Love Story (1970 film)

Love Story is a 1970 romantic drama film written by Erich Segal, who also authored the best-selling novel of the same name. It was directed by Arthur Hiller and starred Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw.

A tragedy, the film is considered one of the most romantic of all time by the American Film Institute (#9 on the list). It was followed by a sequel, Oliver's Story (1978), starring O'Neal with Candice Bergen.

Love Story also features John Marley and Ray Milland. It included the film debut of Tommy Lee Jones in a minor role.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Plot  ==Plot[ edit] == Oliver Barrett IV comes from a family of wealthy, well-respected Harvard University graduates. At the Radcliffe library, the Harvard student/hockey player meets Jennifer "Jenny" Cavalleri, a quick-witted working-class Radcliffe College student, and they quickly fall in love.
 * 2 Cast
 * 3 Production
 * 4 Quotations
 * 5 Awards and nominations
 * 6 Reception
 * 7 Musical selections from the soundtrack
 * 8 Sequels and remake
 * 9 "Ali MacGraw's Disease"
 * 10 References
 * 11 External links

Upon graduation from college, the two decide to marry against the wishes of Oliver's father, who severs ties with his son.

Without his father's financial support, the couple struggles to pay Oliver's way through Harvard Law School with Jenny working as a private-school teacher. They rent the top floor of a house near the Law School at 119 Oxford Street, in the Agassiz neighborhood of Cambridge adjacent to a laundromat. Oliver graduates third in his class and takes a position at a respectable New York law firm.

Now the 24-year-olds are ready to start a family, but they can't seem to conceive and they consult a medical specialist. After many tests, Oliver is informed that Jenny is terminally ill. Her exact condition is never stated explicitly, but she appears to have leukemia.

As instructed by his doctor, Oliver attempts to live a "normal life" without telling Jenny of her condition, but she finds out after confronting her doctor about her recent illness. She begins costly cancer therapy, and soon Oliver is desperate enough over the mounting expenses to seek financial relief from his father. The senior Barrett asks if he "got some girl in trouble," and Oliver says yes instead of revealing the truth.

From her hospital bed, Jenny makes funeral arrangements with her father, then asks for Oliver. She tells him to not blame himself, then asks him to embrace her tightly before she dies. They lie in her bed together.

As a grief-stricken Oliver leaves the hospital, his father is waiting to apologize. Oliver replies with what Jenny once told him: "Love means never having to say you're sorry." ==Cast<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Production<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Erich Segal originally wrote the screenplay and sold it to Paramount Pictures. While the film was being produced, Paramount wanted Segal to write a novel based on it, to be published on Valentine's Day to help pre-publicize the release of the film. When the novel came out, it became a bestseller on its own in advance of the film.
 * Ali MacGraw as Jennifer "Jenny" Cavalleri
 * Ryan O'Neal as Oliver Barrett IV
 * John Marley as Phil Cavalleri
 * Ray Milland as Oliver Barrett III
 * Russell Nype as Dean Thompson
 * Katharine Balfour as Mrs. Barrett
 * Sydney Walker as Dr. Shapely
 * Robert Modica as Dr. Addison
 * Walker Daniels as Ray Stratton
 * Tommy Lee Jones as Hank Simpson
 * John Merensky as Steve
 * Andrew Duncan as Reverend Blaufelt

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The main song in the film, "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story" was a major success, particularly the vocal rendition recorded by Andy Williams.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Love Story production caused damage to the Harvard campus; this, and a similar experience with the film A Small Circle of Friends (1980), caused the university administration to deny most subsequent requests for filming on location there.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[2] ==Quotations<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Two lines from the film have entered popular culture:


 * What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful and brilliant? That she loved Mozart and Bach? The Beatles? And me?
 * Love means never having to say you're sorry.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The latter is spoken twice in the film; once by Jennifer when Oliver is about to apologize to her for his anger. It is also spoken by Oliver to his father when his father says "I'm sorry" after hearing of Jennifer's death.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The quote made it to #13 onto the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movie Quotes, a list of top movie quotes.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The 1972 comedy What's Up, Doc?, which stars O'Neal (who played Oliver in Love Story), satirizes this trademark line. At the end of that film, when Barbra Streisand's character coos "Love means never having to say you're sorry" while batting her eyelashes, O'Neal's character responds with the line: "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard." ==Awards and nominations<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Love Story was nominated for seven 1970 Academy Awards, winning one:

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">It was nominated in the categories of:
 * Best Music, Original Score — Francis Lai

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In addition, Love Story was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards, winning five:
 * Best Picture — Howard G. Minsky
 * Best Director — Arthur Hiller
 * Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published — Erich Segal
 * Best Actor in a Leading Role — Ryan O'Neal
 * Best Actress in a Leading Role — Ali MacGraw
 * Best Actor in a Supporting Role — John Marley

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">It was also nominated for:
 * Best Motion Picture - Drama
 * Best Director — Arthur Hiller
 * Best Actress in a Drama — Ali MacGraw
 * Best Screenplay — Erich Segal
 * Best Original Score — Erich Segal

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Love Story is tied with Doctor Zhivago, The Godfather, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and A Star is Born for the most Golden Globe wins by a film with five.
 * Best Actor in a Drama — Ryan O'Neal
 * Best Supporting Actor — John Marley

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">American Film Institute recognition

==Reception<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Although popular with audiences and most reviewers, such as Roger Ebert,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rogerebert.suntimes.com_5-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[5]  the film was disliked by many others. Newsweek felt the film was contrived<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rogerebert.suntimes.com_5-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[5]  and film critic Judith Crist called Love Story "Camille with bullshit."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Griffin_6-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[6]  Writer Harlan Ellison was on record in The Other Glass Teat, his book of collected criticism, as calling it "shit". President Richard Nixon however, reportedly enjoyed the film, regretting only that it contained so much cursing.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="line-height:1;font-size:11.1999998092651px;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]
 * AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies—Nominated<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[3]
 * AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions - #9
 * AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes #13
 * AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)—Nominated<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The film is scored number nine on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions list, which recognizes the top 100 love stories in American cinema. The film also spawned a trove of imitations, parodies, and homages in countless films, having re-energized melodrama on the silver screen as well as helping to set the template for the modern "chick flick".

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The film became the highest grossing film of 1970 in U.S and Canada, grossing $106,397,186. It grossed an additional $30 million in international film markets. At the time of release, it was the 6th highest grossing film of all time in U.S and Canada gross only. Adjusted for inflation, the film remains one of the top 40 domestic grosses of all time.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[7]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The Crimson Key Society, a student association, has sponsored showings of Love Story during orientation to each incoming class of Harvard College freshmen since the late 1970s. During the showings, society members and other audience members mock, boo, and jeer "maudlin, old-fashioned and just plain schlocky" moments to humorously build school spirit.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-vinciguerra20100820_8-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[8]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Overall, Love Story has received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively collected reviews from 23 critics and gave the film a score of 57%.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[9] ==Musical selections from the soundtrack<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Sequels and remake<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">O'Neal and Milland reprised their roles for a sequel, Oliver's Story, that was released in 1978. It was based on Erich Segal's 1977 novel. The film begins with Jenny's funeral, then picks up 18 months later. Oliver is a successful, but unhappy lawyer in New York. Although still mourning Jenny, he manages to find love with heiress Marcie Bonwit (Candice Bergen). Suffering from comparisons to the original, Oliver's Story did poorly with both audiences and critics.
 * Concerto No. 3 in D Major for harpsichord, third movement — by Johann Sebastian Bach
 * Sonata In F Major for flute and harpsichord, first movement — by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
 * Joy To The World — by George Frideric Handel and Isaac Watts
 * A Fair Rose Is Blooming (Es ist ein Ros entsprungen) — by Michael Praetorius
 * Love Story — by Francis Lai, performed by Francis Lai & His Orchestra
 * Snow Frolic — by Francis Lai, performed by Francis Lai & His Orchestra
 * I Love You, Phil — by Francis Lai
 * The Christmas Tree — (traditional)
 * Search for Jenny — by Francis Lai
 * Bozo Barrett — by Francis Lai
 * Long Walk Home — by Francis Lai
 * Skating in Central Park — by John Lewis

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The film was remade in Malayalam as Madanolsavam in 1978.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">NBC broadcast Love Story, a short-lived romantic anthology television series, in 1973-1974. Although it shared its name with the novel and movie and used the same theme song – "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" – as the movie, it otherwise was unrelated to them, with no characters or storylines in common with either the novel or the movie. =="Ali MacGraw's Disease"<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Roger Ebert defined "Ali MacGraw's Disease" as a movie illness in which "the only symptom is that the patient grows more beautiful until finally dying."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[10]  Vincent Canby of the New York Times wrote that it was as if Jenny was suffering from some vaguely unpleasant Elizabeth Arden treatment.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[11]