The Graduate (1967)

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writers:

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

Release Date:

22 December 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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 daughter, Elaine.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Hotel Room | College Graduate | Hotel | Graduate

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 20 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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Buddy Douglas	...	Bellhop in Hotel Lobby (uncredited)
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Boarding House Resident (uncredited)
Mike Farrell	...	Bellhop in Hotel Lobby (uncredited)
Elisabeth Fraser	...	Second Lady (uncredited)
Donald F. Glut	...	College Student (uncredited)
Harry Holcombe	...	The Minister (uncredited)
Jonathan Hole	...	Mr. Singleman (uncredited)
Elaine May	...	Girl with Note for Benjamin (uncredited)
Lainie Miller	...	Night Club Stripper (uncredited)
Ben Murphy	...	Shaving Student (uncredited)
Noam Pitlik	...	Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
Kevin Tighe	...	Extra (uncredited)
David Westberg	...	Valet Parker (uncredited)

Directed by
Mike Nichols

Writing credits
Calder Willingham		(screenplay) and
Buck Henry		(screenplay)
Charles Webb		(based on the novel by)

Produced by
Lawrence Turman	....	producer
Joseph E. Levine	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Robert Surtees		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Sam O'Steen		(film editor)

Production Design by
Richard Sylbert

Set Decoration by
George R. Nelson		(as George Nelson)

Costume Design by
Patricia Zipprodt		(costumes by)

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
Harry Maret	....	makeup artist
Sherry Wilson	....	hair dresser

Production Management
George Justin	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Don Kranze	....	assistant director
Lynn Guthrie	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Gene Marum	....	dga trainee (uncredited)

Art Department
Joel Schiller	....	assistant production designer
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)
Harold Michelson	....	storyboard artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jack Solomon	....	sound
Howard Beals	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Carol Daniels	....	stunts (uncredited)
Lee Faulkner	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Loren Janes	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Albert Bettcher	....	camera operator
Richard Borland	....	grip
Earl Gilbert	....	gaffer
George Gordon Nogle	....	camera operator (as George Nogle)
Emillo Calori	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Jim Cowan	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Bob Rose	....	key grip: second unit (uncredited)
Frank Shugrue	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Robert Willoughby	....	special still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Lynn Stalmaster	....	casting consultant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Robert Fuca	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)
Phyllis Garr	....	wardrobe (uncredited)
Donald MacDonald	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Bob Wyman	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Dave Grusin	....	composer: additional music
Simon & Garfunkel	....	songs: sung by (as Simon and Garfunkel)
Paul Simon	....	songs by
Mike Deasy	....	musician (uncredited)

Other crew
Joseph E. Levine	....	presenter
Meta Rebner	....	script supervisor
William H. Cannon	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)
J. David Jones	....	pilot: picture helicopter (uncredited)
Jeff Kanew	....	trailer (uncredited) (unconfirmed) (uncredited)
Joyce Lilley	....	production secretary (uncredited)
Harold Lloyd	....	advisor: final sequence (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Lawrence Turman (A Mike Nichols Lawrence Turman Production)
• Embassy Pictures Corporation (as Embassy) (copyright owner)

Distributors

• Embassy Pictures Corporation (1967) (USA) (theatrical) (as An Embassy Pictures Release)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Nelson Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (blu-ray)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (2002) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print re-issue)
• Rialto Pictures (2012) (USA) (theatrical) (reissue)
• Seven Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• United Artists Corporation (1970) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1968) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1969) (West Germany) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• United Artists (1968) (France) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1968) (Sweden) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS) (for New Line Home Video)
• Criterion Collection, The (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2009) (United Arab Emirates) (DVD) (Middle East)
• Gativideo (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Leader Music (2010) (Argentina) (DVD) (as Leader Vision)
• Magnetic Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• New Line Home Video (1992) (USA) (video)
• Panorama Distributions (2010) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• PolyGram Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Sandrews (2007) (Sweden) (DVD)
• StudioCanal (2010) (Non-USA) (DVD) (EU) (blu-ray) (for StudioCanal Collection)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Panavision  filmed in
• Technicolor  color by
• Maximilian  furs by
• Harry Winston  special jewelry by
• Columbia Records  soundtrack (uncredited)
• Solters & Digney  publicity (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

106 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:

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 (original rating) | 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) | 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 | New Zealand:M | Italy:T (re-rating) | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

607 North Palm Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Lawrence Turman

Trivia:

None of the older characters has their first name identified in the film; only the younger characters of Benjamin, Elaine and Carl do, increasing the sense of a generation gap.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the "What are you so scared of" scene towards the beginning, Mrs. Robinson has her shoulders slouching to the left. In the next shot, from the reverse, they are slouching to the right.

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:

Featured in Hollywood Remembers Dustin Hoffman (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Wedding March

"The Graduate" is a Tale of the Sixties. You Had to be There or you Won't Understand.

Many of the remarks which are critical of this film are coming from people who are too young to have fully understood the mood of the sixties. Young people today embrace the goals of career advancement and material success as all-important, and in that respect, they are much like the older generation of the sixties. The younger generation of that era are, of course, today's older generation. At the time (though it may be hard to tell now), they rejected the values of their parents and were idealistic and Utopian in their approach to life. The generation gap was the biggest issue of the day (aside from the Vietnam War) and it was a recurrent theme in this film. The shallow, cynical, and corrupt older generation were wonderfully depicted by the boozing Robinsons. They wallowed in bourgeois elitism and hypocrisy, an apt theme the extravagant, big band lounge music that Mrs. Robinson puts on after Ben drives her home from the party. Recall, as well, the seemingly off-the-wall advice given to Ben by a man at the party: "One word, son -- plastics!" Actually, it might have been good advice, considering the way things have developed, but it sure didn't seem so at the time. The older generation were "plastic" (artificial and phony), whereas the younger generation strove to be honest and natural, though obviously, few succeeded at it for long. In any case, you had to have been there to fully appreciate and understand these references, which at the time were anything but subtle.

Even though Mrs. Robinson is undeniably a far more sophisticated and sexy woman than her pretty, naive daughter, Elaine represents the unapologetic and uncompromising idealism of the younger generation. Ben, who more than anything wanted his life to be "different" and grew tired of his purely physical relationship with Elaine's mother, just naturally shifted his romantic attachment to her daughter. The movie's score began to play a more important role as he courted her. I don't necessarily agree with those who claim the second part of the movie wasn't as good as the first. Although Ben indeed may have been kidding himself about just how much he loved and needed Elaine, he nevertheless fervently pursued her, and his love for the girl, whether real or imagined, represented what he considered most important in life. This was a real parting of the ways from the values of the older generation, who appeared to place romantic love fairly low on their list of priorities. In fact, without so many examples of their cynical and oft-nauseating attitudes continually in evidence, the movie changed into something else, just as it did in real life when the relatively innocent younger generation tried to experience life on their own terms (which few of them ever succeeded at doing for very long).

"The Graduate" was thus a classic movie that spoke for an entire generation. It is easy to understand why many members of the younger generation of today would be turned off by this movie. They are like the older generation of yesterday (only more so)-- boozing at an early age, driven by a desire to achieve material success above all else, obsessed with gadgets and other ephemeral distractions, and terrified that they might be perceived as "losers," which not coincidentally is the biggest insult they can apply to one another or to members of the older generation of today. Benjamin Braddock would be, to them, "a loser" who didn't know what was important or what he ought to want. When their own kids reach maturity and begin to seek greater meaning and purpose than the emphasis on money and position that is obviously so important to their parents, watch them reject almost everything Generation X stands for. It will be "The Graduate" all over again.