Love Story is a 1970 romantic drama film written by Erich Segal coordinated with his 1970 best-selling novel. It was directed by Arthur Hiller. The film, well-known as a tear-jerking tragedy, is considered one of the most romantic of all time by the American Film Institute (#9 on the list), and was followed by a sequel, Oliver's Story in 1978. Love Story starred Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal and also marked the film debut of a then-unknown Tommy Lee Jones, who played a minor role in the film.

Plot

The novel tells of Oliver Barrett IV, who comes from a family of wealthy and well-respected Harvard University graduates. Partly to break the traditional Ivy League mold, the Harvard student meets and falls in love with Jennifer Cavelleri, a working-class, quick-witted Radcliffe College student. Upon graduation from college, the two decide to marry against the wishes of Oliver's father, who thereupon severs ties with his son.

Without his father's financial support, the couple struggles to pay Oliver's way through Harvard Law School with Jenny working as a private school teacher. Graduating third in his class, Oliver takes a position at a respectable New York law firm.

With Oliver's new income, the pair of 24-year-olds decide to have a child. After failing to conceive, they consult a medical specialist, who, after repeated tests, informs Oliver that Jenny is ill and will soon die. While this is not stated explicitly, she appears to have leukemia.

As instructed by his doctor, Oliver attempts to live a "normal life" without telling Jenny of her condition. Jenny nevertheless discovers her ailment after confronting her doctor about her recent illness. With their days together numbered, Jenny begins costly cancer therapy, and Oliver soon becomes unable to afford the multiplying hospital expenses. Desperate, he seeks financial relief from his father. Instead of telling his father what the money is truly for, Oliver leads him to believe that he needs it because he has had an affair which led to a pregnancy.

From her hospital bed, Jenny speaks with her father about funeral arrangements, and then asks for Oliver. She tells him to avoid blaming himself, and asks him to embrace her tightly before she dies.

The novel also includes the double meaning of a love story between Oliver and his father, highlighted by the scene between Oliver and his father at the end of the book. When Mr. Barrett realizes that Jenny is ill and that his son borrowed the money for her, he immediately sets out for New York. By the time he reaches the hospital, Jenny is dead. Mr. Barrett apologizes to his son, who replies with something Jenny once told him: "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

Production

Writing

Erich Segal originally wrote the screenplay and sold it to Paramount. While the movie was in production, Paramount wanted Segal to write a novel to help pre-publicize the movie's Valentine's Day release. When the novel came out, it became a runaway best seller on its own in advance of the movie.

While the movie has antagonists like every other story, it features no villains. From Harvard's nemesis on the ice — Cornell — to the aristocratic elder Barretts, every character is good at heart.

The film also reflected the times: Jennifer most likely has leukemia, but the characters never utter the word due to silence over cancer at the time. The novel, on the other hand, stated that she has a form of leukemia.

The main song in the film, (Where Do I Begin) Love Story was a major hit, particularly the vocal rendition recorded by Andy Williams.

Melinda Henneberger reported in an in-depth investigative piece in the Sunday 12-14-1997 issue of the New York Times that, "The character of the preppy Harvard hockey player Oliver Barrett 4th was modeled on both Mr. Gore and his college roommate, the actor Tommy Lee Jones." Gore had been the model for the young college student with a highly accomplished father to live up to.

Quotations

Two lines from the film have entered popular culture:

• "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." -- The first line in the film, which summarizes the film.
• "Love means never having to say you're sorry." -- Spoken twice in the film; once by Jennifer when Oliver is about to apologise to her for his anger. It is also spoken by Oliver to his father when his father says "I'm sorry" after hearing of Jennifer's death. The quote made it to #13 onto the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, a list of top movie quotes. The 1972 screwball comedy What's Up, Doc?, which stars O'Neal, mocks this trademark line. At the end of that film, when Barbra Streisand's character coos "Love means never having to say you're sorry" while batting her eyelashes, O'Neal's character responds with the line: "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard."

Main cast

• Ali MacGraw: Jennifer Cavelleri-Barrett
• Ryan O'Neal: Oliver Barrett IV
• John Marley: Phil Cavelleri
• Ray Milland: Oliver Barrett III
• Russell Nype: Dean Thompson
• Katharine Balfour: Mrs. Barrett
• Sydney Walker: Dr. Shapely
• Robert Modica: Dr. Addison
• Walker Daniels: Ray Stratton
• Tommy Lee Jones: Hank Simpson

Awards and nominations

Awards:

• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture — Drama
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress — Drama — Ali MacGraw
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director — Motion Picture — Arthur Hiller
• Academy Award for Original Music Score — Francis Lai
• Golden Globe Award for Original Music Score — Francis Lai
• Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay — Erich Segal

Nominations:

• Academy Award for Best Picture
• Academy Award for Best Actress — Ali MacGraw
• Academy Award for Best Actor — Ryan O'Neal
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actor — Drama — Ryan O'Neal
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor — John Marley
• Golden Globe Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture — John Marley
• Academy Award for Directing — Arthur Hiller
• Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures — Arthur Hiller
• Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay — Erich Segal
• Writers Guild of America Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen — Erich Segal
• Grammy Award for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture — Francis Lai

Critical reaction

Although very popular with audiences and most reviewers, such as Roger Ebert the film failed to resonate with many others. Newsweek felt the film was contrived and film critic Judith Crist called Love Story "Camille with bullshit."

At the beginning of every academic year at Harvard, the movie is screened for freshmen, who generally respond derisively with Rocky Horror-type catch phrases and antics. The film is considered farcical by most Harvard students.

Despite a modest critical backlash, the film remains a popular culture icon. It holds the number nine spot on theAFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions, which recognizes the top 100 love stories in American cinema. The film also spawned a trove of imitations, parodies, and homages in countless films, having re-engergize melodrama on the silver screen as well as helping to set the template for the modern "chick flick".

Musical selections from the soundtrack

• Concerto No. 3 in D Major for harpsichord, third movement — by Johann Sebastian Bach
• Sonata In F Major for flute and harpsichord, first movement — by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Joy To The World — by Georg Friedrich Händel and Isaac Watts
• A Fair Rose Is Blooming (Es ist ein Ros entsprungen) — by Michael Praetorius
• Love Story — by Francis Lai, performed by Francis Lai & His Orchestra
• Snow Frolic — by Francis Lai, performed by Francis Lai & His Orchestra
• I Love You, Phil — by Francis Lai
• The Christmas Tree — (traditional)
• Search for Jenny — by Francis Lai
• Bozo Barrett — by Francis Lai
• Long Walk Home — by Francis Lai
• Skating in Central Park — by John Lewis

Trivia

• The name Jennifer was the most popular name for baby girls in the United States from 1970 to 1984. Though the name was already rising in popularity through the 1960s, the popularity of the book and movie is often cited as the reason Jennifer reached number one and stayed there 15 years.
• The star-crossed couple in Philip Roth's 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, later adapted into a 1969 film, shares characterizations with Erich Segal's married couple in Love Story, with minor tweeks: Jewish actress Ali MacGraw appears in both films as the female lead (in LS she plays Jennifer, a Catholic, Italian-American working-class Radcliffe student; in GC she plays well-healed, Jewish Radcliffe student Brenda Patimkin); in LS, actor Ryan O'Neal plays relatively successful Harvard law graduate Oliver; in GC, Jewish actor Richard Benjamin plays Neil Klugman, a Jewish working-class Rutgers student; the (marital) relationship in LS is cut short by Jennifer's terminal disease, and the (doomed) relationship in GC is terminated by Neil and Brenda's irreconcilable class differences (in real-life, interestingly enough, actor Benjamin is still married to Sicilian-American actress Paula Prentiss, since 1961).

References

• Vincent Canby. "Perfection and a 'Love Story.'" The New York Times. December 18, 1970. 44.

External links

• Film Rewind: Revisiting Love Story (fan summary)