Number 247 on IMDb's Top 250
Harold (Bud Cort) is a depressed, death-obsessed 20-year-old man-child who spends his free time attending funerals and committing suicide in front of his mother, but he does not die. At a funeral, Harold befriends Maude (Ruth Gordon), a 79-year-old woman who has a zest for life. She and Harold spend much time together during which she exposes him to the wonders and possibilities of life. After rejecting his mother's three attempts to set him up with a potential wife, and committing fake suicide in front of all of them, Harold announces that he is to be married to Maude. However, Maude has a surprise for Harold that is to change his life forever. Hilarity ensues.
Trivia: When considering the role of Harold, Bud Cort asked the opinion of director Robert Altman, his mentor. Robert Altman cautioned that rising star Bud Cort might find himself forever typecast. Fearing that he would be typecast as crazy, Cort, who was offered the part of Billy Bibbit, turned down that role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). He wanted the role of McMurphy, which belonged to Jack Nicholson but was denied it by director Milos Forman. His next film wasn't until 1977. In all shots of Ruth Gordon driving the hearse it is being towed because she never learned how to drive a car. The hearse Harold originally drives is a 1959 Cadillac Superior 3-way model that is one of the most sought after hearses among collectors today but at the time was considered nothing more than an undesirable used car which was purchased for a few hundred dollars. The Jaguar hearse was really destroyed at the end and no replica exists because they only constructed one version for filming.
Harold was supposed to be 20 years old. I think one of the problems Cort had with typecasting was that he looked so young. He looks 13! Ruth Gordon (last seen on this blog as the evil, devil worshipping, nosy neighbor in Rosemary's Baby) puts in another great performance as the septuagenarian with the lust for life. There is no way you could dislike this little old lady, even after she steals your car (did they not lock their cars in 1971? She would just walk up, open the door get in and drive off). The three scenes where Harold is introduced to the three girls from the dating agency were absolutely priceless. The Cat Stevens soundtrack gave it a little of a sixties-early seventies feel. Fun film.
Next Up: Mulholland Dr., by director David Lynch, who was responsible for Twin Peaks, and is known for convoluted plots and strange movies. I watched it last night and I am still not sure what it is about.
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