This movie was part of a two-picture deal (the other movie being Hot Rod Gang) between producers Charles "Buddy" Rogers, who was the husband of "America's Sweetheart" Mary Pickford, and Ferde Grofe Jr., son of the composer Ferde Grofe, 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.
The film was condemned by PTA groups in Los Angeles.
In October 1958, at an American International Pictures luncheon for the Theaters Owners Association of America, producer Jerry Wald 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 responded by stating "I'd rather take my children to see these pictures than God's Little Acre."
Director Edward Bernds stated that he "never made a dime" on High School Hellcats until it sold to TV.