The Way We Were (1973)

Two desperate people have a wonderful romance, but their political views and convictions drive them apart.

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writer:

Arthur Laurents

Stars:

Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Bradford Dillman

Won 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbra Streisand	...	Katie
Robert Redford	...	Hubbell
Bradford Dillman	...	J. J.
Lois Chiles	...	Carol Ann
Patrick O'Neal	...	George Bissinger
Viveca Lindfors	...	Paula Reisner
Allyn Ann McLerie	...	Rhea Edwards
Murray Hamilton	...	Brooks Carpenter
Herb Edelman	...	Bill Verso
Diana Ewing	...	Vicki Bissinger
Sally Kirkland	...	Pony Dunbar
Marcia Mae Jones	...	Peggy Vanderbilt
Don Keefer	...	Actor
George Gaynes	...	El Morocco Captain
Eric Boles	...	Army Corporal

Storyline

The often unlikely joint lives of Katie Morosky and Hubbell Gardiner from the late 1930s to the late 1950s is presented, over which time, they are, in no particular order, strangers, acquaintances, friends, best friends, lovers and adversaries. The unlikely nature of their relationship is due to their fundamental differences, where she is Jewish and passionate about her political activism both in political freedoms and Marxism to an extreme where she takes life a little too seriously, while he is the golden boy WASP, being afforded the privileges in life because of his background but who on the most part is able to capitalize on those privileges. Their lives are shown in four general time periods, in chronological order when they attend the same college, their time in New York City during WWII, his life as a Hollywood screenwriter post-war, and his life as a writer for a New York based live television show. It is during college that Hubbell finds his voice in life as a writer, and ...

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Plot Keywords:

friend | best friend | hollywood blacklist | opposites attract | whirlwind romance | 

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Taglines:

Some memories last forever.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

19 October 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nuestros años felices

Filming Locations:

Plaza Hotel - 750 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$49,919,870, 31 December 1974

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rastar Productions, Tom Ward Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Arthur Laurents fought to keep the line, "People are their principles" in the film. He argued that the line was "the point of the whole scene, the political point of the whole picture."

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Goofs

(at around 1h 10 mins) When Hubbel is at Katie's apartment, he thumps the frame located close to the window and places both hands on his hips. In the next shot, Hubbell's left hand is placed on the frame.

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Quotes

Hubbell Gardner: A... two cheese burgers and four cokes.
Katie Morosky Gardner: Onion?
Hubbell Gardner: Yeah, in the cokes.

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Connections

Referenced in A Little Romance (1979)

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Soundtracks

On the Sunny Side of the Street
(1930) (uncredited)
Music by Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Played by the band and Sung by an unidentified female at the El Morocco

User Reviews

breathless

Had to see this one again after years had elapsed between viewings, and the hair brushed from the face ending still gets to me. Weep weep, boo hoo. Speaking of hair, Babs looks better with her hair curly here, it always seems stiff flattened out. I still can't figure out if Hubbel was challenged by Katie or if he fell for her because he knew she loved him deeply, even if their relationship was based more on her attraction to him than his to hers. I never thought he truly felt comfortable with her. Because she was so "serious" all the time, as he tried to tell her. Romance was bound to fail because he could never think about other people the way she did and she in turn could never relax. The public confrontation during the communist witch hunt is the last straw and eventually leads us to the sidewalks of New York, where Katie's hair is curly again and Hubbel comments that she must have lost her iron. A truly moving romance with some stretches of dullness here and there but never at the expense of character. Both stars look great, with Streisand definitely robbed at Oscar time.