Class of '44

Class of '44 is the 1973 sequel to Summer of '42. The film is a slice-of-life style autobiography of sorts, depicting Herman Raucher's (Gary Grimes) first year in college, where he falls in love with Julie (Deborah Winters) under the shadow of the growing threat of World War II. Jerry Houser and Oliver Conant reprise their roles as the other two members of Raucher's circle of friends, "The Terrible Trio," Oscar "Oscy" Seltzer and Benjie, although the latter only appears in the film for a matter of minutes. The film received moderate and poor reviews upon its release. Although several venues granted free, or discounted, admission for moviegoers who graduated from high school in 1944, the film did not fare very well at the box office, mostly attributed to the film's breaking the "arty" format of the first film for a more standard approach, and the omission of any mention of the first film. The movie slipped into obscurity, and although Summer of '42 has been on DVD for several years, where it has been a relative commercial success, Warner Brothers released Class of '44 on made-to-order DVD in 2010. The film was spoofed in the December 1973 issue of Mad magazine as "The Clods of '44." The film is also noted for being the feature film debut of John Candy in a very brief uncredited appearance at the beginning as a high school graduate who interacts with Hermie and Oscy.