Steven Spielberg is one of the pioneers of the modern blockbuster. After all, his film Jaws coined the term. The director and producer is also one of the co-founders of the studio Amblin Entertainment. The studio mainly produced family-friendly films like ET – The Extra-Terrestrial. Collider recently recalled a story in which the director had his name removed as producer from an Amblin work.
The 80s produced many high school comedies – but this one fell outside the grid
High school films were booming in the 80s. Comedies about pubescent students and their problems with bullies and first love were particularly successful at the box office. The film The Law of the High School was also set to follow this trend. Steven Spielberg produced the film and it was directed by Phil Joanou.
The dark comedy, however, was unlike many films of this timeespecially because the film follows the main plot very strictly. Faustrecht revolves around the good-natured Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko), who has to deal with the school bully Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson) – literally. After an accidental collision, Buddy challenges Jerry to a fight. Right up until the climax, Jerry tries everything to avoid this fight.
Here is another trailer for the film:
Three O’Clock High – Trailer (English)
Law of the Fist – Terror at High School was too dark for Spielberg
After the film was shot and edited, Spielberg decided he did not want to be credited as a producer. The film contradicted the image too muchthat Spielberg had built up for himself. The heavy focus on the end-of-school-day brawl was less lighthearted and much darker than other high school comedies at the time. Spielberg was uncomfortable with including this film in his production company’s portfolio and had his name removed.
The film flopped at the box office and also received bad reviews. This may have confirmed the legendary filmmaker’s decision. Nevertheless, the film achieved a certain cult status over time.