Fraternity Row (film)

Fraternity Row
Fraternity Row
Directed by	Thomas J. Tobin
Written by	Charles Gary Allison
Produced by	Charles Gary Allison; Thomas Joachim; Thomas Pope
Starring	Peter Fox; Gregory Harrison; Scott Newman; Nancy Morgan; Wendy Phillips
Narrated by	Cliff Robertson
Cinematography	Peter Gibbons
Edited by	Eugene Fournier
Music by	Michael Corner; Theme song by Don McLean
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	June 3, 1977;
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Fraternity Row is a 1977 American drama film portraying life in a 1950s fraternity at a fictional college.

Plot

College students pledge the Gamma Nu Pi fraternity at a fictional college^[1] and endure common hazing practices such as humiliation, forced eating of onions and severe paddlings.

Cast

Peter Fox as Rodger Carter
Gregory Harrison as Zac Sterling
Scott Newman as Chunk Cherry
Nancy Morgan as Jennifer Harris
Wendy Phillips as Betty Ann Martin
Robert Emhardt as Brother Bob Abernathy
Cliff Robertson as The Narrator
Dean Smith as Andy Nelson

Development

The film was originally Charles Gary Allison's thesis as a film student at the University of Southern California.^[2] It is said to have been inspired by the 1959 hazing of Kappa Sigma pledge Richard Swanson, who died after attempting to swallow a large piece of raw liver without chewing.^[3]^[4]

Reception

Fraternity Row met with generally positive reviews, but the film saw very light business at the box office.

The film has not been released on DVD, although it was briefly available on VHS cassette in the early 1980s.

References

^ Canry, Vincent (June 4, 1977). "'Fraternity Row,' a 50's Film, Plays Neighborhoods". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
^ "Fraternity Row". Variety. December 31, 1976. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
^ "Hazing death investigation is demanded". Spokane Daily Chronicle. September 18, 1959.
^ Nuwker, Hank (January 29, 2004). The Hazing Reader. Indiana University Press. p. XXVI. ISBN 0253343704.