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| An eye-catching, drawn and painted poster centering on the odd couple of Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude |
Harold is a young man of the upper class, who stages his own suicide occasionally for his mother, who tries to hitch him with a girl his age. But he now meets and falls for 70 year-old Maude, a hedonist and self-professed 'life extremist'.
Harold and Maude is written by Colin Higgins (Foul Play (1978)) and directed by Utahan master filmmaker Hal Ashby (The Landlord (1970)), whose 2nd feature it was.
The two central figures naturally bump into one another at funerals. Absurdity marks many scenes here; from Harold's theatrical suicide stagings to his uncle's amputated salute claps and beyond.
Despite developmental troubles plot-wise, over-use of Cat Stevens' (Deep End (1970)) score, and a poorly devised, indeterminate finishing of Maude's part of the story, - among other things, - this is a peculiar, very different, endearing and life-affirming film that's full of laughs. And a truly priceless performance from Ruth Gordon (Edge of Darkness (1943))!
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 1.3 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain - turned profitable 12 years after its release
[Harold and Maude was released 20 December (North America, Turkey) and runs 91 minutes. Higgins was a UCLA film student, when he started working on the script, passed on while working as a pool boy, and from there passed on to Paramount executive Stanley Jaffe. Shooting took place from December 1970 - March 1971 in California, including in San Francisco. The film was a flop upon release. But it kept playing in some theaters for years, as fan patrons saw the film again and again, and it turned into a cult movie, especially among young people. By 1983 the film started turning a profit. At that point it had already been turned into a novel and a successful play by Higgins. It was nominated for 2 Golden Globes and a BAFTA. Roger Ebert gave it a 15/4 star review, translating to 3 notches under this one. Ashby returned with The Last Detail (1973). Gordon returned in 6 TV credits prior to her theatrical return in The Big Bus (1976); Bud Cort (Girl in the Cadillac (1995)) in The Hallucinating Trip (1975). Harold and Maude is certified fresh at 85 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
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