Three O'Clock High

Three O'Clock High is a 1987 high-school comedy film, directed by Phil Joanou, written by Richard Christian Matheson and Thomas Szollosi, and produced by Aaron Spelling. It was filmed at Ogden High School in Ogden, Utah, but, in part, was inspired by Joanou's own experiences at La Canada High School. Though it did not do very well at the box office, the film is a minor cult classic among high school films. It shows high school as most people remember it, with mundane days punctuated by occasional thrills.

The term "three o'clock high" is a play on words, a war-time aviation term using clock position for an enemy that is above and to the right, and a High Noon confrontation that takes place at 3:00 p.m. (in a western high school). Like Gary Cooper in High Noon, Jerry Mitchell is powerless to keep the march of time from bringing an appointment with a frightening enemy. During the film, Jerry runs through a typical high school day: working at the student store, the school paper class, a science film, a pep rally, World History, English Literature, Algebra 2, getting sent to the office, and facing a bully. But the film also is like the daydream world of a frustrated high school senior, punctuated with increasingly fantastic events as he goes through his day. Siemaszko, and the rest of the cast, are plain looking actors portraying ordinary students and teachers. Unusual photography, camera angles, zooms and closeups characterize the film, along with slow motion...
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