Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Bloody Pit #4 - ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979)


The Bloody Pit returns with a show focused on a comedy! I would never have thought I'd be covering a comedy on the podcast but my buddy John Hudson convinced me and I'm glad he did. This is my first show with Mr. Hudson and with any luck it won't be the last. He is a damned good podcaster so far and his perspective is a unique one. He certainly keeps me on my toes!

ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL is a Roger Corman production from 1979 that manages to be both a wonderful time capsule and rather timeless. As a teen comedy it is great but as a slice of rock & roll history its a classic. Where else are you going to get to see The Ramones try to act? Or Paul Bartel attending a rock concert? Or Mary Warnov blowing up (fake) mice in a lab experiment? This has been a cult film since its release and its cable TV screenings in the 1980s probably cemented its reputation in the eyes of many people long ago. Its a low-budget, scattershot and often silly movie that has great characters and a lot of heart which is another way of saying it is truly endearing and fun. Of course, the amazing people behind the camera deserve a lot of praise and we take the opportunity to discuss a number of them as we go along. We even have the great good luck to have a brief interview with Riff Randell herself about ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL! That's right- Mr. Hudson got to sit down recently with the legendary P. J. Soles and discuss the film and her memories of the shoot. Very cool! We can't thank her enough for being so nice and so generous with her time. What a sweet lady! So settle in and enjoy!

Please feel free to write in with your thoughts on the show to thebloodypit@gmail.com and let us know what your first Ramones album was. Let us know what band you think might have made for an equally entertaining film made in 1979 with this crew of filmmakers. Thank you for listening and we'll see you again soon. You can grab the show from the DropBox link below or from iTunes.






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