The Graduate (1967)

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writers:

Calder Willingham (screenplay) and
Buck Henry (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 December 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Comedy

Tagline:

The Movie That Became A Legend [Video Australia]

Plot:

Recent college graduate Benjamin Braddock is trapped into an affair with Mrs. Robinson, who happens to be the wife of his father's business partner and then finds himself falling in love with her teenage daughter, Elaine.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Graduate | College Graduate | Obsession | Alcoholic

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 19 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Anne Bancroft	...	Mrs. Robinson
Dustin Hoffman	...	Ben Braddock
Katharine Ross	...	Elaine Robinson
William Daniels	...	Mr. Braddock
Murray Hamilton	...	Mr. Robinson
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Mrs. Braddock
Buck Henry	...	Room Clerk
Brian Avery	...	Carl Smith
Walter Brooke	...	Mr. McGuire
Norman Fell	...	Mr. McCleery
Alice Ghostley	...	Mrs. Singleman
Marion Lorne	...	Miss DeWitte
Eddra Gale	...	Woman on Bus

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm optical prints)

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1972) | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M (re-rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:AL (original rating) | Netherlands:MG6 (re-rating) | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

Alumni Park - 3551 Trousdale Parkway, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Embassy Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

When Elaine tracks down Ben in his gloomy room and he causes her to scream, a number of other tenants gather behind the landlord in the doorway. One says, "Shall I get the cops? I'll get the cops..." It's Richard Dreyfuss.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When Ben is seen crossing the Oakland Bay Bridge on his way to Berkeley he is driving on the upper of the two decks of the Bridge which only carries traffic westbound from Oakland to San Francisco and thus would be taking him away from Berkeley. The only way to get to Berkeley by way of the Bay Bridge is to drive Eastbound, and all such traffic is carried only on the lower deck of the Bridge.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pilot: Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to begin our descent into Los Angeles. The sound you just heard is the landing gear locking into place. Los Angeles weather is clear; temperature is 72. We expect to make our 4 hour and 18 minute flight on schedule. We have enjoyed having you on board, and look forward to seeing you again in the near future.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Shrek the Third (2007)

Soundtrack:

Sunporch Cha-Cha-Cha

The Scourge of the Sixties

"The Graduate" scourges the shallowness of the sixties, kicks against its smug and sanctimonious middle classes: xenophobic, materialistic and spoiled. Mrs. Robinson is the epitome of the devil-may-care LA bourgeoisie and represents the darker side of America's American Dream that is sedated by pills, desensitized by liquor, mind dulled by television, sanitized by the latest Tupperware and gleaming colors to sugarcoat the humdrum of suburban life (Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word. - Benjamin: Yes, sir. - Mr. McGuire: Are you listening? - Benjamin: Yes, I am. - Mr. McGuire: Plastics.). The adulterous relationship between Mrs. Robinson and Ben is sex for sex only and is cast in terms of indifference, coldness and vulgarity. Mrs. Robinson is like a beast of prey, hungering for sex, absorbing young men's bodies to fight off the specter of old age, hysterically suppressing the anxiety that it causes, keeping her young daughter, whom she regards as her competitor and therefore, adversary, neurotically at bay. The true love between Elaine and Ben, on the other hand, surpasses the tasteless, the absurd and offers hope of a better generation to come (Mr. Braddock: What's the matter? The guests are all downstairs, Ben, waiting to see you. Benjamin: Look, Dad, could you explain to them that I have to be alone for a while? Mr. Braddock: These are all our good friends, Ben. Most of them have known you since, well, practically since you were born. What is it, Ben? Benjamin: I'm just... Mr. Braddock: Worried? Benjamin: Well... Mr. Braddock: About what? Benjamin: I guess about my future. Mr. Braddock: What about it? Benjamin: I don't know... I want it to be... Mr. Braddock: To be what? Benjamin:... Different.) Truly, a bridge over troubled water...