History Film / TheLastProm

In the years since ''The Last Prom'', especially the 1980 version, many high schools have re-created their own mock accidents and dramatic presentations of prom-night, alcohol-involved crashes, with students, community members and emergency workers from the town the high school is located playing various parts. In addition to being actual training exercises for emergency workers, these effective presentations [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped are used to impress upon students a clear point]]: Bad choices will ultimately lead to bad things happening.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Bill's friend, Jim ... as police are seen covering his (apparent) corpse up with a sheet, implying that he, too, had died. But this film is about Sandy, not Jim.

* AfterschoolSpecial: ''The Last Prom'' could easily fit this format.

While the 1980 remake added alcohol to the equation, the original version chalked up most accidents to youthful inexperience and poor judgment behind the wheel. In that version, it is implied that his father -- also an aggressive driver -- had taught Bill to drive, and many of his bad habits, such as rolling through stop signs and driving above the speed limit in spite of weather or road conditions, rub off on the son. Bill crashes his almost brand-new car into a tree after losing control on a rain-slickened road.

** MeaningfulFuneral: Both versions included brief clips of the major surviving characters -- Bill (and presumably, his father) in one car, and Sandy's disconsolent parents in another limousine -- en route to the funeral for the gravesite service. In the 1980 version, we see the varied reactions at the gravesite as the priest is finishing the service, with Sandy's mother sobbing and barely able to complete her role; the pallbearers stoic and Mr. Jenkins barely able to keep his emotions in check. (The 1962 version merely sees the mourners approach the tent for the gravesite service and the pallbearers carrying Sandy's casket in the distance.)

** Beergasm: The youthful exuberance and the look on Bill's face as he gains (what turns out to be false) confidence behind the wheel as he sips on his can of beer during that fateful cruise around town.

'''The 1962 original''':

* InstructionalFilm: How this film could be classified.

* TheRemake: The better-known 1980 movie was a remake of a black-and-white film made in 1962. It's not word-for-word, however, as the remake included plenty of drama whereas the original was simply a narrator telling the story; only the scene with the teacher informing the students of Sandy's death and the lesson.

Bill, Sandy and another couple -- Jim Bohmer and Judy Grant -- arrive at prom and are bored waiting for the festivities to start and decide to go for a little ride around town. Sandy has her reservations but is talked into going. As the teenagers are cruising around town, Bill and the others begin drinking beer from his cooler. As the alcohol takes effect, Bill's confidence begins to grow and he begins driving faster ... until he comes upon a one-lane railroad underpass ... and sees a car coming from the other direction. Bill slams on the brakes, but there is no time to stop, and it crashes head-on into the side of the underpass. [[note]](In the 1962 original, he simply loses control of his car on a sharp curve.)[[/note]]

* AnAesop: Which Mr. Jenkins (in the 1980 version) drives home: Accident victims and casualties of reckless driving are more than just statistics and aren't always "the other person." In Sandy's case, she was someone's daughter, granddaughter, sister, friend, fellow student ... someone with a bright future ahead of her, all taken away by a few bad choices.

'''''The Last Prom''''' is a ScareEmStraight driver's education movie that warns about the dangers of underage consumption of alcohol and the combination of reckless driving and drunk drinking. The movie often is seen or aired (on local television stations, which also had rights to air it) in the spring of the year, a time when high school seniors are celebrating milestones in their lives, in particular prom and graduation.

Originally filmed in 1962, the 1980 remake -- filmed documentary-style by WRBI-TV of Batesville, Indiana -- is better known. Both movies, however, follow the final days of typical American teenager Sandra Clark's life. A junior at a small, rural high school, Sandy (as she is known) is asked to the senior prom by Bill Donovan, a popular boy who was known for his customized van and his penchant for driving recklessly.

Bill, Sandy and another couple -- Jim Bohmer and Judy Grant -- arrive at prom and are bored waiting for the festivities to start. They decide to go for a little ride around town. Sandy has her reservations but is talked into going. As the teenagers are cruising around town, Bill and the others begin drinking beer from his cooler. As the alcohol takes effect, Bill's confidence begins to grow and he begins driving faster ... until he comes upon a one-lane railroad underpass ... and sees a car coming from the other direction. Bill slams on the brakes, but there is no time to stop, and it crashes head-on into the side of the underpass.

The following Monday morning at school, Mr. Jenkins, a popular teacher at the school (he was apparently the student council adviser and oversaw prom) confirms what the students already knew: Sandy Clark had died, while Judy will remain hospitalized for some time with severe facial injuries. As a sobering lesson, he announces his plans to leave Sandy's seat vacant for the rest of the school year and the following school year as well: After all, it isn't always "the other guy" that things such as reckless driving and drunk driving kills.

The movie ends with the funeral and the postlogue: Sandy wore a white gown inside the casket, but outside of her family, few others were ever aware, as her visitation and funeral were closed-casketed. "It was best that way," the news anchor grimly states. And the memories of what should have been a rite-of-passage into adulthood -- the photographs, the corsage that would have found its way into a family heirloom (such as a Bible), the program and the thought of their daughter finally "growing up" and experiencing the night all little girls dream of -- are now replaced with the bitter memories of their daughter's death.

* ItsAllMyFault: Mr. Jenkins tells Sandy's classmates that Bill will have to live with this weighing on him every day the rest of his natural life ... the memory that a few bad decisions caused Sandy's death (and [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse possibly that of his buddy Jim as well]]), caused Jim's girlfriend, Judy, to be seriously injured and inflicted long-term mourning in his small hometown.

* TheRemake: The better-known 1980 movie was a remake of a black-and-white film made in 1962. It's not word-for-word, as the remake included plenty of drama whereas the original was simply a narrator telling the story; only the scene with the teacher informing the students of Sandy's death and the lesson.

* TonightSomeoneDies: The news anchor's narrative at the beginning of the film and his use of {{Foreshadowing}} make it clear that this is indeed ''The Last Prom''.

* SongsInTheKeyOfPanic: Fits the "Nearing-the-End" type. The intensity of the music score -- an angelic chorus -- rises in pitch, urgency and volume from between the moment the ambulance carrying Sandy is en route to the hospital to the time the MRI machine flatlines, and cuts off when the priest reads Sandy her last rites.

* SongsInTheKeyOfPanic: The intensity of the music score -- an angelic chorus -- rises in pitch, urgency and volume from between the moment the ambulance carrying Sandy is en route to the hospital to the time the MRI machine flatlines, and cuts off when the priest reads Sandy her last rites.

* CoolShades: At least one of the pallbearers wears them, although very obviously to hide his emotions.

* EasilyForgiven: Bill Donovan is allowed to attend Sandy's funeral. Whether overlooked or intentionally allowed (to make him realize the seriousness of his actions), anywhere else Bill would be told to stay the hell away from the funeral or else be arrested for trespassing.

The movie ends with the funeral.

* SmashToBlack: Literally, and figuratively, at the instant where Sandy is thrown through the windshield when the van crashes into the railroad underpass.