Love Story is a 1970 American romantic drama film directed by Arthur Hiller. It was adapted by Erich Segal from his 1970 novel. The film stars Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal, and includes John Marley, Ray Milland, and Tommy Lee Jones in his first film role. The story follows a relationship between two Harvard College students: Oliver Barrett IV (played by O'Neal), who comes from a wealthy family, and Jenny Cavilleri (played by MacGraw), who is from a working-class background. Their relationship is later affected by a tragic event.

The film was released by Paramount Pictures on December 16, 1970. It was very successful with both critics and audiences. It received seven Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for O'Neal), and Best Actress (for MacGraw). The film's theme song, "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story," was nominated for two Grammy Awards.

Love Story became a major cultural phenomenon in the 1970s. It inspired many similar films, parodies, and tributes. It is credited with helping to revive the genre of cinematic melodrama in Hollywood. A sequel film, Oliver's Story, was released in 1978. The American Film Institute lists Love Story as one of the most romantic films in history (No. 9 on its list). It is also considered one of the highest-grossing films of all time when adjusted for inflation.

Plot

Oliver Barrett IV is the son of a wealthy family. He studies at Harvard College, where he focuses on social studies and plays ice hockey. He meets Jennifer "Jenny" Cavilleri, a smart student from a working-class background who studies classical music at Radcliffe College. He invites her to watch a hockey game against Dartmouth College, and they begin a relationship despite their different backgrounds.

Later, Oliver's father travels a long distance to Ithaca, New York, to watch his son play hockey against Cornell University for the All-Ivy title. Oliver is removed from the game for fighting, and Harvard loses 4–3. Oliver refuses his father's offer of a steak dinner and help with entering Harvard Law School.

Jenny shares news that she has a scholarship in Paris after graduating from Radcliffe. Oliver feels left out of her plans and proposes marriage. She agrees, and he takes her to the Barrett family home to meet his parents, who are uncomfortable with her Italian-American and working-class background. Oliver's father warns that he will stop financially supporting his son if he marries Jenny.

They visit Jenny's father, Phil, a widowed baker in Cranston, Rhode Island, who encourages Oliver to get along with his own father. Phil wants a Catholic wedding, but Oliver and Jenny choose to marry themselves. During the ceremony, Oliver reads "Song of the Open Road" by Walt Whitman, and Jenny reads "Sonnet 22" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Jenny works as a teacher, but without financial help from Oliver's father, the couple struggles to pay for Oliver's law school education. Oliver finishes third in his class and begins working at a prestigious law firm in New York City. They plan to start a family but cannot have children. After three blood tests, doctors inform Oliver that Jenny has a serious illness that will not be cured.

Oliver tries to act normally without telling Jenny about her condition, but she learns the truth from her doctor. Oliver buys tickets to Paris, but Jenny chooses to stay with him. He asks his estranged father for money to pay for her medical care but does not explain the reason. His father assumes Oliver is having an affair and lends the money anyway.

From her hospital bed, Jenny arranges for a Catholic funeral with her father. She tells Oliver not to blame himself, saying he never stopped her from pursuing music or going to Paris and that their love was worth everything. Her final wish is for Oliver to hold her tightly as she dies.

After Jenny's death, Oliver leaves the hospital and sees his father outside, who has learned the true reason for the money request. When his father offers sympathy, Oliver replies, "Love means never having to say you're sorry," a phrase Jenny had once said to him. He walks alone to an open-air ice rink, where Jenny had watched him skate the day she was hospitalized.

Production

Erich Segal was an academic who began writing screenplays, including films like Yellow Submarine and The Games. He wanted to create a story inspired by 1940s movies but set in the present day. He based the story on observations from his students, focusing on modern relationships and how young people seek lasting partnerships. He noted that casual dating practices from the past, such as simple football game dating, were no longer common. Sexual morality was less relevant, but young people now had less casual romantic behavior compared to earlier times.

The movie was first written as a screenplay, partly based on Segal’s own experiences, but he struggled to sell it. Howard Minsky, who worked for the William Morris Agency and represented Segal, believed in the project. Arthur Hiller said Minsky gave up his job to support the film, helping guide it through production. Without Minsky’s efforts, the film likely would not have been made.

Minsky asked Segal to rewrite the script seven times. Changes included making the female lead Italian-American instead of Jewish, removing the character of the girl’s mother, and reducing swearing and nudity.

Ali MacGraw, who had recently acted in Goodbye Columbus for Paramount Pictures, wanted to star in the film. Paramount had signed her to a three-picture deal and agreed to make the movie as a vehicle for her. In May 1969, Robert Evans, head of Paramount, announced plans to cast a young actor like Beau Bridges or Jon Voight and hire Larry Peerce, who had directed Goodbye Columbus, as the director. However, Peerce left the project after a month, and Anthony Harvey, who had directed The Lion in Winter, took over but also quit after working with Segal. Eventually, Arthur Hiller, who was directing two other films at Paramount, agreed to direct.

In September 1969, it was announced that Hiller would direct the film. Harper and Row agreed to publish a novel version of the screenplay in February 1970. Evans said Paramount suggested adapting the screenplay into a novel to promote the film, but Minsky and Peter Bart, a Paramount executive, also claimed they made the suggestion. Segal wrote the novel alongside the screenplay with help from Gene Young of Harper’s. The book was published in time for Valentine’s Day in 1970 and became a bestseller.

According to press reports, several actors, including Jeff Bridges, Michael Douglas, Beau Bridges, Michael York, and Jon Voight, turned down the lead role of Oliver Barrett IV. Evans said Michael Sarrazin, Peter Fonda, and Keith Carradine also declined. MacGraw recalled auditioning with Christopher Walken, Ken Howard, and David Birney.

Hiller said the team tested many actors, but Ryan O’Neal stood out. After seeing footage of a film O’Neal had recently completed, Hiller believed he had the right qualities for the role. O’Neal was recommended by Segal, who had worked with him on The Games, and was paid $25,000 for his test. Evans claimed he insisted O’Neal be cast because he performed best in auditions, despite Hiller’s preference for Walken.

In November 1969, Evans said the team reviewed 1,000 actors and tested 14 unknowns, none of whom matched O’Neal’s talent.

Bill Cleary, a former Harvard hockey star and later coach, served as Ryan O’Neal’s stand-in during hockey scenes requiring skating and playing skills. These scenes were filmed at Harvard’s former Watson Rink, now called Bright-Landry Hockey Center, over three days. Other hockey players in the film were actual Harvard and Boston University athletes, including Joe Cavanagh and Mike Hyndman.

Ryan O’Neal’s younger brother, Kevin O’Neal, had a small role in the film.

Filming began on November 18, 1969, in Cambridge, Boston, and New York. It was the first time a film received permission to shoot on Harvard’s campus. Scenes from the Harvard vs. Cornell hockey game were filmed at Hamilton College.

Filming Love Story on campus caused damage to trees. This, along with damage from the 1980 film A Small Circle of Friends, led Harvard to deny most future requests for on-campus filming.

Scenes showing the newlyweds living in Cambridge were filmed in the Agassiz neighborhood. One famous scene shows Oliver carrying Jenny over the threshold at 119 Oxford Street.

Jimmy Webb wrote a film score that was not used. Burt Bacharach was asked to compose music but left when Evans requested a style similar to Frances Lai’s work. Lai was eventually hired.

The film’s main song, “(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story,” became a major success, especially in Andy Williams’ vocal version.

Arthur Hiller said the team believed they were making a modest film, but the producer, Howard Minsky, insisted it would be a big success.

Filming ended on February 3, 1970. Mel Zerman, a Harper executive and friend of Segal, said Segal had mixed feelings about the production. Segal felt the film did not earn enough money but praised MacGraw for bringing his character to life. He believed other actors could have performed as well as or better than Ryan O’Neal.

Release

The first showing of Love Story happened at Loew's State I theater in New York City on Wednesday, December 16, 1970. The film was first shown on ABC television on October 1, 1972, and became the most-watched film on television. It had more viewers than Ben-Hur (1959), with 27 million homes watching. The Nielsen ratings score was 42.3, and the audience share was 62%. The next year, the same rating was matched by Airport (1970). In 1976, Gone with the Wind (1939) had a higher rating.

Reception

Love Story was a very successful movie at the box office. It first opened in two theaters in New York City—Loew's State I and Tower East—and earned $128,022 in its first week. On Christmas Day, the movie expanded to 166 more theaters and earned a record $2,463,916 for the weekend, becoming the top movie in the United States. It also earned $5,007,706 for the week and $2,493,167 the following weekend. The movie stayed number one at the box office for four weeks, then finished second behind The Owl and the Pussycat for one week before returning to the top for another six weeks.

The movie was released in the United States on June 23, 1971, and expanded to 143 more theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis. It earned $1,660,761 in five days and returned to number one for another three weeks, totaling 15 weeks at the top. It was the sixth highest-grossing film of all time in the United States and Canada, with a total of $106,397,186.

The movie earned an additional $67 million in international markets, for a worldwide total of $173.4 million (equivalent to $1.3 billion in 2023 dollars).

Arthur Hiller, the film’s director, said that Love Story was released at a time when movies were changing. He believed the film would have been less successful if it had come out earlier or later, as other trends in movies might have overshadowed it. Hiller also said the film’s message was about how love can help people understand and accept each other, even when they make mistakes.

Peter Bart, an executive at Paramount, said the movie became a popular choice for dates. He described how people would watch the film together, cry, and then go home, as if celebrating their connection.

Overall, Love Story received mostly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes collected reviews from 31 critics and gave the film a score of 65%. The critical consensus said the film was heartfelt and emotional, though some critics found it overly sentimental. Roger Ebert gave the film four stars and said it was better than the book it was based on. Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times praised the film’s storytelling and performances.

However, some critics were less favorable. Newsweek called the film contrived, and Judith Crist compared it to Camille with “bullshit.” Vincent Canby of The New York Times said the film was similar to other overly sentimental movies and predicted many poor imitations would follow. Gene Siskel and Gary Arnold also criticized the film for being unrealistic and unoriginal. Harlan Ellison and John Simon called the film poorly made.

Love Story was ranked number 9 on the AFI’s 100 Years…100 Passions list, which highlights the best love stories in American cinema. The film inspired many imitations, parodies, and homages, helping to revive the genre of melodrama and shaping the modern “chick flick.”

Some critics questioned the realism of the illness suffered by the character Jenny Cavilleri. Vincent Canby joked that her condition seemed like a beauty treatment gone wrong. Mad magazine parodied the film in 1971, calling the illness “Old Movie Disease,” which made the character more beautiful as she died. In 1997, Roger Ebert coined the term “Ali MacGraw’s Disease” to describe a fictional illness where a character becomes more beautiful before dying.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack from the film was released as a separate album and made available by Quality Records. All songs were written by Francis Lai, except for some that are noted differently. The theme song, which includes lyrics called "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story," was not part of the movie. However, it was released a short time later.

Subsequent media

In 1978, O'Neal and Milland played the same characters again in a movie called Oliver's Story. This film was based on a book written by Segal in 1977. The story starts with a funeral for a character named Jenny, then moves forward 18 months. Oliver, now a successful but unhappy lawyer in New York, tries to find happiness with a wealthy woman named Marcie Bonwit, played by Candice Bergen. However, Oliver's Story faced criticism and did not attract many viewers.

In 1973–1974, NBC aired a television series named Love Story. Though it shared the same name and theme song, "Love Story" (Where Do I Begin), as the original movie, it had no connection to the book or film. The TV series had different characters and storylines.

In February 2021, Paramount+, a streaming service owned by ViacomCBS, announced a new version of Love Story as a television series. The show will be produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, known for creating popular young adult shows like The O.C., Gossip Girl, and Looking for Alaska. The series will be made by their production company, Fake Empire, and will be a joint project between Paramount Television Studios and CBS Studios.

In popular culture

In 1971, the 20th episode of the fourth season of The Carol Burnett Show included a parody of the film Love Story. Carol Burnett played the role of MacGraw, and Harvey Korman played the role of O'Neal. In 1972, the show presented a "sequel" set in a different version of the story where the MacGraw character lived with the O'Neal character and often pretended to be sick to avoid leaving her.

The female main character in Love Story helped make the baby name Jennifer more popular in North America in 1970. This name remained the most common feminine given name for 14 years.

In 2001, the rapper Immortal Technique's song "Dance with the Devil" used a repeating piano melody from Love Story's theme song.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics, ice skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier performed their free skate to Love Story's theme music and initially lost the gold medal in a well-known controversy.

In 2020, Love Story's theme music was played during the funeral procession for Qasem Soleimani.

At the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, Taylor Swift mentioned that Love Story influenced the set design of her short film All Too Well: The Short Film.

Harvard College screenings

The Crimson Key Society, a student group, has organized showings of the movie Love Story for new Harvard College students during the beginning of the school year since the late 1970s. During these events, members of the society and other viewers laugh at, shout at, and mock scenes they describe as overly emotional, outdated, or unrefined to create a fun and spirited atmosphere.