Oliver's Story (1978) on Netflix
Widowed lawyer Oliver Barrett IV works long hours at a firm whose senior partners oppose his views. He meets Marcie Bonwit, heiress to the Bonwit Teller fortune.
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- Netflix1.9/5
- IMDb4.7/101,149 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes29%
Plot summary
Oliver Barrett IV is a lawyer whose young wife, Jenny Cavilleri, has died of leukemia. He buries himself in his work, but the long hours bring no relief, and at the firm he clashes with the senior partners over his views. His inconsolable grief begins to wear on the people around him. Then he meets Marcie Bonwit, an heiress to the Bonwit Teller fortune, and the two grow close. Oliver cares deeply for Marcie, yet he cannot set aside the memory of Jenny, and that memory strains their relationship. He is also at odds with his autocratic father, Oliver Barrett III.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Oliver's Story (1978)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- John Korty wanted William Hurt and Meryl Streep as the leads of Oliver's Story, but Michael Eisner, then head of Paramount, refused to cast the unknown pair; producer David Picker backed Korty.
- Ryan O'Neal, who played Oliver Barrett IV in Love Story, refused to star in the sequel, saying he was unhappy with Erich Segal's script, which he called "a rehash of the book" that hadn't interested him.
- Paramount hoped Meryl Streep, who had been in Julia, would play the female lead, but Ryan O'Neal wanted Candice Bergen; Bergen was reluctant, so O'Neal persuaded her by handing her one of his profit points in the film.
SPOILER
In the original draft, O'Neal's Oliver ended up with Joanna Stone, played by Nicola Pagett, but the filmmakers deleted those scenes, deciding it was not plausible he would choose Pagett after being with the more beautiful Candice Bergen.- Nicola Pagett got her part after the filmmakers saw her photo in People magazine and flew her to the US for a test; she and Candice Bergen were both cast only after filming had begun, which producer David Picker called "very, very scary."
- John Marley did not return as Jenny's father Phil from Love Story: he and Paramount agreed on money but not billing, so Edward Binns took the role.
