Too long to be a short, and, at fifty minutes running time, too short to be a feature, The Prom was commissioned by CBC-TV to air as part of a program called The Magic Hour. Subsequently released on video, it is one of those extremely rare Canadian productions that has achieved a form of cult status, at least among its fans. The Prom is a comedy about two teenagers and their various attempts to get to their high school prom. There is a lot of confusion about this film. It came at a time when there were a number of “prom movies” including Prom Night III: The Last Kiss which came out in 1989 and Prom Night IV: Deliver Us From Evil which was released in 1992. All of the so-called “Prom NIght” movies were Canadian-America co-productions and as a result this charming made-for-television production got lost in the middle. To complicate research even more, in 1999 there was yet another Canadian production, also 50-minutes long and also titled The Prom but this time set in a Montreal high school. The late Sean Roberge was given a Gemini nomination for Best Actor in a Dramatic program or series because of his work in this production.
Bradford Turner
David Barlow
Stacie Mistysyn
Jaimz Woolvett
Sean Roberge
Nicole de Boer
Kathleen Robertson
Ralph Stasiuk
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First published as Northernstars.net February 1, 1998
ISSN 2563 4895