{{short description|1985 film by Alan Holleb}} {{for|similar terms|School Spirits (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox film | name = School Spirit | image = School spirit 85.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Alan Holleb | producer = Ashok Amritraj<br>Jeff Begun | writer = Geoffrey Baere | narrator = | starring = {{plainlist| * Tom Nolan * Roberta Collins * Larry Linville }} | music = Tom Bruner | cinematography = Robert Ebinger | editing = Sonya Sones | production_companies = Chroma III Productions<br>Amritraj | distributor = Concorde Pictures | released = {{Film date|1985|10|25}} | runtime = 90 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = }}
'''''School Spirit''''' is a 1985 American supernatural sex comedy film directed by Alan Holleb, and starring Tom Nolan, Roberta Collins, and Larry Linville. It follows a college student who is killed in a car accident and returns as a ghost to haunt his school.
It was one of the first films from Roger Corman's new distribution company, Concorde Pictures, along with films like ''Barbarian Queen'', ''Loose Screws'', ''Cocaine Wars'', and ''Wheels of Fire''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Handicapping the Oscar Field|last=London|first=Michael|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 22, 1985|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Cocaine Wars' Toe the Low-Budget Line|author=Wilmington, Michael|work=Los Angeles Times|date= February 10, 1986|page=7}}</ref> Corman said he had to form his own distribution company because the owners of New World Pictures — which he sold — refused to distribute this and ''Wheels of Fire''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Corman, New World Sue In A Battle For Control|date=March 6, 1985|first=MICHAEL|last=LONDON|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-03-06-ca-26193-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>
==Plot== A college student gets into a car crash and becomes a special kind of ghost who can make himself invisible or corporeal at will. He takes advantage of his powers to pursue his fellow female students, during the infamous "Hog Day".
==Cast== {{cast listing| *Tom Nolan as Billy Batson *Danièle Arnaud as Madeleine *Elizabeth Foxx as Judith Hightower *John Finnegan as Pinky Batson *Larry Linville as President Grimshaw *Roberta Collins as Helen Grimshaw *Marta Kober as Ursula Grimshaw *Nick Segal as Gregg *Frank Mugavero as Lasky *Toni Hudson as Rita }}
==Production== The film was based on an idea of Geoffrey Bare called ''College Ghost'' about a campus Casanova who comes back as a ghost to help a nerd get laid. He pitched it unsuccessfully, but director Allan Holleb felt it had possibilities. They adjusted the script and ended up selling it to Roger Corman, who had worked with Holleb on ''Candy Stripe Nurses''. Corman agreed to help make the film.{{sfn|Borseti|2016|pages=204–205}} Holleb says one of his inspirations was the Italian film ''Il Sorpasso'' (1962).{{sfn|Borseti|2016|page=206}}
Some of the finance came from a consortium of Indian doctors. It had been arranged by Ashok Amritraj, who became a successful producer.{{sfn|Borseti|2016|page=206}}
Scenes at college were filmed at a veterans' hospital in Brentwood.{{sfn|Borseti|2016|page=206}}
The special effects were done in the style of old ''Topper'' movies due to the low budget.{{sfn|Borseti|2016|page=207}}
==Release== ''School Spirit'' was released on October 25, 1985 in Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-news/197054311/|work=The Evening News|title=School Spirit|date=October 25, 1985|page=C6|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
==Reception== ''The'' ''Philadelphia Daily News'' called it "an affably low-rent soft-core item that dares to tackle such compelling subjects as life, death, mortality, morality and overaged schoolgirls who like to flex their mammary glands."<ref>{{cite news|title='School Spirit': As Soft-Core, It's a Super Bore|last=Baltake|first=Joe|author-link=Joe Baltake|work=Philadelphia Daily News|date=October 29, 1985|page=52}}</ref>
The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it a "vulgar, ugly looking little film of no visual distinction or ambition."<ref>{{cite news|title=A Failing Grade for 'School Spirit'|last=Wilmington|first=Michael|date=December 17, 1985|work=Los Angeles Times|page=G5}}</ref>
The ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' critic wrote, "By my count, there are 37 naked female breasts in the movie... (one aspiring actress appears only in profile; she must have a bad agent). I mention this because there's really no other reason for the movie to exist. There are no hot sex scenes, no terrific new jokes, no remotely funny performances. Just jiggle, jiggle, jiggle... a cheapo, one-gimmick teen sex comedy that's so thin and so exploitative that it couldn't even interest a minor distribution company."<ref>{{cite news|title=Mindless 'School Spirit' Flunks Out|last=Lyman|first=Rick|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=October 26, 1985|page=C5}}</ref>
==See also== * List of ghost films
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==Sources== *{{cite book|title=It Came from the 80s!: Interviews with 124 Cult Filmmakers|first=Francesco|last= Borseti|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|date= 2016|isbn= 978-1-476-66604-4}} *{{cite podcast|url=https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/toga-party-an-exploration-of-sex-comedy-movies/e/48023147?autoplay=true|host= Toga Party: The Official Soy Boy Podcast|title=Toga Party 80 - School Spirit|date=October 24, 2016}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0089974}} * {{TCMDb title|89256}} * [https://filmschoolrejects.com/30-years-ago-roger-corman-produced-the-scariest-ghost-story-ever-ca37e1ed2727/ Review of film] at Film School Rejects
Category:1985 films Category:1985 comedy films Category:1980s ghost films Category:1980s sex comedy films Category:1980s teen comedy films Category:American ghost films Category:American sex comedy films Category:American teen comedy films Category:1985 English-language films Category:Teen sex comedy films Category:1985 American films Category:English-language sex comedy films