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Skatetown, U.S.A.

December 26, 2022

Skatetown, U.S.A. is a 1979 American comedy musical film produced to capitalize on the short-lived fad of roller disco.[2]

Skatetown, U.S.A.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam A. Levey
Written byNick Castle (screenplay and story)
Lorin Dreyfuss (story)
William A. Levey (story)
Produced byLorin Dreyfuss (producer)
William A. Levey (producer)
Peter E. Strauss (executive producer)
StarringScott Baio
Patrick Swayze
Flip Wilson
Maureen McCormick
Katherine Kelly Lang
CinematographyDonald M. Morgan
Edited byGene Fowler Jr.
Music byMiles Goodman
Dave Mason
John Beal
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
  • October 1979 (1979-10)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.35 million[1]

Directed by William A. Levey, the film features many television stars from the 1960s and 1970s, among them Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Maureen McCormick, Ron Palillo and Ruth Buzzi. Patrick Swayze's leading role as the skater "Ace" was his first movie performance. Also in the cast are Sydney Lassick, Billy Barty and Playboy centerfold model Dorothy Stratten.

Plot

One evening at a Los Angeles roller disco called Skatetown, U.S.A., a rivalry between two skaters (Patrick Swayze and Greg Bradford) culminates in a contest, the winning prize for which is $1000 and a moped. After a game of chicken played on motorized roller skates, the two rivals become friends.

Cast

Production notes

The setting is based on Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace, a disco roller rink which had opened in West Hollywood on Santa Monica Boulevard earlier in 1979 and was fleetingly a very popular celebrity hangout. The film includes many short, broadly comedic and slapstick subplots (such as a gag having to do with itching powder) set between long roller skating sequences and musical performances.

Filming was done mostly at the Hollywood Palladium, built in 1940. Its sprawling blond hardwood dance floor, chandeliers and soap bubbles blown by a machine from the Lawrence Welk Show can be seen in sundry scenes. Some exteriors were shot on Santa Monica Pier and at nearby Venice Beach. Patrick Swayze, who had roller skated competitively as a teenager and was a trained dancer, did his own skating and stunts in the film. April Allen, Swayze's uncredited roller-skating partner in the movie, had won the world championship in women's free skating seven years earlier.[3][4]

Twenty-nine years after filming, Maureen McCormick recalled, "Like a disco, there was a lot of cocaine being done on the set. Many people were open about it." McCormick wrote that she fell back into severe cocaine addiction during production, often showing up late for shooting or not coming to work at all.[6]

Scott Baio later recalled,

I have blocked that movie from my memory, it was so bad... That was that whole time where Xanadu and Roller Boogie and all that crap was coming out. That was one of those things where they sent me the script and I said 'no,' but they just kept calling and offering more money! I mean, they offered me a lot of money. And finally I said, 'Well, hell. What is it? Two weeks' work? Whatever. Okay. Fine.' And it was… You know, sometimes money isn’t everything. [Laughs.] It was just bad. I mean, it was bad shooting it. I’m trying to think of any real stories that I have, but it was just insanity. When was that? ’79? It was just a guy making a film who didn’t know how to make a film. And I don’t even know what the story was! Skatetown, U.S.A.? That was crapola.[7]

Soundtrack

Skatetown, U.S.A.
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
Released1979
GenreDisco
Length39:00
LabelColumbia Records

The film features almost non-stop synchronized music, much by popular disco and pop artists from the mid and late 1970s. Most of this music is diegetic, in that it is shown within the plot as being played either through records spun by the roller disco's "wizard" DJ or performed on the club's stage and hence, is heard by both the characters and the movie's audience. Dave Mason is featured as a performer in the roller disco, playing himself. Mason sings the movie's disco-tinged theme song "Skatetown" (written by Mason and Brenda Cooper) over the opening credits. He is also shown performing "I Fell in Love" along with a cover of his own 1968 Traffic hit "Feelin' Alright." Among other songs on the soundtrack are the Patrick Hernandez dance hit "Born to Be Alive," "Boogie Wonderland" (Earth, Wind & Fire and The Emotions), "Shake Your Body" (The Jacksons), "Boogie Nights" (Heatwave), "Baby Hold On" (Eddie Money), "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" (McFadden & Whitehead), "I Want You to Want Me" (Cheap Trick), "Roller Girl" (John Sebastian), "Perfect Dancer" (Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.), Disco Nights (Rock-Freak) by GQ, a cover of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' "Under My Thumb" by the Hounds, and "Skatetown U.S.A." (John Beal) during the End Credits.

A soundtrack album was released in 1979 by Columbia Records.

Side A:

  1. "Skatetown" – Dave Mason (3:11)
  2. "Boogie Wonderland" – Earth, Wind & Fire (4:49)
  3. "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" – The Jacksons (3:45)
  4. "Boogie Nights" – Heatwave (3:38)
  5. "Born to Be Alive" – Patrick Hernandez (3:23)

Side B:

  1. "Roller Girl" – John Sebastian (3:10)
  2. "Perfect Dancer" – Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. (6:28)
  3. "I Fell in Love" – Dave Mason (2:21)
  4. "Under My Thumb" – Hounds (4:17)
  5. "Feelin' Alright" – Dave Mason (4:30)[8]

Reception

Following a widely publicized premiere party at Flipper's roller disco in West Hollywood on October 1, 1979[3][9] and billed as the Rock and Roller Disco Movie of the Year,[6] by the time of its release roller disco was a fast-waning fad and the popularity of disco music had peaked (Disco Demolition Night had already happened two and a half months earlier). Aside from some praise for Swayze's skating and screen presence[3] the movie was neither a critical nor a box office success. However, by the early 21st century a writer for oddculture.com called the film "a true cult item and one of the best 70s time capsules around. [...] There’s just something magical about a slutty Marsha [sic] eating drugged pizza with a bearded Horshack."[10]

It was later shown on cable television from time to time. There have been no known licensed VHS or DVD releases. This may be owing to home video licensing woes over the soundtrack's many major label recordings.[10][11] 35mm and 16mm full frame prints of the movie (which was shot in 35mm and cropped to widescreen for theatrical release) have been exhibited at film revivals[12] and low quality video copies made from a much faded full frame 16mm print have been in commercial circulation.[13] On March 6, 2019, a 35mm print was screened for the first time in years at Los Angeles' New Beverly Cinema on a double bill with another 1979 "skatesploitation" film, Roller Boogie.

Home Media Release

It was announced on the Home Theater Forum site and Blu-ray.com site that Skatetown USA would be released by Sony on to high definition Blu-ray on September 24, 2019. It was the first home media release of Skatetown USA as it had never been officially released on VHS, LaserDisc or DVD. Skatetown USA was released on high-definition Blu-ray on September 24, 2019 as previously reported. The Blu-ray itself was a bare bones release with only the movie itself included on the disc. No extras were included and no menu system was provided on the disc.

References

  1. ^ Richard Nowell, Blood Money: A History of the First Teen Slasher Film Cycle Continuum, 2011 p 259
  2. ^ allmovie.com, Skatetown, USA, retrieved September 25, 2010
  3. ^ a b c d Swayze, Patrick and Niemi, Lisa, The Time of My Life, Simon and Schuster, 2009, pp 74–75, ISBN 978-1-4391-5858-6, retrieved October 1, 2010
  4. ^ a b susan-a-miller.com, Allen (Powell), April, retrieved October 2, 2010
  5. ^ oscars.org, Index to motion picture credits, Skatetown USA, retrieved October 2, 2010
  6. ^ a b McCormick, Maureen, Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice, William Morrow, pp 123–124. October 14, 2008, ISBN 978-0-06-149014-9
  7. ^ Will Harris, "Scott Baio talks Chachi, Bob Loblaw, and Howard Cosell", AV Club 3 April 2014 accessed 7 April 2014
  8. ^ "Skatetown u.s.a. LP". Amazon.
  9. ^ gettyimages.com, Premiere Party For Skatetown USA, retrieved October 3, 2010
  10. ^ a b oddculture.com, Roller Disco Cinema: Skatetown, U.S.A. Archived January 30, 2013, at archive.today, retrieved September 28, 2010
  11. ^ hanktank88.blogspot.com, Birthday Bash & Other Fun Stuff, August 6, 2010, retrieved September 28, 2010
  12. ^ loc.gov, Mary Pickford Theater, Past Screenings : 2008, retrieved September 28, 2010
  13. ^ brutallo.com, Cult films! October 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, retrieved September 28, 2010

External links

  • Skatetown, U.S.A. at IMDb
  • Skatetown, U.S.A. at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Skatetown, U.S.A. at AllMovie
  • Skatetown, U.S.A. at the TCM Movie Database
  • Roller Disco Cinema: Skatetown, U.S.A. at oddculture.com
  • Go Go's blog page about Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace roller rink in West Hollywood

December 26, 2022
skatetown, 1979, american, comedy, musical, film, produced, capitalize, short, lived, roller, disco, theatrical, release, posterdirected, bywilliam, leveywritten, bynick, castle, screenplay, story, lorin, dreyfuss, story, william, levey, story, produced, bylor. Skatetown U S A is a 1979 American comedy musical film produced to capitalize on the short lived fad of roller disco 2 Skatetown U S A Theatrical release posterDirected byWilliam A LeveyWritten byNick Castle screenplay and story Lorin Dreyfuss story William A Levey story Produced byLorin Dreyfuss producer William A Levey producer Peter E Strauss executive producer StarringScott BaioPatrick SwayzeFlip WilsonMaureen McCormickKatherine Kelly LangCinematographyDonald M MorganEdited byGene Fowler Jr Music byMiles GoodmanDave MasonJohn BealProductioncompanyRastarDistributed byColumbia PicturesRelease dateOctober 1979 1979 10 Running time94 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office 2 35 million 1 Directed by William A Levey the film features many television stars from the 1960s and 1970s among them Scott Baio Flip Wilson Maureen McCormick Ron Palillo and Ruth Buzzi Patrick Swayze s leading role as the skater Ace was his first movie performance Also in the cast are Sydney Lassick Billy Barty and Playboy centerfold model Dorothy Stratten Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production notes 4 Soundtrack 5 Reception 6 Home Media Release 7 References 8 External linksPlot EditOne evening at a Los Angeles roller disco called Skatetown U S A a rivalry between two skaters Patrick Swayze and Greg Bradford culminates in a contest the winning prize for which is 1000 and a moped After a game of chicken played on motorized roller skates the two rivals become friends Cast EditScott Baio as Richie Flip Wilson as Harvey Ross Patrick Swayze as Ace Johnson Maureen McCormick as Susan Nelson Greg Bradford as Stan Nelson Ron Palillo as Frankey Judy Landers as Teri Ruth Buzzi as Elvira Dorothy Stratten as customer at snack bar girl who orders pizza Joe E Ross as rent a cop Dave Mason as himself Billy Barty as Jimmy Katherine Kelly Lang as Allison David Landsberg as Irwin Sydney Lassick as Murray Murray Langston as the drunk Bill Kirchenbauer as Skatetown doctor Denny Johnston as the wizard club DJ Vic Dunlop as Ripple Len Bari as Alphonse April Allen as Charlene Ace s girlfriend and skating partner uncredited 3 4 5 Production notes EditThe setting is based on Flipper s Roller Boogie Palace a disco roller rink which had opened in West Hollywood on Santa Monica Boulevard earlier in 1979 and was fleetingly a very popular celebrity hangout The film includes many short broadly comedic and slapstick subplots such as a gag having to do with itching powder set between long roller skating sequences and musical performances Filming was done mostly at the Hollywood Palladium built in 1940 Its sprawling blond hardwood dance floor chandeliers and soap bubbles blown by a machine from the Lawrence Welk Show can be seen in sundry scenes Some exteriors were shot on Santa Monica Pier and at nearby Venice Beach Patrick Swayze who had roller skated competitively as a teenager and was a trained dancer did his own skating and stunts in the film April Allen Swayze s uncredited roller skating partner in the movie had won the world championship in women s free skating seven years earlier 3 4 Twenty nine years after filming Maureen McCormick recalled Like a disco there was a lot of cocaine being done on the set Many people were open about it McCormick wrote that she fell back into severe cocaine addiction during production often showing up late for shooting or not coming to work at all 6 Scott Baio later recalled I have blocked that movie from my memory it was so bad That was that whole time where Xanadu and Roller Boogie and all that crap was coming out That was one of those things where they sent me the script and I said no but they just kept calling and offering more money I mean they offered me a lot of money And finally I said Well hell What is it Two weeks work Whatever Okay Fine And it was You know sometimes money isn t everything Laughs It was just bad I mean it was bad shooting it I m trying to think of any real stories that I have but it was just insanity When was that 79 It was just a guy making a film who didn t know how to make a film And I don t even know what the story was Skatetown U S A That was crapola 7 Soundtrack EditSkatetown U S A Soundtrack album by Various ArtistsReleased1979GenreDiscoLength39 00LabelColumbia RecordsThe film features almost non stop synchronized music much by popular disco and pop artists from the mid and late 1970s Most of this music is diegetic in that it is shown within the plot as being played either through records spun by the roller disco s wizard DJ or performed on the club s stage and hence is heard by both the characters and the movie s audience Dave Mason is featured as a performer in the roller disco playing himself Mason sings the movie s disco tinged theme song Skatetown written by Mason and Brenda Cooper over the opening credits He is also shown performing I Fell in Love along with a cover of his own 1968 Traffic hit Feelin Alright Among other songs on the soundtrack are the Patrick Hernandez dance hit Born to Be Alive Boogie Wonderland Earth Wind amp Fire and The Emotions Shake Your Body The Jacksons Boogie Nights Heatwave Baby Hold On Eddie Money Ain t No Stoppin Us Now McFadden amp Whitehead I Want You to Want Me Cheap Trick Roller Girl John Sebastian Perfect Dancer Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr Disco Nights Rock Freak by GQ a cover of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards Under My Thumb by the Hounds and Skatetown U S A John Beal during the End Credits A soundtrack album was released in 1979 by Columbia Records Side A Skatetown Dave Mason 3 11 Boogie Wonderland Earth Wind amp Fire 4 49 Shake Your Body Down to the Ground The Jacksons 3 45 Boogie Nights Heatwave 3 38 Born to Be Alive Patrick Hernandez 3 23 Side B Roller Girl John Sebastian 3 10 Perfect Dancer Marilyn McCoo amp Billy Davis Jr 6 28 I Fell in Love Dave Mason 2 21 Under My Thumb Hounds 4 17 Feelin Alright Dave Mason 4 30 8 Reception EditFollowing a widely publicized premiere party at Flipper s roller disco in West Hollywood on October 1 1979 3 9 and billed as the Rock and Roller Disco Movie of the Year 6 by the time of its release roller disco was a fast waning fad and the popularity of disco music had peaked Disco Demolition Night had already happened two and a half months earlier Aside from some praise for Swayze s skating and screen presence 3 the movie was neither a critical nor a box office success However by the early 21st century a writer for oddculture com called the film a true cult item and one of the best 70s time capsules around There s just something magical about a slutty Marsha sic eating drugged pizza with a bearded Horshack 10 It was later shown on cable television from time to time There have been no known licensed VHS or DVD releases This may be owing to home video licensing woes over the soundtrack s many major label recordings 10 11 35mm and 16mm full frame prints of the movie which was shot in 35mm and cropped to widescreen for theatrical release have been exhibited at film revivals 12 and low quality video copies made from a much faded full frame 16mm print have been in commercial circulation 13 On March 6 2019 a 35mm print was screened for the first time in years at Los Angeles New Beverly Cinema on a double bill with another 1979 skatesploitation film Roller Boogie Home Media Release EditIt was announced on the Home Theater Forum site and Blu ray com site that Skatetown USA would be released by Sony on to high definition Blu ray on September 24 2019 It was the first home media release of Skatetown USA as it had never been officially released on VHS LaserDisc or DVD Skatetown USA was released on high definition Blu ray on September 24 2019 as previously reported The Blu ray itself was a bare bones release with only the movie itself included on the disc No extras were included and no menu system was provided on the disc References Edit Richard Nowell Blood Money A History of the First Teen Slasher Film Cycle Continuum 2011 p 259 allmovie com Skatetown USA retrieved September 25 2010 a b c d Swayze Patrick and Niemi Lisa The Time of My Life Simon and Schuster 2009 pp 74 75 ISBN 978 1 4391 5858 6 retrieved October 1 2010 a b susan a miller com Allen Powell April retrieved October 2 2010 oscars org Index to motion picture credits Skatetown USA retrieved October 2 2010 a b McCormick Maureen Here s the Story Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice William Morrow pp 123 124 October 14 2008 ISBN 978 0 06 149014 9 Will Harris Scott Baio talks Chachi Bob Loblaw and Howard Cosell AV Club 3 April 2014 accessed 7 April 2014 Skatetown u s a LP Amazon gettyimages com Premiere Party For Skatetown USA retrieved October 3 2010 a b oddculture com Roller Disco Cinema Skatetown U S A Archived January 30 2013 at archive today retrieved September 28 2010 hanktank88 blogspot com Birthday Bash amp Other Fun Stuff August 6 2010 retrieved September 28 2010 loc gov Mary Pickford Theater Past Screenings 2008 retrieved September 28 2010 brutallo com Cult films Archived October 6 2010 at the Wayback Machine retrieved September 28 2010External links EditSkatetown U S A at IMDb Skatetown U S A at Rotten Tomatoes Skatetown U S A at AllMovie Skatetown U S A at the TCM Movie Database Roller Disco Cinema Skatetown U S A at oddculture com Go Go s blog page about Flipper s Roller Boogie Palace roller rink in West Hollywood Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Skatetown U S A amp oldid 1123954844, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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