Class of '44

Class of '44 is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film based on the memoirs of screenwriter Herman Raucher. Directed by Paul Bogart, it is structured as a sequel to the 1971 film Summer of '42 which recounted the events in the earlier portion of Raucher's memoirs. The film is a slice-of-life style autobiography of sorts, depicting Herman Raucher's (Gary Grimes) freshman 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 Oscar "Oscy" Seltzer and Benjy, the two other members of Raucher's circle of friends, "The Terrible Trio," but Conant only briefly appears in the film. Plot Friends Hermie (an aspiring artist), Oscy (a jock), and Benjy (a nerd) graduate high school in the spring of 1944, under the looming threat of World War II. At a post-graduation party, Hermie and Oscy are startled when Benjy tells them that he's enlisted in the Marines. While Hermie and Oscy spend their summer vacation working at a loading dock, Benjy goes to Boot Camp. By the end of summer, Hermie and Oscy see Benjy off on his way to fight in the Pacific Theater. At their fathers' behest, Oscy and Hermie go to college. Much of the film consists of slice of life vignettes depicting college life during wartime, with the effect of the war on the home front as a constant recurring theme.