High School Big Shot

High School Big Shot (1959)

** (out of 4)

Drive-in era drama about a nerdy teen who gets his shot at the big time when he hears about a million dollar drop off. If you're a fan of these teenage "B" films of the 50s then this here is certainly one of the better ones but we're certainly a long way off from Rebel Without a Cause. The film runs out of steam around the fifty minute mark but the bad acting leads to some nice laughs.

High School Caesar (1960)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

A bully fixes a vote so that he can be elected Class President where he then plans on stealing even more money from students. Here's another drive-in era teen flick that tries to tell a message but even at just over 60-minutes this thing drags along. No camp value whatsoever and not bad enough to get any laughs. Just plain dull.

Date Bait (1960)

* (out of 4)

Romeo and Juliet type story of a rich girl who falls for a poor kid. Her father is against them dating as is her ex-boyfriend who just happens to be crazy and has a gangster for an older brother. Bad acting, bad direction and a bad script make for a pretty bad film that feels five times longer than it actually is. The title song is a real hoot however.

Times I look back to high school and it amazes me that I never went lower than Marvin did in this BAD film.

Poor Marv is the main character who's bad luck just gets worse and worse. Despite his intelligence, he manages to get bullied, exploited, supports his lousy deadbeat Dad, and plenty more goof-ups including a daring heist which let's say doesn't go fully to plan. Of course, the viewer feels no empathy with anyone in this film, so all this disastrous gloom bounces off like harmless zeta rays. Recommended for those days you're feeling down, pop this film in and you'll smile and say, "I'm so glad I'm not Marv!"

My favorite riff from High School Big Shots airing on the best show ever. While being aired on MST3K is a sure sign of being a clunker this film actually has a bit to offer and the story has been regurgitated countless times in bigger budget modern day action pictures, Dead Presidents and Revevoir Dogs (which is itself a shot by shot rip off of a Hong Kong action picture) to name a couple. Not to say H.S.B.S was any sort of originator but it's certainly watchable without the zingers flying from Mike and the Bots. This thing oozes cheese but it also maintains a nice grit. Poor Marv gets screwed out of a sure college scholarship after being duped by some bimbo, dad's a suicidal drunk, the big heist is an obvious debacle waiting to happen and when it does unravel people die. Like I said , High School Big Shot wasn't an originator but it has it's imitators and thats something you can't say for many MSTied movies.

I often get a kick out of watching movies from the 1950s and 1960s aimed at the youth market, since more often than not they have a campy edge. (I wonder what people several decades from now will think of youth movies from my generation!) "High School Big Shot" does have its share of unintended humor. It isn't filled with big laughs (though the line about Rock Hudson is a howl), but there are plenty of chuckles, such as the "teen" actors who haven't been teenagers for years. Actually, the surprising thing about the movie is that it has a real cynical edge - most of the characters are flawed and/or corrupt to some degree or another. The one problem I had with the movie is that even at a brief running time (just 60 minutes), it feels considerably padded. However, I will admit that all the same the movie made me interested to see how things would be wrapped up at the end. Maybe it's not worth actively seeking out, but if you should stumble across it, it does have some entertainment for those into ancient juvenile delinquent quickies.

While I, like my fellow commentators, enjoyed the MST3K send-up of this flick, I also agree with them that "High School Big Shot" definitely had some redeeming values.

The biggest value: the acting. For such a low-budget movie, the actors did a very good job. Tom Pittman pulled off the difficult task of making the audience sympathize with Marvin Grant, but not excuse his behavior. As his world goes to hell, destroyed by petty greed (both his own and others), the pain is evident on his face. His father, played by Malcolm Atterbury, comes off as a mainly honest, good guy who's made a few mistakes that have continually haunted him. As Betty Alexander, Virginia Aldridge plays the perfect conniving ice queen, and Howard Veit breathes convincing life into brainless jock Vince Rumbo (now THERE'S a name!).

But the true standouts are Stanley Adams and Louis Quinn as Harry March and Samuel Tallman, respectively. Although they have limited screentime, they effortlessly make you believe that here are lawbreakers with honor. As Harry says, "I am a thief, not a crook." You know that if you hire these two as part of your caper, they won't doublecross you and will stay with you until the bitter end. To once again quote Harry, they are the "last of the gentlemen;" criminals with hearts of slightly tarnished gold. Adams and Quinn truly shine in the roles.

The writing and directing by Joel M. Rapp is serviceable, and Carlo Lodato's editing works fine. Gerald Fried contributes a very nice score to this picture.

Overall, I'd have to recommend checking out this picture, whether the original or the MSTreatment.