''Roller Boogie'' is a 1979 American romantic

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

starring

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The film ...

and Jim Bray, a former competitive artistic skater from California. The film also stars

Beverly Garland Beverly Lucy Garland (née Fessenden; October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American actress. Her work in feature films primarily consisted of small parts in a few major productions or leads in low-budget action or science-fiction movie ...

Mark Goddard Mark Goddard (born Charles Harvey Goddard; July 24, 1936) is an American actor who has starred in a number of television programs. He is probably best known for portraying Major Don West in the CBS series ''Lost in Space'' (1965–1968). He ...

and

Kimberly Beck Kimberly Beck (born January 9, 1956) is a former American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Trish Jarvis in Joseph Zito's '' Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter'' (1984). Her other film roles include Alfred Hitchcock's ''Marni ...

, and is directed by

Mark L. Lester Mark L. Lester (born November 26, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, and Film producer, producer. He is known as a prolific director of cult films, including the disco musical ''Roller Boogie'' (1979), the vigilante thriller fil ...

. The film is set in the

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed b ...

suburb of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

at the height of the

roller skating Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sid ...

fad of the late 1970s. Two characters, Bobby James (Bray) and Terry Barkley (Blair), fall in love while boogie skating to

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

music. Along the way they must thwart a powerful mobster who wants the land their favorite

roller rink A roller rink is a hard surface usually consisting of hardwood or concrete, used for roller skating or inline skating. This includes roller hockey, speed skating, roller derby, and individual recreational skating. Roller rinks can be located i ...

sits on and compete in the Boogie Contest. The film received mostly negative reviews during its theatrical release, though it was a box office success. In recent years, it has become a cult classic and a time capsule of the late 1970s disco era.

Plot

Bobby James and his friends ("Phones", "Hoppy", "Gordo", and several others) skate to work on the

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of bridge ...

. Meanwhile, in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

, Terry Barkley, a genius flautist is also heading towards the beach in her Excalibur Phaeton automobile. She also is joined by her snobbish girlfriend Lana. Bobby is skating on the boardwalk with a female friend when he encounters Terry. But she remains aloof and spurns his advance. They later meet at a local roller rink called Jammer's. During a near catastrophic skating incident where Bobby saves the day, she gives in. Terry wants to pay him to teach her how to skate for the

Roller Disco A roller disco is a discothèque or skating rink where all the dancers wear roller skates of some kind (traditional quad or inline). The music played is modern and easily danceable, historically disco but in modern times including almost any form ...

contest. Even though they share a flirty, romantic couples skate, later on she rebuffs him yet again. The next day has both Terry and Bobby getting flack from their respected friends and family. She has had enough and goes to the beach. She finds Bobby there, practicing a jump and turns on the charm. He shares with her his dream to become an Olympic Roller Skater. They end up making out on the beach. Bobby asks her if she's going to pay him for sex as well, which garners a mighty slap in return and she takes off. Terry goes home and has a row with her mother. She wants to give up her dreams of playing Classical Flute at

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

and win a roller disco contest at the beach. Her mother is shocked, enough so she needs a

Valium Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, a ...

. Terry decided to run away. The next morning, she calls and invites Bobby to breakfast where she apologizes. He wants to skate with her, but on his terms: no money; he calls the shots. Through a series of outdoor scenes, we see them work together to form a routine. Unfortunately, Jammer's is about to be sold to a ruthless mob developer. Bobby and Terry are clued into this plot and try to get her father, a lawyer, to help. But he refuses. While Terry is performing at a lush outdoor party, some of the young men sneak up, causing chaos. As a result, a group of distinguished guests falls into the swimming pool. This ruins the concert, as well as the party and its ceremonial cake. Terry gets reprimanded and slapped by her father for her running away, as well as for hanging out with her radical friends. The skaters find evidence, in the form of a cassette tape recording of the invalid ordeal, to kill the deal. Through a wild chase on the streets near the canal zone of Venice, they race to get it to the cops on time. They do, the mobsters are hauled off and the Boogie Contest is on. Terry and Bobby skate their routine and win. Later on, back at the beach Terry and Bobby share a sad goodbye. Both promise to write each other as she heads off to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and he heads off to the Olympics.

Cast

as Terry Barkley * Jim Bray as Bobby James *

as Lillian Barkley *

Roger Perry Roger Perry (May 7, 1933 – July 12, 2018) was an American film and television actor whose career began in the late 1950s. He served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force during the early 1950s. Career Television In th ...

as Roger Barkley * James Van Patten as "Hoppy" *

as Lana *

Sean McClory Séan Joseph McClory (8 March 1924 – 10 December 2003) was an Irish actor whose career spanned six decades and included well over 100 films and television series. He was sometimes billed as Shawn McGlory or Sean McGlory. Early years M ...

as "Jammer" Delany *

as Thatcher * Albert Insinnia as "Gordo" *

Stoney Jackson Stonewall W. "Stoney" Jackson (born Alwyn Jackson on February 27, 1960) is an American actor. Jackson was born in Richmond, Virginia. Career He was featured in numerous teen magazines in the 1970s and 1980s, including ''Right On'', ''Teen Beat ...

as "Phones" *

M.G. Kelly Gary D. Sinclair (born 1952), known professionally as Michael Gary "M.G." Kelly and Machine Gun Kelly, is an American actor, disc jockey, and radio personality. In addition to hosting several radio programs over the years, Kelly has held severa ...

as D.J. * Christopher S. Nelson as Franklin * Patrick Wright as Sergeant Danner * Dorothy Meyer as Ada * Shelley Golden as Mrs. Potter * Bill Ross as Nick * Carey Fox as Sonny * Rick Sciacca as "Complete Control" Conway *

Nina Axelrod Nina Kether Axelrod (born July 28, 1955) is an American actress who appeared in films and television mainly during the late 1970s through the early 1980s. Since the early 1990s, she has worked as a casting director on films and taught drama in sc ...

as Bobby's Friend * Helanie Lembeck as "Chiquie" (uncredited) *

Lynn Herring Sheryl Lynn Herring (born September 22, 1958) is an American soap opera actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Lucy Coe on the long-running soap opera ''General Hospital'' which she has played on and off since 1986. Early life Herri ...

as Featured Skater (uncredited)

Development

''Roller Boogie'' was written by Barry Schneider with

Irwin Yablans Irwin Yablans (born July 25, 1934) is an American independent film producer and distributor known for his work in the horror film industry. His brother, Frank Yablans, was also a producer. Life and career Yablans was born to a Jewish family ...

, who is credited with creating the story. Yablans' Compass International Pictures, founded with Joseph Wolfe, would distribute the movie. Compass International Pictures had unprecedented success the previous year with

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

's slasher ''

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

''. In between ''Halloween'' and ''Roller Boogie'', the company would distribute three other titles, '' Nocturna'', ''Fyre'' and ''

Tourist Trap A tourist trap is an establishment (or group of establishments) that has been created or re-purposed with the aim of attracting tourists and their money. Tourist traps will typically provide overpriced services, entertainment, food, souvenir ...

'', the latter the most successful of the three. In an earlier version of the script, Bobby James' primary interest was songwriting. In the movie, Bobby and friends were trying to write a new song by humming into a tape recorder. Once he meets Terry, she assists him in scoring it using her musical abilities. By the movie's ending, Terry leaves for her music scholarship whilst Bobby pursues his musical career. There is no mention of the Olympics in the earlier version. Another scene that does not feature in the movie that was present in the script comes where Bobby helps Terry escape from her bedroom after she is grounded by her parents. However, this scene was shot since there are photos in various publicity items with Jim Bray peeking through a window on a ladder. All of the skating sequences and the dancing sequences were choreographed by David Winters and were instrumental in the success of the movie. Prior to the production of the picture, skating trainer Barbara Guedel tested over 300 young skaters, finally selecting fifty that would make up the skating crowds in the picture – many of whom would also feature in another skating-influenced picture, '' Xanadu'' (1980). The ensemble were then given three weeks of training before the photography began, and, at the behest of their managers/producers, the principal actors were only on roller-skates for short periods of time. However, Blair did much of her own skating for the picture. Two stunt doubles were used, one for the skating chase around the streets of Venice – Barbara Guedel would perform the trickier dancing stunts in the competition sequence. Blair would develop bursitis in her hip during the making of the picture. The film was shot in eight weeks through the Summer of 1979, mostly on the Venice boardwalks but also at the nearby acclaimed Marina Del Rey skatepark, in Beverly Hills and, for the final competition sequence, at The Stardust Ballroom in Hollywood.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film largely draws on the

sound that was popular in the late 1970s. A double-LP soundtrack was issued by

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently f ...

in 1979. Almost all of the tracks were written directly for the movie by Bob Esty and Michelle Aller. Esty/Aller had at the time recently scored a sizable hit, writing

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

's disco-single " Take Me Home". Incidentally, they produced Cher's accompanying LP of the same name, as well as the ill-fated follow-up, ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

''. Cher would contribute one song to the Roller Boogie soundtrack – the Esty produced "

Hell on Wheels Hell on Wheels was the itinerant collection of flimsily assembled gambling houses, dance halls, saloons, and brothels that followed the army of Union Pacific railroad workers westward as they constructed the First transcontinental railroad in 186 ...

", used in the opening sequence. The track originally featured on the ''Prisoner'' album, and a rare accompanying video clip featuring Cher roller-skating also appeared around the same time as the release of the movie. The "Hell on Wheels" Japanese single includes another Prisoner album track, the 12" version of "Git Down (Guitar Groupie)", which is advertised as "Theme from Roller Boogie". However, the song does not appear in the movie. This single features a still of Linda Blair and Jim Bray on the cover. The song " Lord Is It Mine", performed by Bob Esty, was originally written by

Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending pro ...

Roger Hodgson Charles Roger Pomfret Hodgson (born 21 March 1950) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former co-frontman and founding member of progressive rock band Supertramp. Hodgson composed and sang the majority of the band’ ...

for their LP ''

Breakfast in America ''Breakfast in America'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Supertramp, released by A&M Records on 29 March 1979. It was recorded in 1978 at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles. It spawned four US ''Billboard'' hit singles: "The ...

''. He also performed the tracks "Summer Love", "Rollin' Up a Storm" and "Roller Boogie". The segued opening tracks of side two of the double LP, "Electronix (Roller Dancin')", and the Latin-disco instrumental "Cunga", are credited to Bob Esty and Cheeks. Craig Safan composed cues for the film's original score, however, the film tends to rely on actual songs as opposed to instrumental pieces. Along with "Hell on Wheels", the other song on the soundtrack that was previously available prior to the soundtrack release is

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...

's well-known disco single, "Boogie Wonderland", featuring the female group, the Emotions. Only two songs featured in the film do not appear on the soundtrack, Jean Shy's "Night Dancer", which appears in the movie when Terry first visits the roller-disco rink. And Dave Mason plays his hit from two years before the film, "We Just Disagree". Side A: # "

" –

(5:32) # "Good Girls" – Johnnie Coolrock (3:38) # "All for One, One for All" – Mavis Vegas Davis (4:20) # "

Boogie Wonderland "Boogie Wonderland" is a song by American band Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions, released in April 1979 on Columbia Records as the first single from their ninth album, ''I Am'' (1979). The song peaked at number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' danc ...

" –

Earth Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million ...

(4:48) Side B: # "We've Got the Power" – Ron Green (5:15) # "Top Jammer" – Cheeks (4:12) # "Summer Love" – Bob Esty (3:53) # "Takin' My Life in My Own Hands" – Ron Green (5:25) Side C: # "Electronix (Roller Dancin')" – Bob Esty & Cheeks (5:00) # "Cunga" – Bob Esty (4:54) # "Evil Man" – Mavis Vegas Davis (4:17) # "Lord is it Mine" – Bob Esty (4:26) Side D: # "Rollin' up a Storm (The Eye of the Hurricane)" – Bob Esty (6:30) # "The Roller Boogie" – Bob Esty (6:09) # "Love Fire" – Bob Esty & Michelle Aller (4:54)

Release

The film was promoted with a lengthy trailer in the autumn of 1979, before the premiere in New York City in early December. The film was released nationally on December 23. The film grossed $13.2 million at the box office, proving popular with teen audiences. Initially, Compass International Pictures planned on a sequel (to be set in Mexico—Acapulco Roller Boogie); however, probably due to the end of the disco fad, the idea was scrapped. According to a

Teen Beat ''Teen Beat'' is an American magazine geared towards teenaged readers, published from 1967–c. 2007. Over its history, the magazine had multiple teen idols on its cover, including John Travolta, David Cassidy, Leif Garrett, Menudo, Michael J. ...

article published in 1980, Linda Blair intended on moving away from the

horror genre Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian ...

in favor of more lighthearted pictures such as ''Roller Boogie'', but returned to the genre the following year in another Compass International Pictures-produced movie, ''

Hell Night ''Hell Night'' is a 1981 American slasher film directed by Tom DeSimone, written by Randy Feldman, and starring Linda Blair. The film depicts a night of fraternity hazing set in an old manor, during which a deformed killer terrorizes and murders ...

'' (1981). Jim Bray did not appear in any other films after ''Roller Boogie'', despite achieving something of pin-up status in teen magazines largely based on his appearance in the film. Stoney Jackson would appear in the third and final season of '' The White Shadow'' as Jesse B. Mitchell before its cancellation in 1981, and in

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's music video "

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song on the album. Jackson l ...

" (1983). He also appeared in

Diane Lane Diane Colleen Lane (born January 22, 1965) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Lane made her screen debut at age 14 in George Roy Hill's 1979 film ''A Little Romance''. The two films that could have catapulted her to star ...

's movie ''

Streets of Fire ''Streets of Fire'' is a 1984 American neo-noir rock musical film directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross. It is described in the opening credits and posters as "A Rock & Roll Fable" and is a mix of various movie genres wi ...

'' (1984) as the lead singer of a doo wop group. In August 2006, fashion brand

American Apparel American Apparel Inc. is an online-only retailer and former brick-and-mortar stores operator based in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Canadian businessman Dov Charney in 1989, it was a vertically integrated company that ranked as one of the l ...

played the movie in store windows in New York City. Matthew Swenson, the company's fashion media director, stated, "We became obsessed with that movie. On a whim, we also bought lamé fabric and turned them into leggings, and the gold and silver took off." Despite a weighted average vote of 3.7/10 on the Internet Movie Database (and also a rare 0% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

), the film has developed a loyal following and is seen as something of a time-capsule of the late 1970s and the disco era. The film is considered a

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

. The film is listed in

Golden Raspberry Awards The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

founder John Wilson's book ''The Official Razzie Movie Guide'' as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.

Home media

''Roller Boogie'' was released on DVD by

MGM Home Entertainment Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC (d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video division of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. History 1 ...

on August 24, 2004, as a Region 1 widescreen DVD. ''Roller Boogie'' was released on Blu-ray for the first time by Olive Films on July 7, 2015.

References

External links

* * * *
Roller Boogie
- Unofficial Fan Site {{Mark L. Lester 1979 films 1979 comedy-drama films 1970s teen comedy-drama films 1970s romantic comedy-drama films American teen comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films American teen romance films Disco films 1970s English-language films Films directed by Mark L. Lester Films scored by Craig Safan Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Roller skating films United Artists films 1970s American films