Love Story (1970)

Harvard Law student Oliver Barrett IV and music student Jennifer Cavilleri share a chemistry they cannot deny - and a love they cannot ignore. Despite their opposite backgrounds, the young ... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writer:

Erich Segal

Stars:

Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley

Won 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ali MacGraw	...	Jennifer Cavalleri
Ryan O'Neal	...	Oliver Barrett IV
John Marley	...	Phil Cavalleri
Ray Milland	...	Oliver Barrett III
Russell Nype	...	Dean Thompson
Katharine Balfour	...	Mrs. Barrett (as Katherine Balfour)
Sydney Walker	...	Dr. Shapely
Robert Modica	...	Dr. Addison
Walker Daniels	...	Ray Stratton
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Hank Simpson (as Tom Lee Jones)
John Merensky	...	Steve
Andrew Duncan	...	Reverend Blauvelt
Charlotte Ford	...	Clerk, Mount Sinai Hospital
Sudie Bond	...	(as Sudi Bond)
Julie Garfield	...	Bystander at Harpsichord Concerto

Storyline

Harvard Law student Oliver Barrett IV and music student Jennifer Cavilleri share a chemistry they cannot deny - and a love they cannot ignore. Despite their opposite backgrounds, the young couple put their hearts on the line for each other. When they marry, Oliver's wealthy father threatens to disown him. Jenny tries to reconcile the Barrett men, but to no avail. Oliver and Jenny continue to build their life together. Relying only on each other, they believe love can fix anything. But fate has other plans. Soon, what began as a brutally honest friendship becomes the love story of their lives.

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Plot Keywords:

love | harvard | premarital sex | boys' choir | leukemia | 

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Taglines:

Love means never having to say you're sorry

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for language and a love scene

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Historia de amor

Filming Locations:

119 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,200,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$106,400,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Love Story Company, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Tommy Lee Jones, an actual Harvard graduate. Writer Erich Segal based Ryan O'Neal's character on Jones, and on his Harvard roommate, future Vice-President Al Gore.

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Goofs

When Oliver and Jennifer pull up to his house to meet his parents, the shadow of the camera can be clearly seen on the wheel and hood of the car.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Oliver Barrett IV: 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?

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Crazy Credits

The Paramount logo only appears at the end of the film.

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Connections

Featured in 200 Cigarettes (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Bozo Barret"
Written by Francis Lai

User Reviews

The modern tear-jerker.

The modern tear-jerker for today's audiences. By today everybody knows the story for this film; boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy discovers girl has terminal illness.

Even though I am a guy, I cried at the end of this (something very rare). Well done all around. Great acting and direction, with a brilliant music score and very well adapted from the book. Without a doubt in my mind, the greatest romance film ever made between the 1970's - the present. 10 out of 10.