Love Story (1970)

A boy and a girl from different backgrounds fall in love regardless of their upbringing - and then tragedy strikes.

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writer:

Erich Segal

Stars:

Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ali MacGraw	...	Jenny
Ryan O'Neal	...	Oliver
John Marley	...	Phil
Ray Milland	...	Oliver Barrett III
Russell Nype	...	Dean Thompson
Katharine Balfour	...	Mrs. Barrett (as Katherine Balfour)
Sydney Walker	...	Dr. Shapeley
Robert Modica	...	Dr. Addison
Walker Daniels	...	Ray - Oliver's Roommate
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Hank - Oliver's Roommate (as Tom Lee Jones)
John Merensky	...	Steve - Oliver's Roommate
Andrew Duncan	...	Rev. Blauvelt
Charlotte Ford	...	Clerk
Sudie Bond	...	(as Sudi Bond)
Julie Garfield	...	Bystander at Harpsichord Concerto

Storyline

The love story of young adults Oliver Barrett IV and Jenny Cavilleri is told. Oliver comes from an extremely well off and old money New England family, the Barrett name which holds much gravitas and which is plastered especially all over Harvard where Oliver is in pre-law. Like those before him, he plans on attending Harvard Law School, which is not an issue in either the school not accepting him or he not wanting to attend. He has an extremely stiff relationship with his parents, especially his father, Oliver Barrett III, who loves his son in the old school way. Jenny, a music student at Radcliffe, comes from a working class Rhode Island background, she working her way through the program before she plans on going to Paris to further her studies. Unlike Oliver's relationship with his father, Jenny has a very casual one with her baker father, who she calls by his given name Phil. When Oliver and Jenny meet, there are immediate fireworks - she always with a quick quip to put him in his...

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Plot Keywords:

tragedy | death | ice hockey | 1970s | harvard university | 

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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:

Love Story

Filming Locations:

Corona Del Mar, Newport Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$106,400,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$136,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Love Story Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the 400 movies nominated for the Top 100 Greatest American Movies.

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Goofs

During HarvardVDartmouth Oliver is seen wearing #7 jersey for Harvard. In the penalty box he tells Jenny that he is concentrating on how he is going to total the Dartmouth player who had him sent to the box. He points to the Dartmouth player who at this point has just taken down another Harvard player that is clearly wearing #7.

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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

Unusually, for a movie released in the early 1970s, there were no opening credits after the title has been shown.

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Connections

Referenced in Movie Music Mania (2005)

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Soundtracks

Where Do I Begin/Love Story
Written by Francis Lai and Carl Sigman
Performed by Andy Williams

User Reviews

Academy Award Nominations for this!?

I had never seen Love Story nor read the book. However, I vividly remember its popularity when I was a child. Now that I'm "all grown up" I cannot believe that 1970 America got mesmerized by such schmaltz.

For Love Story to garner a Best Picture nomination must mean that 1970 was a weak year for films. Others have panned O'Neal and McGraw's acting. I thought it was adequate... nothing to do backflips over, but adequate...certainly NOT Oscar winning. I've always liked Ryan O'Neal's acting. Someone else should have played Jenny

I can take the romance, the young love, grievous feelings. I've been there but what's most irksome about this film are the gaps in the story line. I had NO IDEA what the hell Jenny was dying from. Out of nowhere Oliver graduates from law school... did we ever see him crack a book. The screenplay is lacking in my opinion. This is certainly not the greatest love story ever told... at least not on film anyway.

Still, it's enjoyable and worth seeing if nothing else than to see Tommy Lee Jones in an early role and also for the beautiful winter scenery.

Rating: 7/10 or **1/2