Love Story (1970) on Netflix
Oliver Barrett IV, heir to a wealthy family, meets Jenny Cavilleri, a working-class music student, at Harvard College. His father threatens to cut him off if they marry.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb6.9/1040,710 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes63%
Trailer
Plot summary
Oliver Barrett IV comes from an upper-class family and attends Harvard College, where he plays ice hockey. Jenny Cavilleri is a quick-witted Radcliffe College student from a working-class home who studies classical music. He asks her to watch him play hockey against Dartmouth, and the two fall in love. Jenny holds a scholarship to study in Paris after graduation, and Oliver, who does not figure in those plans, proposes. She accepts. His parents are uncomfortable with her Italian-American, blue-collar background, and his father says he will stop supporting Oliver financially if the marriage goes ahead.
Cast
- Robert Modicaas Dr. Addison
- Katherine Balfouras Mrs. Barrett
- Walker Danielsas Oliver's Roommate, Ray
- John Merenskyas Oliver's Roommate, Steve
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Love Story (1970)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The film's heroine is credited with the surge in popularity of the baby name Jennifer in North America in 1970, which then remained the most popular feminine given name for the next 14 years.
- Howard Minsky, the William Morris agent who represented Erich Segal, gave up his job because of his faith in the project, and director Arthur Hiller said that without him it would never have become a film.
- The lead role of Oliver Barrett IV was turned down by Jeff Bridges, Michael Douglas, Beau Bridges, Michael York and Jon Voight, and Robert Evans said Michael Sarrazin, Peter Fonda and Keith Carradine also refused it.
- Ryan O'Neal was tested on the recommendation of Erich Segal, who had worked with him on The Games, and was paid $25,000; Robert Evans later claimed he insisted on O'Neal over Arthur Hiller's objections, since Hiller wanted Christopher Walken.
- Jimmy Webb wrote a score for the film that was never used, and Burt Bacharach pulled out after Robert Evans asked for a score similar to Frances Lai's; Lai was eventually hired.
- Bill Cleary, a former Harvard and 1960 U.S. Olympic hockey star, served as Ryan O'Neal's hockey stand-in for the key skating scenes, and the hockey sequences were shot in three days at Harvard's former Watson Rink.
- Filming on location damaged trees on the Harvard campus, and after a similar experience with A Small Circle of Friends in 1980, the university administration denied most later requests to film there.
