Harper Valley P.T.A.

Harper Valley P.T.A. (1978)

The song was scandalous. The movie is hilarious!

Stella Johnson is a single mother living in the town of Harper Valley. Most of the townsfolk, particularly those on the school PTA, think she is a little too liberal so they're making things tough for her and her daughter. So she runs for the position of PTA President, which infuriates them. Stella decides to get revenge with the help of her friends.

Date of release
1978-08-02
TMDB
6.9 / 10 (30)
Runtime
1h 42m
Genres
Comedy
Director
Richard C. Bennett

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: Los Angeles

Harper Valley PTA is a 1978 American comedy film inspired by the popular 1968 country song "Harper Valley PTA" written by Tom T. Hall and performed by country singer Jeannie C. Riley. The film starred Barbara Eden, Nanette Fabray, Ronny Cox, Louis Nye and Susan Swift, directed by Richard Bennett and Ralph Senensky, and primarily released to drive-in theaters throughout the summer of 1978. The film has a cult following among fans of the original song. The film's promotional tagline is: "The song was scandalous. The movie is hilarious!"

Production and release

Harper Valley PTA was filmed over 27 days, from October 1, 1977, to December 8, 1977. It was filmed on location for one week in Lebanon, Ohio and continued in Los Angeles, California. Woody Harrelson was a junior in high school living in Lebanon when the production was filming there, and was an extra in the film. The track meet scene was filmed at Simi Valley High School.

Director Ralph Senensky left the production two weeks before the end of principal photography and was replaced by Richard Bennett. On October 31, 1977, Senensky argued with the producers about a scene featuring pink elephants in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, believing that the animals would be spooked by filming on Halloween night. Senensky turned out to be right.

Harper Valley PTA opened in six theaters in Lebanon, Cincinnati, and Dayton, Ohio, on May 23, 1978, in accordance with executive producer Phil Borack's plan to release the film first in smaller markets, where regional success could encourage bigger cities to book the film. The film grossed over $2 million its opening weekend, $5.8 million in its first three weeks and over $16 million after 12 weeks.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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