High School Caesar

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.

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.

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.

Girls in flared skirts, high school hops, big-finned cars and road races, so what else can geezer refugees from the 50's ask for. Okay, maybe the jd's don't look so tough throwing their weight around, but this is a middle-west, middle-class town, not Big City. Seems teen Ashley runs his classmates like a minor Al Capone. He's got his gang he keeps in line with threats and payoffs. Money comes in from test copies for sale, fees paid to the hops, and other services and shakedowns. Note that there's no mention of drugs or even alcohol among the teens, likely a Production Code result. Trouble is our teen Caesar's dedicated to a gold coin Dad gave him, and that leaves an ironical trail.

It's a well-crafted drive-in flick, but nothing memorable. Fortunately, Ashley mimics a high school hoodlum as well any Hollywood pretty boy could. For action, there's some knuckle bashing and pushing around. Too bad, however, the hop dancing is so modest- no swirling skirts or flashing legs, darn it. Then there're some not very convincing road races, maybe because of careless editing. Surprisingly, filming was done on location in Missouri; too bad we don't see more of the local neighborhoods. That would be an interesting non-Hollywood glimpse.

(In passing-- I just finished actor Steve Stevens' reminiscence on his acting years. In the movie he plays Cricket, Ashley's compliant go-fer. In the book, Stevens surprisingly describes having been a part-time go-fer for notorious LA gangster Mickey Cohen! Which I guess proves that old adage about truth being stranger than fiction.)

Anyway, the movie's a decent time-passer for 50's geezers like me, and maybe even those younger folks interested in seeing power plays among the well-scrubbed.

I often get a kick out of juvenile delinquent movies from the 1950 to early 1960s since they more often than not come across as campy by today's standards. "High School Caesar" was one movie I wanted to see for a long time but could not locate. I finally found and watched it today, and I have to admit I was kind of let down. Certainly, there are campy elements, like the actors portraying teens who are clearly too old for their roles, and the movie laying the blame for the title figure's actions completely on the shoulders of his absent parents. But for the most part, the movie moves at a kind of slow pace and seems padded even at seventy minutes long. Too bad, because the premise of the movie was promising; had the movie been treated with more competence or had gone down a more exploitive route, we might have had something here.

John Ashley stars as rich kid Matt Stevens, who is the Don Corleone of his high school. He runs a protection racket, skims money off the high school dances, and sells exams to students too lazy to study. He also manages to get elected Class President, but Al Gore cries foul.

The Principal, who is played by I don't know who, calls newly-elected Ashley into his office to discuss a "problem" at the school - seems some kids are getting roughed up. Hey Mr. Principal - check out the guys wearing the leather jackets - that's a clue. Imbecile. You're now qualified to be Superintendent.

Ashley's buddy is named "Cricket," whose whining will have you yearning for some pesticides. Daria Massey, who plays Ashley's girlfriend "Lita," regularly wears tight dresses to school. Apparently, there was no dress code back then. She also works for the Principal, so maybe something was going on around the mimeograph machine. Judy Nugent plays "Wanda," the new blonde at the school. Cricket wants Matt to "set him up" with Wanda (I love this 60s talk), but Wanda is more interested in "Bob," played by Gary Vinson - the only recognizable actor in this, aside from Ashley.

Ashley organizes a road race (entrance fee - two bucks) and puts up his gold coin as the prize. He loses to his rival (the guy he beat for Class Prez), and decides he is gonna get his coin back. Exit the rival. Ashley plays with his coin more often than Captain Queeg plays with his steel balls.

The director goes for some Shakespearean symbolism (I think) at the climax, when virtually everyone turns on Ashley. "Not you too, Crickett??" Ashley moans. Yes, I can see the resemblance between Ashley and Louis Calhern.

This film isn't half bad. Ashley always seemed better at playing the part of a slick scumbag than an ineffectual hero (see his useless performance in "Frankenstein's Daughter"). And we're also spared his singing. Of course, he was more successful as a producer, if you call The A-Team art. The actors are all in their 20s, so they are not too convincing as high school students. Then again, this IS 1960, and students were actually "retained" back then, before school systems got tired of lawsuits. I suppose it's conceivable that 20-year-olds could still be stuck in high school - it's the algebra that kills them, I tell you. Which reminds me - Crickett has difficulty figuring 10 percent of $75. Some things never change.

Oh, I'm no animal expert, but Ashley promises to buy the school a bulldog. Whatever he buys isn't even close.

Usually a big fan of these teenage 50s era flicks, I was not thrilled with this one. It shows the usual 20 something "teenagers" but no one much else is seen in the entire movie. For example, in one scene a phone call is made to the police for help by the owner of the local hangout, but no cops are ever shown in the entire picture. The only good point was the use of real rock n roll music instead of the usual jazz or swing sound which are often heard(incorrectly)as teen dance music of the day.