American Graffiti

American Graffiti is a 1973 film directed by George Lucas. It tells the story of a group of small-town middle-class American California teenagers on the last night of their High School Senior year. It is set in 1962 against the backdrop of commentary and music spun by disc jockey Wolfman Jack. The commentary is from his U.S. broadcasting studio that is linked to the transmitter of border-blaster XERB in Mexico.

More American Graffiti, a sequel, was released in 1979 to lukewarm critical and commercial reception.

Production

Stars

American Graffiti starred Richard Dreyfuss (Curt Henderson), Ron Howard (Steve Bolander), Paul Le Mat (John Milner), Charles Martin Smith (Terry Fields), Candy Clark, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford. It also featured one of the first major public appearances by disc jockey Wolfman Jack. Suzanne Somers had a small but notable part as a blonde in the Ford Thunderbird, and Kathleen Quinlan appears briefly (as a friend of Cindy Williams' character) at the school dance.

Script and location

The script was written by George Lucas, Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck. Although the movie was based upon the memories of George Lucas regarding his teenage years in Modesto, California, it was shot on location around San Rafael and Petaluma in the Bay Area of Northern California. It features Mels drive-in formerly located at 140 S. Van Ness in San Francisco, CA. The low-budget movie was mostly shot during night in less than a month.

Musical accuracy

The movie gained some of its popularity through its accurate reflection of period music. However, the depiction of Wolfman Jack broadcasting live from a local studio in California via a transmitter in Mexico is not accurate. Since provisions of the Brinkley Act forbade cross-border broadcasting, Wolfman taped his show in his Los Angeles studio and then had the tapes carried into Mexico to be broadcast from XERB's 50,000 watt transmitter site the following day.

Storyline

The film focuses on vignettes about the four young men: Curt, Steve, Terry, and John. Curt is not sure if he wants to go off to college, despite receiving a lodge scholarship, much to Steve's consternation. Steve, on the other hand, is not sure about his relationship with steady girlfriend Laurie, Curt's sister. Curt spends the whole night riding around in other people's cars obsessing about a mysterious blonde driving a white Ford Thunderbird.

John splits his time between trying to pick up girls, "baby-sitting" a precocious 14-year old girl, and defending his reputation as the fastest drag racer in town. Terry uses Steve's car to pick up a girl.

Ironically, by the end of the night it is Curt who goes off to college, while Steve decides to stay in town and settle down with Laurie. As the film closes, a series of onscreen title cards reveal the characters' ultimate fates: John gets killed by a drunk driver two years later, Terry is reported as missing in action in Vietnam, Steve becomes an insurance salesman, and Curt moves to Canada and becomes a writer.

Academy Awards

Award	Person
Nominated:
Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Candy Clark
Best Film Editing	Verna Fields Marcia Lucas
Best Director	George Lucas
Best Picture	Gary Kurtz Francis Ford Coppola
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced	Willard Huyck Gloria Katz George Lucas

The film is included in the National Film Registry.

Inspiration for TV series

The unexpected success of this film helped to inspire ABC to give the green light for the television series Happy Days, which also starred Ron Howard. Both shows also featured as their theme song "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets, which led to the song returning to the American record charts in 1974, 20 years after it was recorded.

Trivia

The scene in which the rear axle of a police car is pulled completely off was proven unlikely to actually happen in an episode of Season 1#Episode 10 .E2.80.94 .22Explosive Decompression.2C Frog Giggin.27.2C Rear Axle.22.
The 1975 film Cooley High, about several Black high school students in 1960s Chicago, is frequently compared to American Graffiti.

External link

Kip Pullman's American Graffiti Page

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