IMDb > Getting Straight (1970)

Getting Straight (1970) More at IMDbPro »

Overview

User Rating:
6.1/10   336 votes
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Down 13% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Richard Rush
Writers:
Robert Kaufman (writer)
Ken Kolb (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for Getting Straight on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
13 May 1970 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama more
Tagline:
America's children lay it on the line.
Plot:
Harry Bailey has returned from Vietnam and returns to college to earn his masters degree so he can teach English... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
A Treasurywala at Luxurion World
 (From Bollyspice. 9 November 2009, 1:48 PM, PST)
DVD: Review: Getting Straight
 (From The AV Club. 3 February 2009, 10:00 PM, PST)
User Comments:
"A man who doesn't believe in the cause doesn't believe in himself!" more (20 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Elliott Gould ... Harry Bailey

Candice Bergen ... Jan

Robert F. Lyons ... Nick
Jeff Corey ... Dr. Edward Willhunt
Max Julien ... Ellis
Cecil Kellaway ... Dr. Kasper
Jon Lormer ... Vandenburg
Leonard Stone ... Lysander
William Bramley ... Wade Linden
Jeannie Berlin ... Judy Kramer
John Rubinstein ... Herbert
Richard Anders ... Dr. Greengrass
Brenda Sykes ... Luan
Jenny Sullivan ... Sheila
Gregory Sierra ... Garcia
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
124 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Argentina:Atp | West Germany:16 | Finland:K-16 | UK:15 | USA:R
Filming Locations:
Eugene, Oregon, USA more
Company:
Columbia Pictures Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Lane Community College in Eugene served as the location for the film. The new campus was in the final stages of construction at the time of production. This allowed the film crew to easily simulate the occupation of offices and buildings by protesters without interfering with actual campus life. Some pyrotechnic effects were used, including one that used black powder and petroleum that blackened an exterior wall and startled the cast and crew. A technician apologized for overdoing the effect (an understatement). Many local people were involved, including a few hand-picked for stunt work. more
Quotes:
Harry Bailey: Woman? You're not a woman! You're just a guy with a hole in the middle! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Elliot Gould/Anne Murray (#1.9)" (1976) more
Soundtrack:
Getting Straight more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
"A man who doesn't believe in the cause doesn't believe in himself!", 13 May 2009
3/10
Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

Elliott Gould is bemused and colorful as a Vietnam veteran back in college, stuck between a rock and a hard place; he's working semi-seriously towards getting his teaching credentials, and yet is stymied by his fellow classmates who want to protest the hypocrisies of the Establishment (with Gould's help), and also by his instructors, hypocrites with power who work by a double standard. Director Richard Rush occasionally does fluid work here, and the film has fervently funny and thoughtful scenes, however Robert Kaufman's hot-headed script, adapted from Ken Kolb's novel, is awash with half-realized ideas. The kids sound off violently against the University's directors, but we're never made aware of what they want--or what they want done about their concerns. Made during an era wherein young people hoped to change the world--and get laid--the characters in this picture nevertheless are just sounding-boards for the writer. Topics are brought up not to be discussed but to be challenged (and, in these cases, the kids are just as blind as their professional elders). Was that Kaufman's point, that student riots really ARE just violent preludes to sex and otherwise a waste of time? Gould's shaggy character rants and raves too, but his Harry Bailey presents a different problem: he cheats, he lies, he cuts corners, he heartily embraces his own set of values and yet is happily corrupt! A hypocrite himself, Bailey loves teaching, loves kids and their innocence, but he doesn't see his own short-comings--and I'm not sure the filmmakers do, either. Bailey is a one-sided writer's creation (and oddly, for a movie filled with so many liberal stances, Bailey--like most of the other characters--is anti-female and homophobic). Candice Bergen (in a wan performance) plays Gould's shiksa goddess girlfriend who doesn't like being called a WASP and who would give up everything to be married in the suburbs. She's continually put down for that, as if she's a sell-out, and yet how exactly would Gould live if he were to achieve his dream of being a high school teacher? As it is, he can't even pay the rent on his apartment! The riot sequences are staged for utter seriousness--and they are filmed and edited with precision--but they don't come organically out of this story, they are interjected for shock value. The rage and anger presented here is convincing, but the cause is confusing. These students don't seem to want peace at all, and neither does director Rush. The narrative is pushed towards violence for no other purpose except to vividly stage two movie riots. This is exploitation, and the crummy feeling one gets from the picture can be related right back to the people behind it: they're hypocrites, too. *1/2 from ****

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