To close out Part One of our 2025 programme, Film Club brings you an iconic classic of Black cinema, Michael Schultz’ deeply influential portrait of black youth in the ‘70s, COOLEY HIGH.
The presence of black people in cinema leading up to the release of COOLEY HIGH had largely taken two forms — weighty, serious-minded dramas like IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT or the vivid, sweaty highs of Blaxploitation films like COFFY, SHAFT and SUPERFLY. While both kinds of films had an enormous part to play in legitimising Black films and filmmakers in the cinematic landscape, the low-budget, independently produced COOLEY HIGH offered another avenue entirely. A beguiling high school coming-of-age flick, Schultz’ film blended comedy and drama, producing a film that was lauded as ‘changing the landscape’ for black people on film, presenting inner-city black youth with humanity and humour. Starring iconic American character actors Glynn Turman, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs and Garrett Morris early in their careers, the film drew on writer Eric Monte’s experiences attending Cooley Vocational High School, which served students from public housing developments in Chicago.
Praised for its light touch, expansive Motown soundtrack and rich, realistic performances, the film was a box-office hit, making $13 million off the back of a $750,000 budget. It has been cited by filmmakers like Spike Lee and John Singleton as a major cinematic influence, and was the inspiration for BoyzIIMen’s debut album Cooleyhighharmony. It has been referred to as the ‘Black AMERICAN GRAFFITI’.
Said critic A.A. Dowd: ‘It’s a feature-length party that feels steeped in anecdote, in half-remembered personalities, and especially in an impression of the city as an exciting place to grow up… With its sprawling cast of characters, digressive plot, and hit soundtrack (in this case, a boisterous Motown primer), Cooley High has been compared to another last-days-of-youth movie that came out just two years earlier, American Graffiti. Both films inevitably lace their fun with melancholy, chasing a long, wild coming-of-age bacchanal with the impending hangover of adult life. Difference is, Cooley High’s eulogy for childhood turns out to be much more sadly literal. But that harsh reality check isn’t really what sticks with you. Like Monte, fans of this film tend to remember the good stuff: a goofy brawl in a movie theater, replacing the monster movie on screen with some silhouetted combat; a late-night joyride that becomes a high-speed chase; and the numerous scenes of Preach and Cochise fast-talking themselves in and out of trouble. Behind them, Chicago looms large—not just through the shots of its iconic skyline but also in the little details of these “basketball days” and “high nights.”’
Don’t miss your chance to catch this iconic landmark of black cinema on the big screen. The Motown tunes will be pumping in the foyer — tickets are only $13. Wednesday 30th, 8pm. See you there!
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