
CinematographyRobert Ebinger
Edited bySonya Sones
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

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

The Philadelphia 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

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
  • Borseti, Francesco (2016). It Came from the 80s!: Interviews with 124 Cult Filmmakers. McFarland.
  • Toga Party: The Official Soy Boy Podcast (October 24, 2016). "Toga Party 80 - School Spirit" (Podcast).
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