''High School'' is a 1940 American teen

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 ol ...

directed by

George Nicholls, Jr. George Nicholls Jr. (May 5, 1897 – November 13, 1939), also known as George Nichols Jr., was an American director and editor during the 1930s. Born to show business parents, and son of prolific actor and director George Nichols, he entered the ...

and written by Jack Jungmeyer, Edith Skouras, and Harold Tarshis. The film stars

Jane Withers Jane Withers (April 12, 1926 – August 7, 2021) was an American actress and children's radio show host. She became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s, with her films ranking in the top ten list for ...

as a spirited 13-year-old tomboy who is sent from her widowed father's ranch to learn at Thomas Jefferson High School in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, where she alienates her fellow students with her arrogant and know-it-all personality. The script draws from the real-life activities of the high school's

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

, band, and "Lassos" girls pep squad.

Plot

Growing up on her widower dad's ranch, Jane Wallace has become a big-mouthed tomboy. After she pranks her tutors for the umpteenth time, James Wallace decides to send her off to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

to the Thomas Jefferson High School run by his brother, Henry, who is none too pleased that his niece, known for her high-handed shenanigans, is coming. Accompanied by her father's cowhand Jeff Jefferson, Jane shows up at the school and is greeted with a royal welcome when the students mistake Jeff for Franklin Jefferson, an honored descendant of the school's founder who is also arriving that day. Jane alienates her freshman classmates with her cocky attitude and the girls, led by Cuddles Dixon, decide to put her in her place. During the welcoming ceremony on the school field, Cuddles humiliates Jane, and continues to devise schemes to embarrass her. Meanwhile, Jane's uncle decides to humble her by bumping her up to the sophomore class, where she smoothly answers the teacher's quiz questions when no one else does. What she doesn't know is that the class had been trying to protect star football player "Slats" Roberts, a less than stellar student, who subsequently flunks the test and is barred from playing in a big game the next day. Everyone blames Jane for the team's defeat, and when Jane tries out for the "Lasso Girls", she is the only girl not selected. Jane packs her bags to return home in frustration, but Slats' older sister, Carol, takes pity on her and suggests that she tutor Slats as a way to make up for her missteps. Slats, who has a crush on Jane, does well on the next test and is allowed back on the team, which wins the next game. Jane also helps Carol get the attention of Tommy, an ROTC student whom Cuddles has also set her sights on. Then Jane overhears a conversation in the principal's office which reveals that Slats is under suspicion by the police for aiding a gang of stolen-car thieves in his work at an automobile repair shop. Jane goes to warn Slats but the criminals arrive and haul her off to a side room while they interrogate Slats. Jane escapes by knocking out her captor with a mechanized pulley and runs back to the school, where she rallies the entire ROTC unit to come rescue Slats. The students brawl with the criminals until the police come. In the final scene, Carol and Tommy appear at the ROTC ball as the major and major's lady, and Jane is accepted by the other girls into the "Lasso Girls". She and Slats do the

jitterbug Jitterbug is a generalized term used to describe swing dancing. It is often synonymous with the lindy hop dance but might include elements of the jive, east coast swing, collegiate shag, charleston, balboa and other swing dances. Swing dan ...

Cast

as Jane Wallace *Joe Brown Jr. as Slats Roberts *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

as James Wallace *

Lloyd Corrigan Lloyd Corrigan (October 16, 1900 – November 5, 1969) was an American film and television actor, producer, screenwriter, and director who began working in films in the 1920s. The son of actress Lillian Elliott, Corrigan directed films, usually ...

as Dr. Henry Wallace *

Cliff Edwards Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standar ...

as Jeff Jefferson *

Claire Du Brey Claire Du Brey (born Clara Violet Dubreyvich, August 31, 1892 – August 1, 1993) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 200 films between 1916 and 1959. Her name is sometimes rendered as Claire Du Bray or as Claire Dubrey. Ear ...

as Miss Huggins *

Lillian Porter Lillian Porter (February 24, 1917, Alameda County, California – February 1, 1997, San Bernardino, California) was an American film and television actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The act ...

as Cuddles * Lynne Roberts as Carol Roberts * John Kellogg as Tommy Lee *Margaret Brayton as Miss Witherspoon *

Marvin Stephens Marvin R. Stephens (March 23, 1922 - May 22, 2008) was an American film actor.Dwyer p.225 A child actor, his first Hollywood roles were in the Mickey McGuire films. Stephens then played the recurring role of Tommy McGuire in Twentieth Century Fox ...

as Bill *Johnnie Pirrone Jr. as Terry * Mary McCarty as Mary *

Emma Dunn Emma Dunn (26 February 1875 – 14 December 1966) was an English actress. After starting her acting career on stage in London, she became known for her works in numerous films and Broadway productions. Career Emma Dunn appeared onstage in ...

as Mrs. O'Neill *

Joan Leslie Joan Leslie (born Joan Agnes Theresa Sadie Brodel; January 26, 1925 – October 12, 2015) was an American actress and vaudevillian, who during the Hollywood Golden Age, appeared in such films as '' High Sierra'' (1941), ''Sergeant York'' (1941) ...

as Patsy *Betty Brian as One of the Brian Sisters *Gwen Brian as One of the Brian Sisters *Doris Brian as One of the Brian Sisters

Production

Development

Executive producer

Sol Wurtzel Solomon Max Wurtzel (September 12, 1890 – April 9, 1958) was an American film producer. Life and career Born in New York City, the second of five brothers; his parents were both Polish Jews from the village of Ulanow (Surname ''Wurtzel'' i ...

jumpstarted the project after reading a March 7, 1938, article about Thomas Jefferson High School of

, in ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine. The article illustrated the school's many extracurricular activities, including an

unit and a 150-girl pep squad known as the "Lassos". Wurtzel also envisioned the film as the first in a series of films featuring

in school settings, with this film coinciding with the actress's own matriculation into high school. The project had the working title of ''The Texas Kid''. The original opening scene, which had Withers "riding a cow-pony and 'bull-dogging' a steer", was rewritten to feature Withers singing and dancing instead. The change was made in response to a review of Withers' fan mail, in which eight out of ten letters called for her to sing and dance more in her films. Withers and Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards performed the traditional cowboy song "

The Old Chisholm Trail "The Old Chisholm Trail" is a cowboy song first published in 1910 by John Lomax in his book ''Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads''. The song dates back to the 1870s, when it was among the most popular songs sung by cowboys during that era. Ba ...

" with new lyrics by

Sidney Clare Sidney Clare (August 15, 1892 – August 29, 1972) was an American comedian, dancer and composer. His best-known songs include "On the Good Ship Lollipop" (introduced by Shirley Temple), " You're My Thrill" (recorded by Billie Holiday), and "Ple ...

. As an aside, ''

The Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' noted that in Withers's first stage performance at age three, she had impersonated "Ukulele Ike". Sam Garrett, a world champion

roper Roper is a craftsman who makes ropes; a ropemaker. It may also refer to: Places *Roper, North Carolina, USA *Roper River, Northern Territory, Australia People * Roper (surname) Other *'' Roper v. Simmons'', a decision of the United States Sup ...

, coached Withers and the fictional members of the "Lasso Girls" on the "art of lasso-twirling".

Casting

According to contemporary press releases, "many of the teenage actors won their roles in the picture after being filmed at Withers' thirteenth birthday party". Withers herself had made a

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...

film of her guests and showed it to producer John Stone, who was assigned the job of casting "types" for the film. Joe Brown Jr. was reportedly signed after being spotted by Wurtzel on a billboard advertisement for motor oil; he was also a skilled

dancer. Marion Reese, a member of the real "Lassos" pep squad, doubled for Withers in the film.

Music

The film features the songs "

", a traditional melody with new lyrics by

, and "Il bacio" ("The Kiss") by

Luigi Arditi Luigi Arditi (16 July 1822 – 1 May 1903) was an Italian violinist, composer and conductor. Life Arditi was born in Crescentino, Piemonte (Italy). He began his musical career as a violinist, and studied music at the Milan Conservatory under ...

Filming

Filming took place from August 7 to the beginning of September, 1939. Exterior shots were taken at Thomas Jefferson High School, while other scenes were filmed in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

. According to Frank Thompson, author of ''Texas Hollywood: Filmmaking in San Antonio Since 1910'', Withers did not film her scenes on location, but performed against a rear-projection screen; scenes of her in front of the school were filmed by a body double.

Release

The film was released on January 26, 1940.

Critical reception

The Jackson Sun ''The Jackson Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Jackson, Tennessee, and is one of western Tennessee's major newspapers, delivered to 13 counties. The newspaper is owned by Gannett. Its history dates back over 150 years. See also *List of ...

'' called ''High School'' "a remarkably good comedy" as well as an "authentic...picture of American high school life". '' The Evening News'' noted that Withers "graduates to adolescence" in this film. This review complimented her for dancing and singing "passably well"; it also said she "is developing a modest flair for low comedy". It also predicted a positive future for Joe Brown Jr., in teenage films, writing: "Anything but handsome, young Mr. Brown possesses the other virtues of acting ability and a decided infectious personality". The New York ''Daily News'' also observed the physical change in Withers, writing: "From a chubby lass of last year, she is stretching into a svelt and lissom sub-deb". While Withers performs with "her usual exuberance", this review acknowledged Brown's "freckle-faced, open-mouthed, slow-thinking" character for providing "a good foil for the sharpness and vivacity of the young star".

Notelist

References

External links

* * * {{George Nicholls, Jr. 1940 films 20th Century Fox films American teen comedy films 1940 comedy films Films directed by George Nicholls Jr. American black-and-white films 1940s high school films American high school films Films shot in California Films shot in San Antonio 1940s English-language films 1940s American films