HIGH SCHOOL CAESAR (1960) ***

John Ashley stars as Matt, a juvenile delinquent who runs a low-rent racketeering operation out of his high school.  Together with his hoodlum friends, they routinely shake down their fellow classmates.  This of course means he’s a natural fit for politics.  Matt rigs the election to get himself voted president of the student body and uses his newfound powers to have his flunkies steal test answers, which they sell for a profit.  The seeds of his downfall are sewn when he accidentally kills a classmate in a fit of road rage and flees the scene.

High School Caesar has everything you could possibly want in a juvenile delinquent movie.  It’s populated with greasers in leather jackets, flunkies with names like “Cricket” and “Stick”, hot rods, and teenagers dancing to rock n’ roll in malt shops.  This one is just different enough to distinguish itself from the rest of the pack.  For instance, most JD flicks feature drag racing.  In this one, it’s a big road race with over a dozen entrants tearing hell down a dirt road.  

I also appreciated the fact that the adults were largely absent from the picture.  That means there’s no useless subplots about town sheriffs warning teens about speeding or lame scenes of teachers trying to “reach” their students.  In fact, much is made about Ashley’s absentee parents being the cause of his delinquency.  He’s really just a misunderstood mixed-up kid looking for attention who’s lashing out because his rich daddy never hugged him.  Heck, he probably would’ve been okay if his dad called him now and again.

Writer/director/producer O’Dale Ireland only made one other movie, Date Bait, which was High School Caesar’s co-feature when it played on drive-in double bills.  That’s unfortunate too because he does a fine job, especially on the racing scenes.  He also gives the finale, in which Ashley’s peers turn on him, a dreamlike quality that is unlike many similar genre films of the time.