HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Three O'Clock High'' is a 1987 American teen
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Phil Joanou Phil Joanou (born November 20, 1961) is an American director of film, music videos, and television programs. He is known for his collaborations with the rock band U2, for whom he directed music videos and their 1988 documentary film ''Rattle a ...
. The script, about a meek high schooler who is forced into a fight with an unstable new transfer student, is based on the high school experiences of screenwriters Richard Christian Matheson and Thomas Szollosi. It was shot in
Ogden, Utah Ogden ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the United States Census ...
.


Plot

Meek high school student Jerry Mitchell and sister Brei are home alone while their parents vacation. The Weaver High School students this morning gossip about new student Buddy Revell, an allegedly violent psychopathic delinquent transferred from a continuation high school. Jerry's day begins at the school newspaper, where his best friend, Vincent Costello, is editor. Their journalism teacher suggests an article to welcome "new kid" Buddy and assigns Jerry an interview. Jerry sees Buddy in the restroom and clumsily attempts to introduce himself but realizes he is annoying Buddy. He tells Buddy to disregard the interview request, and taps Buddy's arm affably. Buddy, who has a touch phobia, throws Jerry against a wall and declares the pair will fight outside school at 3:00 P.M. Buddy warns that running away or reporting the incident would only worsen matters. As time runs out, Jerry tries different strategies to avoid fighting. Attempts to reason with Buddy don't work. Vincent plants a
switchblade A switchblade (also known as switch knife, automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, flick knife, gravity knife, flick blade, or spring knife) is a pocketknife with a sliding or pivoting blade contained in the handle which is extended ...
in Buddy's locker to get him kicked out of school; Brei advises Jerry to skip school, but in his mom's car Jerry finds the switchblade stuck in the steering wheel and ignition wires cut. Jerry tries to run, but overzealous security guard Duke catches him. Duke finds the switchblade and takes Jerry to Dean of Discipline Mr. Dolinski, who warns Jerry is under suspicion. Jerry's further attempts to avoid the fight are not successful, until he steals cash from the school's student store. Buddy ultimately accepts the cash to call off the fight, but proclaims Jerry a coward since he didn't even try to fight. Seized with self-loathing and anger, Jerry confronts Buddy and demands the money back. Buddy refuses, and Jerry agrees to the fight. The clock finally reaches the appointed hour, and the fight begins before hundreds of eager students. Principal O’Rourke tries to break it up, but when he touches Buddy's shoulder, Buddy punches him to the ground. Duke and Jerry's friend Franny also intervene, but Buddy knocks out Duke and pushes Franny aside. Jerry, though out-matched, stands his ground while being knocked down. Buddy takes out his
brass knuckles Brass knuckles (also referred to as brass knucks, knuckledusters, iron fist and paperweight, among other names) are a melee weapon used primarily in Hand to hand combat, hand-to-hand combat. They are fitted and designed to be worn around the kn ...
, but Vincent distracts him and he drops the weapon, which Brei picks up and slips to Jerry. Jerry desperately uses the brass knuckles to punch Buddy, knocking him out and winning the fight. During the subsequent excitement and police arrival, Buddy vanishes while Jerry is let go for the day. The next morning, students show Jerry their admiration and support. They buy individual sheets of paper for $1 from the school store to make up the missing cash. Buddy appears, silencing the crowd, and returns the money to Jerry. Weaver is filled with new gossip, as Jerry, now allegedly dating his crush Karen, replaces Buddy as hot topic. Rumors deviate far from the truth.


Cast


Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack is the thirty-first major release and ninth soundtrack album by
Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...
. Additional music was provided by
Sylvester Levay Sylvester Levay (originally Lévay Szilveszter, Serbian language, Serbian: Силвестер Леваи, ''Silvester Levai'') is a Hungarian people, Hungarian recording artist and composer, born in Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Life and career Levay ...
. The song, "Something to Remember Me By", was written and performed by Jim Walker.


Track listing


Personnel

*
Edgar Froese Edgar Willmar Froese (; 6 June 1944 – 20 January 2015) was a German musical artist and electronic music pioneer, best known for founding the electronic music group Tangerine Dream in 1967. Froese was the only continuous member of the gro ...
* Chris Franke * Paul Haslinger


Release


Box office

The film opened in 849 theaters nationwide on October 9, 1987, and earned $1,506,975 on its opening weekend, 40.9% of its total gross. The total lifetime gross is approximately $3,685,862, against the original budget of $5,000,000.


Critical response

The film earned mixed reviews, and has a "fresh" rating of 60% on
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, 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 ...
based on 15 critical reviews.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of ''The Chicago Sun-Times'' gave the film one out of four stars, declaring the plot to be "pretty stupid" and lamenting that the bully Buddy Revell, "the most interesting character", was underdeveloped.Ebert, Roger (1987).
Three O'Clock High
" 09 October 1987, retrieved 18 July 2020
In a retrospective review from 2016, critic Rob Hunter called the film "a wildly inventive and energetic look at the failures and successes of a typical high school day, and it shapes the daydreams and anxieties into an exaggerated delight". The dark tone of the film contrasted with other teen films of the time—so much so that executive producer
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
removed his name from the credits. In 2017, Adrian Halen wrote that ''Three O'Clock High'' was released in "an era when '' The Breakfast Club'', ''
Pretty in Pink ''Pretty in Pink'' is a 1986 American teen romantic comedy-drama film about love and social cliques in American high schools in the 1980s. The film stars Molly Ringwald, alongside Harry Dean Stanton, Jon Cryer, Annie Potts, James Spader, a ...
'', ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' is a 1986 American Teen film, teen comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughes. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Mia Sara, and Alan Ruck, with supporting roles from Jenn ...
'', '' National Lampoon’s Vacation'' and '' Weird Science'' were the general norm for moviegoers".


See also

* ''
High Noon ''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western (genre), Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in Real time (media), real time, centers ...
,'' 1952 film * '' Fist Fight,'' 2017 film * List of teen films


References


External links

* * * * * {{Tangerine Dream main albums discography 1987 films 1980s high school films 1980s teen comedy films American high school films American teen comedy films 1980s English-language films Films about bullying Films directed by Phil Joanou Films scored by Tangerine Dream Films shot in Utah Universal Pictures films 1987 directorial debut films 1987 comedy films Films with screenplays by Richard Christian Matheson 1980s American films