When Grease was released in the summer of 1978, few people would have predicted that it would become one of the movie industry's biggest cult hits of all time; nor would they have imagined that generations yet unborn would know the movie's lyrics by heart, or that a singalong version of the film would be released so that movie-goers could belt out Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee and Hopelessly Devoted To You. Back in 1978, Grease was just another romantic comedy with musical interludes, eye-popping dance sequences and really cool car racing action.
Directed by rookie director Randal Kleiser, the film tells the story of a teen romance between Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Australian exchange student Sandy Olsson, whose dating life is complicated by the fact that Danny is cool and Sandy is not; hindered and helped in equal measure by their friends, the two eventually learn that they do not have to change to be perfect for each other.
Grease was both a critical and a commercial success. It became the highest grossing musical film ever and the soundtrack album was the second best selling album of 1978 in the United States. Hopelessly Devoted To You, sung by Olivia Newton John became both one of her own biggest selling hits, and also the lone Academy Award nomination for the film, in the Best Original Soundtrack category, although it ultimately lost out to Donna Summer's Last Dance from the movie Thank God, It's Friday.
The first of the cast to sign on for the film was John Travolta, who had just finished working with Robert Stigwood on the movie Saturday Night Fever. and he had also appeared as peripheral T-Bird member Doody in a touring theatrical production of the stage musical. It was on Travolta's recommendation that Olivia Newton John was cast to play Sandy, who was originally intended to be an American, but was re-written as an Australian transfer student when Newton John could not hide her Aussie accent or pull off a convincing American one.
Travolta also recommended Jeff Connaway for the role of Kernickie; ironically he had played Danny Zuko on Broadway. The cast also included a number of television stars of the 1950s - the time in which the movie was set - including Sid Cesar as Coach Calhoun and Joan Blondell as the hapless school secretary.
Although nominated for several Golden Globe awards, including two in the Best Actor and Best Actress category respectively, the most decorated member of the cast became Stockard Channing, who received a People's Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress; the film also won Best Musical Motion Picture and Best Motion Picture.
Grease II was released in 1982, and starred Michelle Pfeiffer and Maxwell Caulfield, who was currently enjoying international heartthrob status thanks in large part to a role in the television drama series Dynasty, and its spin-off The Colby's Of California. The sequel was not particularly well received either by the production team who worked on the original, or by critics and audiences. Far better received was the sing-along version, released in 2010, but re-edited to remove cigarettes from certain scenes; Stockard Channing's character, Rizzo, was a particularly heavy smoker in the film and so most of the heaviest editing took place around her scenes, and those involving the Pink Ladies.
