I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968)

A thirty-something square falls in love with a hippie and decides to "drop out" himself.

Director:

Hy Averback

Writers:

Paul Mazursky, Larry Tucker

Stars:

Peter Sellers, Jo Van Fleet, Leigh Taylor-Young

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Sellers	...	Harold
Jo Van Fleet	...	Mother
Leigh Taylor-Young	...	Nancy
Joyce Van Patten	...	Joyce
David Arkin	...	Herbie
Herb Edelman	...	Murray
Salem Ludwig	...	Father
Louis Gottlieb	...	Guru
Grady Sutton	...	Funeral Director
Janet Clark	...	Mrs. Foley
Jorge Moreno	...	Mr. Rodriguez
Ed Peck	...	Man in Dress Shop
Jack Margolis	...	Big Bear
Eddra Gale	...	Love Lady
Carol O'Leary	...	Anita

Storyline

Peter Sellers stars as Harold Fine, a self-described square--a 35-year-old Los Angeles Lawyer who is not looking forward to middle age and his upcoming wedding. His life changes, however, when he falls in love with Nancy, a free-spirited, innocent, and beautiful young hippie. After Harold and his family enjoy some of her "groovy" brownies, he decides to "drop out" with her and become a hippie too. But can he return to his old life when he discovers that the hippie lifestyle is just a little too independent and irresponsible for his tastes?

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Plot Keywords:

hippie | love | lawyer | wedding | jewish | 

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Taglines:

The saga of Harold...from dedicated lawyer to dedicated dropout.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

18 October 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

A borboleta vermelha

Filming Locations:

Leo Carrillo State Beach - 35000 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Brothers/Seven Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's title is a tribute to Gertrude Stein's lifelong partner, Alice B. Toklas, who published a cookbook in 1954 that contained the first printed recipe for hash fudge. In one of the movie's most famous scenes Harold Fine unknowingly serves marijuana-laced brownies baked by Nancy to his parents and fiancée.

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Goofs

When Harold and Nancy first make love, the light shining on Nancy's butterfly tattoo makes it clear that it is a decal, not a real tattoo.

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Quotes

Mrs. Fine: Lose some weight!
Crying hippie: But all I eat is grass and acid.

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Connections

Referenced in A Couple of Trouble (1969)

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Soundtracks

I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!
(1968) (uncredited)
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Lyrics by Larry Tucker and Paul Mazursky
Arranged by Bob Thompson
Performed by Harpers Bizarre

User Reviews

Wild contrasts--as opposed to funny comparisons--between the squares and the drop-outs

Screenwriters Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker have a deft idea here--but it only takes an hour on the clock to use up the essence of their idea, leaving nothing but dead space on the screen for thirty more minutes. Milquetoast Jewish lawyer in Los Angeles, about to marry his domineering secretary (an idea which is approved by his demonstrative mother), is reunited with his estranged brother, a flower-child circa 1968. Through the brother's sometime-girlfriend, a comely lass who knows a great recipe for hash brownies, the lawyer realizes he's living an existence without love or freedom. It's wonderful watching bespectacled, buttoned-up Peter Sellers learn how to be liberated...yet, once the lawyer grows his hair out and dons love beads, the picture has nowhere in particular to take us. The satire is unsubtle in its prodding of targets, while writers Mazursky and Tucker ultimately bite off more than they can chew (while leaning precariously on pretentiousness). Still, there are some mild, breezy laughs early on, and the production is bright. ** from ****