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Some Like It Hot
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For other uses, see Some Like It Hot (disambiguation).


 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010)

Some Like It Hot
Some Like It Hot poster.jpg
Theatrical poster

Directed by
Billy Wilder
Produced by
Billy Wilder
Screenplay by
Billy Wilder
I. A. L. Diamond
Based on
story by
Robert Thoeren
 Michael Logan
Starring
Marilyn Monroe
Tony Curtis
Jack Lemmon
George Raft
Joe E. Brown
Pat O'Brien
Music by
Adolph Deutsch
Cinematography
Charles Lang
Edited by
Arthur P. Schmidt
Production
   company
Mirisch Company
Distributed by
United Artists
Release date(s)
March 29, 1959

Running time
121 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$2,883,848
Box office
$40 million
Some Like It Hot is a 1959 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The supporting cast includes George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee and Nehemiah Persoff.
In 2000, the American Film Institute listed Some Like It Hot as the greatest American comedy film of all time.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Reception
5 Accolades
6 Soundtrack
7 Adaptations
8 See also
9 References
10 Further reading
11 External links

Plot[edit]
It is February 1929 in the city of Chicago. Joe is a jazz saxophone player, irresponsible gambler and ladies' man; his friend Jerry is a sensible jazz double-bass player. They accidentally witness the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. When the gangsters, led by "Spats" Colombo, spot them, the two run for their lives.
Penniless and in a mad rush to get out of town, the two musicians take a job with Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators, an all-female band headed to Miami. Disguised as women and calling themselves Josephine and Daphne, they board a train with the band and their male manager, Bienstock. Before they board the train, Joe and Jerry notice Sugar Kane, the band's vocalist and ukulele player.
Joe and Jerry become enamored of Sugar and compete for her affection while maintaining their disguises. Sugar confides that she has sworn off male saxophone players, who have stolen her heart in the past and left her with "the fuzzy end of the lollipop". She has set her sights on finding a sweet, bespectacled millionaire in Florida. During the forbidden drinking and partying on the train, Josephine and Daphne become intimate friends with Sugar, and have to struggle to remember that they are supposed to be girls and cannot make a pass at her.
Once in Miami, Joe woos Sugar by assuming a second disguise as a millionaire named Junior, the heir to Shell Oil, while feigning disinterest in Sugar. An actual millionaire, an aging mama's boy, the much-married Osgood Fielding III, tries repeatedly to pick up Daphne, who rebuffs him. Osgood invites Daphne for a champagne supper on his yacht. Joe convinces Daphne to keep Osgood occupied onshore so that Junior can take Sugar to Osgood's yacht, passing it off as his. Once on the yacht, Junior explains to Sugar that, due to psychological trauma, he is impotent and frigid, but that he would marry anyone who could change that. Sugar tries to arouse some sexual response in Junior, and begins to succeed. Meanwhile, Daphne and Osgood dance the tango till dawn.
When Joe and Jerry get back to the hotel, Jerry explains that Osgood has proposed marriage to Daphne and that he, as Daphne, has accepted, anticipating an instant divorce and huge cash settlement when his ruse is revealed. Joe convinces Jerry that he cannot actually marry Osgood.
The hotel hosts a conference for "Friends of Italian Opera", who are actually mobsters. Spats and his gang from Chicago recognize Joe and Jerry as the witnesses to the Valentine's Day murders. Joe and Jerry, fearing for their lives, realize they must quit the band and leave the hotel. Joe breaks Sugar's heart by telling her that he, Junior, has to marry a woman of his father's choosing and move to Venezuela.
After several chases, Joe and Jerry witness additional mob killings, this time of Spats and his crew. Joe, dressed as Josephine, sees Sugar onstage singing that she will never love again. He kisses her before he leaves, and Sugar realizes that Joe is both Josephine and Junior.
Sugar runs from the stage at the end of her performance and is able to jump into the launch from Osgood's yacht just as it is leaving the dock with Joe, Jerry, and Osgood. Joe tells Sugar that he is not good enough for her, that she would be getting the "fuzzy end of the lollipop" yet again, but Sugar wants him anyway. Jerry, for his part, comes up with a list of objections for why he and Osgood cannot get married, ranging from a smoking habit to infertility. Osgood dismisses them all; he loves Daphne and is determined to go through with the marriage. Exasperated, Jerry removes his wig and shouts, "I'm a man!" Osgood simply responds, "Well, nobody's perfect."
Cast[edit]
Marilyn Monroe as Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk, a ukulele player and singer
Tony Curtis as Joe/"Josephine"/"Shell Oil Junior"
Jack Lemmon as Jerry (Gerald)/"Daphne"
George Raft as "Spats" Colombo, a mobster from Chicago
Pat O'Brien as Detective Mulligan
Joe E. Brown as Osgood Fielding III
Nehemiah Persoff as "Little Bonaparte," a mobster
Joan Shawlee as Sweet Sue, the bandleader of "Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopators"
Dave Barry as Mister Beinstock, the band manager for "Sweet Sue and Her Society Syncopators"
Billy Gray as Sig Poliakoff, Joe and Jerry's agent in Chicago
Barbara Drew as Nellie Weinmeyer, Poliakoff's secretary
George E. Stone as "Toothpick" Charlie, a gangster who is killed by "Spats" Colombo
Mike Mazurki as Spats's henchman
Harry Wilson as Spats's henchman
Edward G. Robinson Jr. as Johnny Paradise, a gangster who kills "Spats" Colombo
Beverly Wills as Dolores, a trombone player, and Sugar's apartment friend
Production[edit]



Hotel del Coronado
Marilyn Monroe worked for 10% of the gross in excess of $4 million, Tony Curtis for 5% of the gross over $2 million and Billy Wilder 17.5% of the first million after breakeven and 20% thereafter.[1]
The Florida segment, at the fictitious "Seminole Ritz", was filmed at the Hotel Del Coronado in Coronado, California.[2]
The studio hired famed aerialist and female impersonator Barbette to coach Lemmon and Curtis on gender illusion for the film.[3]
Tony Curtis is frequently quoted as saying that kissing Marilyn Monroe was like "kissing Hitler". However, during a 2001 interview with Leonard Maltin, Curtis stated that he had never made this claim.[4] In his 2008 autobiography, Curtis notes that he did make the statement to the film crew, but it was meant in a joking manner.[5] During his appearance at the Jules Verne Festival in France in 2008, Curtis claimed on the set of Laurent Ruquier's TV show that he and Monroe were lovers in the late 1940s when they were first struggling for recognition in films.
After working with Monroe on "The Seven Year Itch," Wilder swore he would never work with her again. But was delighted after hearing she read the script and wanted to play the part. "It's wonderful that Monroe wanted that part," he said in an interview. "We had a big, big bomb there in that cannon that we could shoot off. We would not have that sex thing."
Joe E. Brown was not the original choice for the role of Osgood. It was not until Wilder and Diamond spotted him at a Los Angeles Dodgers game that the idea entered their minds. As Wilder remembers, "There was a loudspeaker on the field behind home plate, and people talking, and now comes the next speaker and it's Joe E. Brown. And I said, 'That's our guy, that's our guy!' Nobody ever thought of him."
The famed final line of the film, "well, nobody's perfect," was only supposed to be used temporarily until Wilder and Diamond thought of what they thought would be a better line. The line itself, suggested by Diamond, was thought of at the beginning of their discussion. As revealed in "Conversations with Billy Wilder", a book of interviews between Billy Wilder and Cameron Crowe, Wilder said to Diamond, "Look, let's go back to your line, 'Nobody's perfect.' Let's send it to the mimeograph department so that they have something, and then we're going to really sit down and make a real funny last line."
Reception[edit]
Some Like it Hot received widespread critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes reports a score of 96%, with an average score of 8.9 out of 10. Roger Ebert says about the movie, "Wilder's 1959 comedy is one of the enduring treasures of the movies, a film of inspiration and meticulous craft."
The film earned an estimated $7.2 million in rentals in the US and Canada during its first year of release, making it one of the biggest hits of the year.[6] However because so much of the profits were given away to key participants, UA only made $500,000 during the first year (compared to Wilder who earned $1.2 million, Monroe $800,000 and Curtis $500,000).[1]
Accolades[edit]
The film was awarded an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White (Orry-Kelly) and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jack Lemmon), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White (Ted Haworth, Edward G. Boyle), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Academy Award for Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.[7]
Soundtrack[edit]
"I'm Through with Love", by Gus Kahn, Matty Malneck, Joseph A. "Fud" Livingston (Performed by Marilyn Monroe)
"I Wanna Be Loved by You", by Bert Kalmar, Herbert Stothart, Harry Ruby (Performed by Marilyn Monroe)
"Some Like It Hot", by Matty Malneck and I.A.L. Diamond (Performed by Marilyn Monroe)
"Runnin' Wild", by A.H. Gibbs, Joe Grey, Leo Wood (Performed by Marilyn Monroe)
"Down Among the Sheltering Palms", by Olmar-Brockman
"Sugar Blues", by Williams-Fletcher
"By the Beautiful Sea", by Harry Carroll, Harold R. Atteridge
"Sweet Georgia Brown", by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, Kenneth Casey
"La Cumparsita", written by Gerardo Matos Rodríguez
"Stairway to the Stars", music by Matt Malneck and Frank Signorelli
"Liebesträume" by Franz Liszt
Adaptations[edit]
An unsold television pilot was filmed by Mirisch Productions in 1961 featuring Vic Damone and Tina Louise. As a favor to the production company, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis agreed to film cameo appearances, returning as their original characters, Daphne and Josephine, at the beginning of the pilot. Their appearance sees them in a hospital where Jerry (Lemmon) is being treated for his impacted back tooth and Joe (Curtis) is the same O blood type.[8]
In 1972, a musical play based on the screenplay of the film, entitled Sugar, opened on Broadway, starring Elaine Joyce, Robert Morse, Tony Roberts and Cyril Ritchard, with book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and (all-new) music by Jule Styne. A 1991 production of this show in London featured Tommy Steele and retained the original title. In 2002, Tony Curtis performed in a stage production of the film. He portrayed the character originally played by Joe E. Brown.
See also[edit]
Cross-dressing in film and television
Bollywood remake Rafoo Chakkar
List of films considered the best
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Tino Balio, United Artists: The Company The Changed the Film Industry, Uni of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p 170
2.Jump up ^ Lucas, Kate (January 17, 2010). "Locations, Locations, Locations". The Orange County Register. p. Travel 2. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
3.Jump up ^ Liner, Elaine (2002-06-13). "Swingers: Barbette soars to greatness with the tragic tale of a trapeze artist". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
4.Jump up ^ This interview is contained in DVD editions of the film.
5.Jump up ^ American Prince, published by Harmony Books, ISBN 978-1-905264-34-6
6.Jump up ^ "1959: Probable Domestic Take", Variety, 6 January 1960 p 34
7.Jump up ^ "NY Times: Some Like It Hot". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
8.Jump up ^ http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/805149
Further reading[edit]
Curtis, Tony. The Making of Some Like It Hot, Wiley & Sons, Hoboken NJ, 2009. ISBN 978-0-470-53721-3.
Maslon, Laurence. Some Like It Hot: The Official 50th Anniversary Companion, New York, HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN 978-0-06-176123-2.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Some Like It Hot
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Some Like It Hot (1959 film).
Some Like It Hot at the Internet Movie Database
Some Like It Hot at Rotten Tomatoes
Some Like It Hot at the TCM Movie Database
Some Like It Hot at AllMovie
Roger Ebert's review of Some Like It Hot
Literature


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Categories: 1959 films
English-language films
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Films directed by Billy Wilder
Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance
Films featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe winning performance
Films set in hotels
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The Graduate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from The Graduate (film))
Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see The Graduate (disambiguation).

The Graduate
Graduateposter67.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Mike Nichols
Produced by
Joseph E. Levine
Lawrence Turman
Screenplay by
Calder Willingham
Buck Henry
Based on
The Graduate
 by Charles Webb
Starring
Anne Bancroft
Dustin Hoffman
Katharine Ross
Music by
Dave Grusin
Cinematography
Robert Surtees
Edited by
Sam O'Steen
Distributed by
Embassy Pictures (USA)
United Artists (Non-USA)
Release date(s)
December 21, 1967

Running time
105 minutes[1]
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$3 million
Box office
$104,901,839[2]
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols.[3] It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay is by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, who appears in the film as a hotel clerk.
The film tells the story of Benjamin Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman), a recent college graduate with no well-defined aim in life, who is seduced by an older woman, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), and then proceeds to fall in love with her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross).
In 1996, The Graduate was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Initially, the film was placed at #7 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list in 1998. When AFI revised the list in 2007, the film was moved to #17.
Adjusted for inflation, the film is #21 on the list of highest-grossing films in the United States and Canada.[4]


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 Casting
3.2 Filming locations
3.3 Music
4 Reception 4.1 Critical response
4.2 Accolades
5 Stage adaptation
6 Possibility of sequel
7 Further reading
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
Benjamin Braddock, going on from twenty to twenty-one years old, has earned his bachelor's degree from an unnamed college in the Northeast and has returned home to a party celebrating his graduation at his parents' house in Pasadena, California. Benjamin, visibly uncomfortable as his parents deliver accolades and neighborhood friends ask him about his future plans, evades those who try to congratulate him. He drives Mrs. Robinson, the neglected wife of his father's law partner, home. Once at the Robinson home, Benjamin is coerced inside and to have a drink as Mrs. Robinson attempts to seduce him. Her initial attempt at an affair rebuffed, Benjamin leaves. However, after a few days, he clumsily organizes a tryst at a hotel, thus beginning their sexual relationship.
Benjamin spends the remainder of the summer drifting around in the pool by day, purposefully neglecting to select a graduate school, and seeing Mrs. Robinson at the hotel by night. He discovers that he and Mrs. Robinson have nothing to talk about and that she only wants sex. However, after Benjamin pesters her one evening, Mrs. Robinson reveals that she is in a loveless marriage because she errantly became pregnant with her daughter, Elaine. Both Mr. Robinson, who is unaware of his wife's affair, and Benjamin’s parents encourage him to call on Elaine. Though he promises his lover he will not date Elaine and then consciously tries to sabotage his first date with her by ignoring her, driving recklessly, and taking her to a strip club, Benjamin discovers that Elaine is someone he is comfortable with and a relationship ensues.
Trying to stave off a jealous Mrs. Robinson who threatened to reveal their affair to destroy any chance with Elaine, Benjamin rashly decides he has to tell Elaine everything. Upset over hearing about Benjamin's tryst with her mother, Elaine escapes to Berkeley, refusing to speak with Benjamin. He follows in pursuit and, after briefly stalking her, reveals his presence. Elaine accuses Benjamin of raping her mother while she was drunk, refusing to believe that it was in fact Mrs. Robinson that craftily seduced him and initiated the affair. After much discussion and over the next few days, Benjamin and Elaine grow closer, and he continually asks to marry her. Mr. Robinson arrives at Berkeley, with all the details of his wife’s affair, where he threatens Benjamin with violence and forces Elaine to drop out of school and takes her away to marry Carl, a classmate she had briefly been involved with.
Returning to Pasadena in search of Elaine and Mr. Robinson, Benjamin forces himself into the Robinson home but encounters Mrs. Robinson. She coldly tells him he won't be able stop the wedding and then calls the police, claiming that her house is being burgled. Benjamin returns to Berkeley. After learning from Carl’s fraternity brothers that the wedding is in Santa Barbara, California that very morning, he rushes out to stop the wedding. Running out of gas a few blocks from the church, Benjamin must sprint the last few blocks. He arrives just as the bride and groom are about to kiss. Thinking he is too late, he bangs on the glass at the back of the church and screams out "Elaine!" repeatedly. After a brief hesitation, Elaine screams out "Ben!" and starts running towards him. A brawl ensues as guests try to stop Elaine and Ben from leaving together. Elaine manages to break free from her mother, who claims "It's too late!" as Elaine has already said her marriage vows, to which Elaine replies, "Not for me!" Benjamin holds guests at bay by swinging a cross ripped from the wall, then using it to jam the outside door while the pair escape. They board a bus and take the back seat, elated at their victory. However, in the final shot, Benjamin's smile gradually fades to an enigmatic, neutral expression as he gazes forward down the bus, not looking at Elaine. Elaine first looks lovingly across at Ben but notices his demeanor and turns away with a similar expression as the bus drives away, taking the two lovers towards a future of uncertainty.
Cast[edit]
Anne Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson
Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock
Katharine Ross as Elaine Robinson
William Daniels as Mr. Braddock
Murray Hamilton as Mr. Robinson
Elizabeth Wilson as Mrs. Braddock
Buck Henry as Room clerk
Walter Brooke as Mr. McGuire
Brian Avery as Carl Smith
Norman Fell as Mr. McCleery
Marion Lorne as Miss DeWitte
Alice Ghostley as Mrs Singleman
Eddra Gale as Woman on bus

Uncredited:
Mike Farrell as Bellhop in hotel lobby
Richard Dreyfuss as Boarding house resident
Ben Murphy as Shaving student
Kevin Tighe as Student in shower
Eve McVeagh as Party guest
Donald F. Glut as College student
Elaine May as Girl with note for Benjamin
Lainie Miller as Night club stripper
William H. O'Brien as Hotel guest
Noam Pitlik as Gas station attendant
Hal Taggart as Hotel guest
Arthur Tovey as Hotel guest
David Westberg as Valet parker
Hamilton Camp as Second room clerk

Production[edit]
Casting[edit]

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2013)
According to TCM host Robert Osborne, "Mike Nichols wanted Doris Day for Mrs. Robinson, Robert Redford for Benjamin Braddock, and Gene Hackman for Mr. Robinson." But there were numerous actors considered or tested for, or who wanted, roles in the film.
Day turned down the offer because the nudity required by the role offended her.[5] Nichols' actual first choice for Mrs. Robinson was French actor Jeanne Moreau. The idea behind this was that in the French culture, the "older" women tended to "train" the younger men in sexual matters. Joan Crawford inquired as to play the part, while Lauren Bacall and Audrey Hepburn both wanted the role. Patricia Neal turned down the film as she had recently recovered from a stroke and did not feel ready to accept such a major role. Geraldine Page also turned it down. Other actors considered for the part included Claire Bloom, Angie Dickinson, Sophia Loren, Judy Garland, Rita Hayworth, Susan Hayward, Anouk Aimee, Jennifer Jones, Deborah Kerr, Eva Marie Saint, Rosalind Russell, Simone Signoret, Jean Simmons, Lana Turner, Eleanor Parker, Anne Baxter and Shelley Winters. Angela Lansbury also asked about playing the part. Ava Gardner sought the role of Mrs. Robinson, and reportedly called Nichols saying,"I want to see you! I want to talk about this Graduate thing!". Nichols did not seriously consider her for the role (he wanted a younger woman as Bancroft was 36 and Gardner was 45), but did end up visiting her hotel. He later recounted that "she sat at a little French desk with a telephone, she went through every movie star cliché. She said, 'All right, let's talk about your movie. First of all, I strip for nobody.'" Meanwhile, Natalie Wood turned down not only the role of Mrs. Robinson, but also that of Elaine.
For the character of Elaine, casting was also problematic. Patty Duke turned down the part as she did not want to work at the time. Faye Dunaway was also considered for Elaine, but had to turn it down, in favor of Bonnie and Clyde. Sally Field and Shirley MacLaine refused the role as well. Raquel Welch and Joan Collins both wanted the role, but did not succeed in getting it. Carroll Baker tested, but was said to have been too old to portray Anne Bancroft's daughter. Candice Bergen screen-tested as well, as did Goldie Hawn and Jane Fonda. On the other hand, Ann-Margret, Elizabeth Ashley, Carol Lynley, Rosemary Forsyth, Sue Lyon, Lesley Ann Warren, Yvette Mimieux, Suzanne Pleshette, Lee Remick, Pamela Tiffin, Julie Christie, and Tuesday Weld were all on the director's shortlist before Katharine Ross was cast.
When Dustin Hoffman auditioned for the role of Benjamin, he was asked to perform a love scene with Ross. Hoffman had never done one during his acting classes and believed that, as he said later, "a girl like [Ross] would never go for a guy like me in a million years". Ross agreed, believing that Hoffman "look[ed] about 3 feet tall ... so unkempt. This is going to be a disaster". Producer Joseph E. Levine later admitted that he at first believed that Hoffman "was one of the messenger boys". Despite—or perhaps because of— Hoffman's awkwardness, Nichols chose him for the film.[6] Before Hoffman was cast, Robert Redford and Warren Beatty were among the top choices. Beatty turned the film down as he was occupied with Bonnie and Clyde. Redford tested for the part of Benjamin (with Candice Bergen as Elaine), but Nichols thought that Redford did not possess the underdog quality that Benjamin needed. When Mike Nichols talked with Redford, Redford asked what he meant. "Well, let's put it this way," said Nichols, "Have you ever struck out with a girl?" "What do you mean?" asked Redford. "That's precisely my point," said Nichols. Charles Grodin turned down the part as the money was not right. Both Brandon deWilde and Michael Parks auditioned for the role. In addition, Keir Dullea, Robert Duvall, Harrison Ford, George Hamilton, Albert Finney, Gene Wilder, Steve McQueen, Jack Nance, Anthony Perkins, Robert Wagner, and Jack Nicholson were all considered for the part of Benjamin. Burt Ward, who starred as Robin on the Batman television series, had to pass on the role as he was committed to filming the show, and the studio would not lend him anyway.
In the roles of Mr. Robinson, Gene Hackman was originally cast, but just before filming began, the director decided he was too young and decided to replace him. Marlon Brando, Howard Duff, Brian Keith, George Peppard, Jack Palance, Frank Sinatra, Walter Matthau and Gregory Peck were all other choices for the role that Murray Hamilton eventually played. Susan Hayward was the first choice for Benjamin's mother, Mrs. Braddock, but the role was given to Elizabeth Wilson. And to play Mr. Braddock, Yul Brynner, Kirk Douglas, Jack Lemmon, Robert Mitchum, Karl Malden, Christopher Plummer and Ronald Reagan all came close to getting the role that ended up going to William Daniels.[7]
There are considerable age discrepancies between the lead roles and the actors who portrayed them. Benjamin Braddock says, "I will be 21 next week "; at the time of filming, Dustin Hoffman was 30. Mrs. Robinson states, "Benjamin, I am twice your age." Anne Bancroft was 36, only six years older than Hoffman. Mrs. Robinson's daughter Elaine is 19 and was portrayed by Katharine Ross, who was 27 at the time. Elaine May, who portrayed Elaine's college roommate and delivered a note to Benjamin from Elaine, was 35 at the time and only seven months younger than Anne Bancroft.
Filming locations[edit]
Many of the exterior university campus shots of Benjamin were actually filmed on the brick campus of USC in Los Angeles.[8] Other scenes were filmed on Durant Avenue and Telegraph Avenue in the city of Berkeley, as well as on the Berkeley campus itself (shot remotely from Telegraph Avenue, as the university did not permit commercial filming at the time).
The Taft Hotel scenes were filmed at the Ambassador Hotel.
The church used for the wedding scene is actually the United Methodist Church in La Verne. In a commentary audio released with the 40th anniversary DVD, Hoffman revealed that he was uneasy about the scene in which he pounds on the church window, as the minister of the church had been watching the filming disapprovingly. The residences used for the Braddocks' house and the Robinsons' house were located on North Palm Drive in Beverly Hills. The scene with Benjamin and Elaine at night in his car at the drive-in restaurant was filmed in Westwood Village, Los Angeles.
The scenes of Benjamin driving to Berkeley on the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge were filmed on the top level of the bridge — leading into San Francisco — the opposite direction of Berkeley. In another scene as he drives south to Santa Barbara, his Alfa Romeo Spider is shown heading north through the Gaviota Tunnel, also the wrong direction.
Music[edit]



The Graduate Original Soundtrack album cover.
See also: The Graduate (soundtrack)
The film boosted the profile of folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Originally, Nichols and O'Steen used their existing songs like "The Sound of Silence" merely as a pacing device for the editing until Nichols decided that substituting original music would not be effective and decided to include them on the soundtrack, an unusual move at that time.[9]
According to a Variety article by Peter Bart in the 15 May 2005 issue, Lawrence Turman, his producer, then made a deal for Simon to write three new songs for the movie. By the time they had nearly finished editing the film, Simon had only written one new song. Nichols begged him for more, but Simon, who was touring constantly, told him he did not have the time. He did play him a few notes of a new song he had been working on; "It's not for the movie... it's a song about times past — about Mrs. Roosevelt and Joe DiMaggio and stuff." Nichols advised Simon, "It's now about Mrs. Robinson, not Mrs. Roosevelt."[10]
On the strength of the hit single "Mrs. Robinson", the soundtrack album rose to the top of the charts in 1968 (knocking off The Beatles' White Album). However, the version that appears in the film is markedly different from the hit single version, which would not be issued until Simon and Garfunkel's next album, Bookends. The actual film version of "Mrs. Robinson" does appear on The Graduate soundtrack LP.
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
A.D. Murphy of Variety and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film upon its release, with Murphy describing it as a "delightful satirical comedy-drama"[11] and Ebert claiming it was the "funniest American comedy of the year".[12]
For the film's thirtieth anniversary reissue, Ebert retracted some of his previous praise for the film, noting that he now felt its time has passed and he now had more sympathy for Mrs. Robinson than Benjamin, whom he considered "an insufferable creep."[13] He, along with Gene Siskel, gave the film a mediocre review on the television program Siskel & Ebert.[14]
Accolades[edit]
Bancroft, Hoffman, and Ross earned Oscar nominations for their performances. Along with the acting nominations, the film received nominations for Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. Mike Nichols won the Academy Award for Best Director.
The film won the BAFTA Award for Best Film, as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Editing (to Sam O'Steen).
In 1996, The Graduate was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", and placed #21 on the list of highest-grossing films in the United States and Canada, adjusted for inflation.[4]
Years later in interviews, Bancroft conceded that, much to her surprise, Mrs. Robinson was the role with which she was most identified, and added "Men still come up to me and tell me 'You were my first sexual fantasy.'"
American Film Institute recognition
1998: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies - #7
2000: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs - #9
2002: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions - #52
2004: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: "Mrs. Robinson" - #6
2005: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes: "Plastics." - #42
"Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?" - #63
2007: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - #17
The film is listed in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book.[15]
In 1980s Alfa Romeo introduced a "Graduate" name for their US-market 3rd series of Spider.
Stage adaptation[edit]

Question book-new.svg
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Terry Johnson's adaptation of the original novel and the film was a hit both in London's West End and on Broadway, and has toured the United States. There is a Brazilian version adapted by Miguel Falabella. Several actresses have starred as Mrs. Robinson, including Kathleen Turner, Lorraine Bracco, Jerry Hall, Amanda Donohoe, Morgan Fairchild, Anne Archer, Vera Fischer, Patricia Richardson and Linda Gray. The Broadway production in 2002 starred Kathleen Turner, Jason Biggs, and Alicia Silverstone.
The stage production adds several scenes that are not in the novel or the film. It also uses songs by Simon & Garfunkel not used in the film, such as "Baby Driver" as well as music from other popular musicians from the era such as The Byrds and The Beach Boys.
Possibility of sequel[edit]
Charles Webb has written a sequel to his original novel titled Home School, but initially refused to publish it in its entirety because of a contract he signed in the 1960s. When he sold film rights to The Graduate, he surrendered the rights to any sequels. If he were to publish Home School, Canal+, the French media company that owns the rights to The Graduate, would be able to adapt it for the screen without his permission.[16] Extracts of Home School were printed in The Times on May 2, 2006.[17] Webb also told the newspaper that there was a possibility he would find a publisher for the full text, provided he could retrieve the film rights using French copyright law.[18] On May 30, 2006, The Times reported that Webb had signed a publishing deal for Home School with Random House which he hoped would enable him to instruct French lawyers to attempt to retrieve his rights. The novel was published in Britain in 2007,[19] but was poorly received.[20][21]
Further reading[edit]
J. W. Whitehead. Appraising The Graduate: The Mike Nichols Classic and Its Impact in Hollywood. McFarland, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7864-6306-0.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "THE GRADUATE (AA)". United Artists. British Board of Film Classification. July 1, 1970. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
2.Jump up ^ "The Graduate, Box Office Information". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
3.Jump up ^ Variety's Film Reviews. December 20, 1967. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-8240-5210-2.
4.^ Jump up to: a b "Domestic Grosses, Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
5.Jump up ^ McGee, Garry (November 22, 2011). Doris Day: Sentimental Journey. McFarland. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-7864-6107-3. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
6.Jump up ^ Zeitlin, David (24 November 1967). "The Graduate". Life. p. 111. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
7.Jump up ^ Kashner, Sam (March 2008). "Here’s to You, Mr. Nichols: The Making of The Graduate". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
8.Jump up ^ Moore, Annette (Spring 2006). "USC’s Lists & Urban Legends: Just a Few of the Feature Films Shot on the University Park Campus". USC Trojan Family Magazine. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
9.Jump up ^ Harris, Mark (February 14, 2008). Pictures at a Revolution. The Penguin Press. pp. 360–1. ISBN 978-1-5942-0152-3.
10.Jump up ^ Bart, Peter (May 15, 2005). "The perfect pic alignment". Variety (Variety.com).
11.Jump up ^ A.D. Murphy (December 18, 1967). "Film Reviews—The Graduate". Variety (Variety.com). Retrieved 2011-04-13.
12.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (December 26, 1967). "The Graduate". Chicago Sun-Times (RogerEbert.SunTimes.com). Retrieved 2011-04-13.
13.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (March 28, 1997). "The Graduate". Chicago Sun-Times (RogerEbert.SunTimes.com). Retrieved 2011-04-13.
14.Jump up ^ "LiarLiar / Crash / Selena / The Graduate (1997)". Siskel & Ebert at the Movies. Season 11. Episode 28. TV.com: Siskel & Ebert at the Movies Season 11 Episode 28. Siskel&Ebert.org. March 22, 1997. 3:40 minutes in. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
15.Jump up ^ Steven Jay Schneider, ed. (September 2003). 1001 Movies You Muse See Before You Die. London: Quintessence Editions Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7641-6151-3.
16.Jump up ^ David Smith (25 March 2005). "What happened next? (the author will let you know after he dies)". The Observer (guardian.co.uk). Retrieved 2007-10-12.
17.Jump up ^ Webb, Charles (2 May 2006). "Mrs Robinson Returns". The Times (timesonline.co.uk). Retrieved 2007-10-12.
18.Jump up ^ Malvern, Jack (18 April 2006). "The Graduate's not-so-happy sequel". The Times (timesonline.co.uk). Retrieved 2014-03-03.
19.Jump up ^ Malvern, Jack (30 May 2006). "At last, Mrs Robinson is getting her groove back". The Times (timesonline.co.uk). Retrieved 2011-04-13.
20.Jump up ^ Ulin, David L. (10 January 2008). "Post 'Graduate' work is a failure". Los Angeles Times (latimes.com). Retrieved 2011-04-13.
21.Jump up ^ "Home School". KirkusReviews.com. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
External links[edit]

Portal icon Film in the United States portal
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 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Graduate
Official website
The Graduate at the Internet Movie Database
The Graduate at the TCM Movie Database
The Graduate at Rotten Tomatoes
The Graduate at Box Office Mojo
The Graduate at the American Film Institute Catalog
The Graduate opening


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Categories: 1967 films
English-language films
1960s comedy-drama films
American films
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American sex comedy films
Films directed by Mike Nichols
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Best Musical or Comedy Picture Golden Globe winners
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Films set in California
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