The Pom Pom Girls

The Pom Pom Girls (also known as Palisades High) is a 1976 American film directed by Joseph Ruben. The screenplay was written by Ruben and based on a story by him and Robert J. Rosenthal. The movie was shot on location at Chaminade High School in Los Angeles.[2] The Pom Pom Girls is a teensploitation film, female relationships and cheerleaders in locations that are "any town" American. Disobedient teens in a date movie with romance and sex, plenty of outdoor activities, stunts that are coordinated for actors and actresses, and indoor activities for a new audience.[3]

The Pom Pom Girls
Movie Poster
Directed byJoseph Ruben
Produced byJoseph Ruben
Marilyn Jacobs Tenser
Screenplay byJoseph Ruben
Story byJoseph Ruben
Robert J. Rosenthal
StarringRobert Carradine
Jennifer Ashley
Music byMichael Lloyd
CinematographyStephen M. Katz
Edited byGeorge Bowers
Distributed byCrown International Pictures
Release date
  • May 1976 (1976-05) (United States)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$26 million[1]

Taglines
  • "They Were the Girls of Our Dreams ..."
  • "Seniors enjoying a final fling before graduation."
  • "It was their senior year... the last chance to raise hell!"
  • "How can anyone forget the girls who really turned us on?"

Plot

A football player falls for a girl who is dating another guy, while another cannot figure out which girl he likes.

The big game against rival Hardin High School is looming while a full scale prank war is underway.[4]

Production

The modest profits of the prior exploitation/teensploitation film The Cheerleaders (1975) inspired The Pom Pom Girls writers with cheerleader themes and scenes. Easy Rider had an influence on the film, the huge success of that film had film makers like the scriptwriters Robert Rosenthal and Joseph Ruben, who is the director, include the theme of the value of freedom.[5] Many shots and automobiles were included, drive-in restaurant, "suicide chicken" race, many scenes of nostalgia that was incorporated from the present day. Even a tagline was borrowed form the ‘50s picture', the exploitation flick The Rebel without a Cause (1955). The tagline "How can anyone ever forget the girls who really turned us on?", is a promotional line and used in the films cover art, and is to express nostalgia.

Principal cast
ActorRole
Robert CarradineJohnnie
Jennifer AshleyLaurie
Michael MullinsJesse
Lisa ReevesSally
Bill AdlerDuane
James GammonCoach
Sondra LowellMiss Pritchett
Susan PlayerSu Ann

Reception

The film earned $4.3 million in rentals during its initial release.[6]

DVD

This film has been issued on Too Cool For School: 12 Movie Collection from Mill Creek Entertainment September 29, 2009 and on The Starlite Drive-In Theater: (The Pom Pom Girls / The Van ) from BCI / Eclipse September 26, 2006

References
  1. Gross, Linda (Feb 12, 1978). "A Woman's Place Is in... Exploitation Films?: A Trend-Setter in the Youth Market Women in Exploitation Films". Los Angeles Times. p. 34.
  2. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075086/locations
  3. Thomas, Bryan. ""The Pom Pom Girls": How a plotless 1976 teensploitation flick led to the rise of the slasher film". Nightflight. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  4. "Pom Pom Girls, The (1976) – Overview". TCM. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  5. Thomas, Bryan. ""The Pom Pom Girls": How a plotless 1976 teensploitation flick led to the rise of the slasher film". Nightflight. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  6. Richard Nowell, Blood Money: A History of the First Teen Slasher Film Cycle Continuum, 2011 p 256


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