High School

Jane Withers is a beloved star who has made a splash in show business ever since she was mean to Shirley Temple in "Bright Eyes." She went on to make lots of movies at 20th Century-Fox, some of which she wrote and produced herself, and she grew up on screen. In the Fifties, George Stevens cast her in "Giant," and on TV she was famous as Josephine the Plumber in ads for Comet. She is bubbly and energetic and has a deep and abiding faith in God. In the new biography about Mary Wickes, it is revealed that Jane completed voice-over work begun by Mary for Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Because of the vicissitudes of American show business and Fox's (until recently) complete ignorance of the appeal of its library for home video fans, most of the work on which Jane's early career was founded has never been in circulation. Now, thanks to Fox Cinema Archives, some of this work is coming out at last. That said, I wish I could say this film is a delight, but it's pretty slow-going (and, at 74 minutes, that's saying something). In the movie "High School," "Jane" (her character's name) is perky and spunky and pig-headed, but underneath she's a smart gal and she learns loyalty and teamwork. The plot is strictly "B" material and veers off in the oddest directions, resulting in a Keystone Kops-like car chase and a brawl and a prom and ... oh, well ... none of it adds up. However, we do get to see Jane Withers as she was growing up (she would have been about 13 or 14 when she made this picture) and start to fill in the blanks in her career that we have been missing for so long. Personally, I'm delighted that Jane is still alive to see these releases begin to come out at last. This is a pricey DVD considering the movie; rent it if you can. (Interesting footnote: The Brian Sisters, an odd trio of young ladies who made unique harmonies and appeared in Fox musicals -- see "Kentucky Moonshine" -- are in "High School," too, but they sing a dull alma mater song and then are hustled offstage. There are no musical numbers in this film otherwise, except some marching-band type stuff, and Jane and Joe Brown, Jr. dancing at the end.) Other Jane Withers films now available include "Paddy O'Day," "Chicken Wagon Family," "Rascals," "The Farmer Takes A Wife," "Shooting High" (with Gene Autry, out for a few years now), "Always in Trouble," "Little Miss Nobody" and "Golden Hoofs."

Old fashion cute watchable Jane was great star one her best.Her boyfriend was interesting character great story she bit of no it all as usual arrogant nature but thats jane

I went to this High School and was delighted to find a copy of the film on DVD.

i have wanted this movie since I saw it and saw it only once but could not find it on dvd till now when I saw it I had to get it

Love Jane Withers

Enjoyed the movie very much.