ROCK ’N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL didn’t get massive hype when it first premiered in a handful of cities in 1979. However, the film was seen by Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, who gave it a glowing review, praising it as the perfect midnight movie. Watching the film today, it’s easy to see what Siskel and Ebert saw. The film is raucous, fun, and delightfully out of the realm of possibility. Though the protagonist, played by P.J. Soles, is an important component of the film, it is undeniable that the appearances by The Ramones make the film unforgettable. At first, director Allan Arkush wanted Cheap Trick to star in the film. But when he met The Ramones’ managers, he couldn’t picture the film without them.
According to journalist David Konow, Arkush was hoping to make a film reminiscent of A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, casting The Ramones as witty Beatles stand-ins. However, that did not quite pan out. Screenwriter Joseph McBride recalls, “When The Ramones showed up, they could hardly talk… they were not verbal people, actually rather monosyllabic. So Allan was smart enough to work around that. One of (famed French director) Jean Renoir’s pieces of advice was, ‘Never change an actor to fit the script. Change the script to fit the actor.’” Arkush noted, “They didn’t want to rehearse, although I tried to go over some of their lines, but that was kind of useless after a while. When we shot a scene, they either said it well or they didn’t.”
The Ramones’ laissez-faire attitude turned out to be the perfect persona for their roles as rock gods. It is easy to see how they inspired a legion of fans, not only the teens in the film, to worship them as idols.
— Diana Martinez, Film Streams Education Director
