The Graduate (1967)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writers:

Calder Willingham (screenplay) and
Buck Henry (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 January 1968 (Brazil)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Comedy

Tagline:

The Movie That Became A Legend [Video Australia]

Plot:

Recent college graduate Benjamin Braddock is trapped into an affair with Mrs. Robinson, who happens to be the wife of his father's business partner and then finds himself falling in love with her teenage daughter, Elaine.

Plot Keywords:

Love | College Graduate | Graduate | Running After Bus | Love Triangle

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 19 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Anne Bancroft	...	Mrs. Robinson
Dustin Hoffman	...	Ben Braddock
Katharine Ross	...	Elaine Robinson
William Daniels	...	Mr. Braddock
Murray Hamilton	...	Mr. Robinson
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Mrs. Braddock
Buck Henry	...	Room Clerk
Brian Avery	...	Carl Smith
Walter Brooke	...	Mr. McGuire
Norman Fell	...	Mr. McCleery
Alice Ghostley	...	Mrs. Singleman
Marion Lorne	...	Miss DeWitte
Eddra Gale	...	Woman on Bus

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm optical prints)

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1972) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M (re-rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:AL (original rating) | Netherlands:MG6 (re-rating) | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

Alumni Park - 3551 Trousdale Parkway, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Embassy Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Paul Simon wrote two songs for the film that director Mike Nichols rejected: "Punky's Dilemma" and "A Hazy Shade of Winter". Both appear on the Simon and Garfunkel "Bookends" album. The song "Mrs. Robinson" was not written for the movie; it was the working title of a song Simon was then writing (originally called "Mrs. Roosvelt", and about Eleanor Roosevelt) and Nichols decided to include it. Simon and Garfunkel only sing the chorus but none of the verses of the later hit song. Additionally, the chorus portion sung contains some lyrics not featured in the more popular "final" version of the song.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first scene at the airport, Ben walks close towards the automatic door, past a pillar. In the next shot, he hasn't reached the pillar, and walks for a few second to reach where he was where the cut occurred.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pilot: Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to begin our descent into Los Angeles. The sound you just heard is the landing gear locking into place. Los Angeles weather is clear; temperature is 72. We expect to make our 4 hour and 18 minute flight on schedule. We have enjoyed having you on board, and look forward to seeing you again in the near future.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Critic: Uneasy Rider (#1.12)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

The Sounds of Silence

Here's to you, Anne Bancroft!

Anne Bancroft's recent passing brings "The Graduate" back into our minds. It was of course one of my parents' generations favorite movies. Some people may just think of it as a story about young Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) stuck in a weird relationship with the much older Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), but it really is more than that. It embodies America's move away from the innocent, prudish mindset that had held sway for so long. Obviously, Ben is learning about sex from Mrs. Robinson, and then gets interested in her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross). The movie also makes an interesting use of telling us things without anyone talking: in one scene, Ben unbuttons his shirt, which says as much as any words could have. As IMDb.com noted, none of the adults had first names, a reference to the ubiquitous generation gap. Anyway, 1967 was certainly the year in which American movies made a giant step into the new mold, with "The Graduate", "Bonnie and Clyde" and "In the Heat of the Night" (some people might also include "To Sir with Love" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"). "Sound of Silence" may have been "The Graduate"'s theme song, but the movie itself will never go silent.

Oh, and one more thing. It appears that two "Bewitched" cast members appeared in "The Graduate": Alice Ghostley (Esmerelda) and Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara). Although they never appeared together in any "Bewitched" episodes on account of Lorne dying before Ghostley joined the cast, I now have to imagine Esmerelda and Aunt Clara telling Samantha of a strange young man's relationship with an older woman. Well...