“It really kind of became, I hesitate to say, the first cult film. Yet over time, it slowly caught on as a repertory theater staple, becoming a ‘70s touchstone and finally recouping its budget several years later. Released with almost no marketing on the same date “The Godfather” was supposed to premiere, “Harold and Maude” flopped spectacularly in its initial release. Director Hal Ashby fought the establishment at every turn, nearly getting the production shut down. The idea for the film was hatched by Colin Higgins, a UCLA film student who lucked into a job cleaning the pool of a producer and ended up selling his script to Paramount. But 50 years on, the touching, droll and subversive story of a troubled teenager, played by Bud Cort, who falls in love with a nearly 80-year old free spirit, played by Ruth Gordon, still feels fresh and funny. Making “ Harold and Maude” wasn’t easy, and releasing it to the general public was even harder. And it was the comedy Variety called “as much fun as a burning orphanage.” A movie you had to show your girlfriend or boyfriend so they understood you.
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