''High School Hellcats'' is a 1958 American

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...

starring

Yvonne Lime Yvonne is a female given name. It is the feminine form of Yvon, which is derived from the French name Yves and Yvette. It is from the French word ''iv'', meaning "yew" (or tree). Since yew wood was used for bows, Ivo may have been an occupatio ...

, Bret Halsey, and Jana Lund and directed by Edward L. Bernds. It is part of a series of exploitation films about

juvenile delinquent Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior as a minor or individual younger than the statutory age of majority. In the United States of America, a juvenile delinquent is a person ...

s produced during the 1950s by

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

released the film as a

double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...

with ''

Hot Rod Gang ''Hot Rod Gang'' is a 1958 drama film directed by Lew Landers and starring John Ashley. The working title was ''Hot Rod Rock'' with the film also released under the title ''Fury Unleashed''. American International Pictures released the film as a ...

''. The film is also known as ''School For Violence''.

Plot summary

Joyce Martin is a transfer student at her new school. On her first day, she is sized up by the leader of the Hellcats, Connie. For her first test of initiation, Joyce is tricked into wearing slacks to school even though it is verboten by school policy. During class the teacher asks Joyce to be the blackboard volunteer, Joyce reluctantly gets up, and Miss Davis asks her why she is wearing slacks. Humiliated, she cuts class and goes to a nearby coffee shop and meets the coffee shop employee Mike, a college student who takes night classes, as he must financially support himself. Joyce goes to a Hellcats meeting at an abandoned theater where she is officially introduced to the members of the Hellcats. Connie explains to her the premise of the group: the Hellcats are a girl gang who rule the social order of the school. If she is invited to join, she will be popular; if she fails, her life will be very rough. Joyce has passed the first test but must undergo two more before initiation. Good grades are not allowed and she may only date Hellcat-approved boys. Joyce agrees but she secretly begins dating Mike. The girls meet to go shoplifting the next day. When they stop at the coffee shop afterward, Joyce is rude to Mike. Connie and Dolly tell her she should stay away from him. The next initiation test requires Joyce to go up to Riff, who is with his girlfriend, and ask him to be her date at a dance. To the furor of his girlfriend, he agrees. At the party, they decide to play a game of

Sardines "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the I ...

. In the dark, a scream is heard. When the lights come on, they find Connie's body on the downstairs landing. She is dead. They agree to get out quickly and not say anything. A couple of boys drop Joyce off near her house. Mike drives by and she jumps into his car. The boys come over and try to beat Mike up but he is able to fend them off. Joyce and Mike go to his apartment. Joyce cries on his shoulder, says it was a terrible party, and eventually falls asleep in his arms. Joyce's father is furious when she finally arrives home. Her mother defends her. Joyce says she will not follow her father's rules. Connie is reported missing and the police start questioning students at the high school. Dolly, now running the Hellcats, reminds them to say nothing. Joyce visits sympathetic teacher Miss Davis, but does not tell her anything. Dolly leaves a note on Joyce's desk summoning her to a meeting that night. Mike gives her a ride to the abandoned theater. She tells him she will only be 10 minutes, just time enough to quit the Hellcats, and he waits outside for her. Two of the Hellcats find the note and go to Miss Davis. They know that there is no meeting and they are worried that Dolly intends to teach Joyce a lesson. Miss Davis calls the police. On the balcony of the theater Dolly confronts Joyce, telling her that she pushed Connie out of jealousy because she was getting too friendly with Joyce. Dolly lunges toward Joyce with a knife but Joyce moves at the last moment and Dolly falls over the balcony to the floor below, dead. The police arrive. Mike rushes in. Miss Davis arrives. Mike takes Joyce home. Miss Davis calls Joyce's parents to tell them what happened. She tells them that Mike is a good guy. Joyce's parents are waiting on the doorstep. They hug Joyce. Joyce's father pats Mike on the shoulder and they enter the house together.

Cast

Yvonne Lime Fedderson Yvonne is a female given name. It is the feminine form of Yvon, which is derived from the French name Yves and Yvette. It is from the French word ''iv'', meaning "yew" (or tree). Since yew wood was used for bows, Ivo may have been an occupatio ...

as Joyce Martin *

Brett Halsey Brett Halsey (born Charles Oliver Hand, June 20, 1933) is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Montgomery Ford. He appeared in B pictures and in European-made feature films. He originated the role of John Abbott on the soap opera ''The ...

as Mike Landers (as Bret Halsey) *

Jana Lund Jana Lund (born Jana Cozette Ekelund; August 28, 1933 – July 20, 1991) was an American model, actress, and singer. She began her career as a young child actor. She had numerous roles on television shows and supporting roles in various films. ...

as Connie Harris, aka Connie Ross *Susanne Sidney as Dolly Crane (as Suzanne Sydney) *Heather Ames as Meg *Nancy Kilgas as Laurie *

Rhoda Williams Rhoda Elaine Williams (July 19, 1930 – March 8, 2006) was an American actress who voiced Drizella Tremaine in Walt Disney's ''Cinderella''. Early life Williams learned to read at age three, and performing on radio came naturally to her. She ...

as Trudy Davis, teacher *Don Shelton as Roger Martin *

Viola Harris Viola Harris (July 5, 1920 – August 23, 2017) was an American actress known for roles in television, theater and film from the 1950s to the 2010s. Career Harris appeared in a number of films including Woody Allen's ''Deconstructing Harry'' ...

as Linda Martin * Robert Anderson as Police Lt. Manners *Martin Braddock as Rip *Arthur Marshall as Mr. Anderson

Production

This movie was part of a two-picture deal (the other movie being ''

'') between producers

Charles "Buddy" Rogers Charles Edward "Buddy" Rogers (August 13, 1904 – April 21, 1999) was an American film actor and musician. During the peak of his popularity in the late 1920s and early 1930s he was publicized as "America's Boyfriend". Life and career Early ...

, who was the husband of "America's Sweetheart"

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

, and Ferde Grofe Jr., son of the composer

Ferde Grofe Ferde AS is a Norwegian toll company owned by Agder, Rogaland and Vestland counties. The company was created on 5 October 2016 is headquartered in Bergen. The company was called Sørvest Bomvegselskap AS until 1 January 2018. All toll roads in No ...

, in association with a nationwide competition in ''Dig Magazine''. Mary Pickford put up $100,000 for each of the movies. Grofe Jr. had his name removed from the credits, fearing the low-brow nature of this and ''Hot Rod Gang'' would reflect poorly on his father.

Location

The film was shot on Comstock Avenue in

Holmby Hills Holmby Hills is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. The neighborhood was developed in the early twentieth century by the Janss Investment Company, which developed the rest of Westwood as well as other Los Ang ...

, with

Holmby Park Holmby Park is a public park in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. Location The park is located in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. It is surrounded by Club View Drive, Beverly Glen Boulevard, Comstock Avenue, and the Los Angeles Count ...

in the background.

Reception

In October 1958, at an

luncheon for the

Theaters Owners Association of America Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, producer

Jerry Wald Jerome Irving Wald (September 16, 1911 – July 13, 1962) was an American screenwriter and a producer of films and radio programs. Life and career Early life Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, he had a brother and sons who were act ...

said that the pictures like ''High School Hellcats'' are "not the type of picture on which we can build the market of the future. While they may make a few dollars today, they will destroy us tomorrow." Producer

James H. Nicholson James Harvey Nicholson (September 14, 1916 – December 10, 1972) was an American movie producer, film producer. He is best known as the co-founder, with Samuel Z. Arkoff, of American International Pictures. Early life Nicholson was born on ...

responded by stating "I'd rather take my children to see these pictures than ''

God's Little Acre ''God's Little Acre'' is a 1933 novel by Erskine Caldwell about a dysfunctional farming family in Georgia obsessed with sex and wealth. The novel's sexual themes were so controversial that the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice asked a ...

''" The film was condemned by PTA groups in Los Angeles Director

Edward Bernds Edward Bernds (July 12, 1905May 20, 2000) was an American screenwriter and director, born in Chicago, Illinois. Career While in his junior year in Lake View High School, he and several friends formed a small radio clique and obtained amateur li ...

stated that he "never made a dime" on ''High School Hellcats'' until it sold to TV.McGee, pg. 236

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0051725 1958 films 1958 crime drama films American black-and-white films American high school films American International Pictures films 1950s exploitation films American crime drama films American teen drama films 1950s high school films 1950s teen drama films Films scored by Ronald Stein 1950s English-language films Films directed by Edward Bernds 1950s American films English-language crime drama films