Harold and Maude: A Special Screening in honour of its greatest fan.

It’s hard to believe that the black comedy Harold and Maude was released the same year that Darren Conner was born, 1971. Last nights special screening of Darren’s favourite movie was organised by the staff of the Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre in his honour and to raise money for his favourite charities. I really can’t imagine that any other film theatre staff would arrange something so delightfully perfect to honour a friend and colleague. Very many of Darren’s film friends came to share this meaningful evening with the staff, Claire and her boys.

Hal Ashby, who did an equally good job directing Jack Nicholson in the 1973 comedy drama The Last Detail, directs a film which is the complete reverse of the normal youth culture type film, the free spirited individual this time is a 79 year old women Marjorie ‘Maude’ Chardin, played by the 75 year old Ruth Gordon. Maude befriends the 20ish Harold Chasen (Bud Cort) who is obsessed with death, drives a hearse, attends funerals of people he does not know and stages elaborate hoax suicides to gain the attention of his rich snooty controlling mother, wearily portrayed by the wonderful English actress Vivian Pickles. 

Harold and Maude’s love affair with its sexual liaison challenged the taboos of youth, aging, sex and even death. Which was probably the reason it was not particularly successful at the time of its release: it later gained international cult status in the true sense of the word and now is acclaimed as an American film classic.

I first watched this film with Darren some years ago, but last nights showing was quite meaningful in that I now realize why Darren loved this film so much. Maude’s mantra was much the same as his own, imparting kindness, understanding others, living for today and most of all having fun. As Maude demonstrated death is ultimately what gives life meaning.

Harold: You sure have away with people.

Maude: Well, they’re my species!

The Last Detail

Buddusky suggests their next move.

Daryl Ponicsan is best known as the author of the 1971 novel The Last Detail which in 1973 was adapted into a film and directed by Hal Ashby, who two years previous had successfully directed the offbeat comedy/romance Harold and Maude. The Last Detail stars Jack Nicholson as Signalman 1st Class Billy L. “Bad Ass” Buddusky, Otis Young as Gunner Mate 1st Class “Mule” Mulhall and Randy Quaid as Seaman Laurence M “Larry” Meadows. This simple well told story unfolds as follows. Two hardened career petty officers, Buddusky and Mulhall are detailed to take the young naive seaman from the Navel Base in Virginia to a New Hampshire Navel Prison to serve an eight-year sentence for attempting to steel $40 dollars from the Polio charity box! The two officers take a liking to Meadows and decide to show the lad a good time on their journey north. Their adventures begin with a near bar fight in Washington, getting blind drunk in their hotel room, they tangle with some Marines in New York and in Boston they make sure that their young prisoner does not start his eight -year prison stretch without loosing his virginity!

Ashby’s best film was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival and Nicholson, whose body of work to date had included Easy Rider(1969) and Five Easy Pieces (1970), was awarded Best Actor. It also gained three Academy Award nominations but failed to pick up any which is a great shame because this film is truly a classic example of what can be done with a very understated uncomplicated story. Try and get a copy of this film if for no other reason than to see Jack Nicholson at his very best.