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A cult film’s cult film, “Harold And Maude” puts a seminal set of Cat Stevens songs (circa Tea For The Tillerman) to the story of love and freedom between a 75 year old woman and a 21 year old man. Helen Bach considers it her favorite album of all time and Helen Bach has an emotional compass worth listening to.
I loved Ruth Gordon as Maude, though she terrified me as the avuncular and wicked Minnie Castevet in “Rosemary’s Baby” but, as SNL alumni Jon Lovitz used to put it: “ACTING” and speaking of which, I knew Bud Cort from his masterful Radar role in the original MASH movie and the two of them had a wonderful chemistry which made you forget past highlights. A tremendous movie which managed to bypass the remnants of hippiedom to tell a timeless love story.
Ruth died in 1985 at the age of 88, Bud is still with us and, with the re-release of “Harold And Maude” on Blue Ray and DVD and with his “a new feature animation of The Little Prince, co-starring James Franco, Jeff Bridges and Marion Cotillard. Cort plays the king”, he spoke to the Guardian yesterday (here) .
1. Harold was very close with director hal Ashby.
2. Paramount wanted to take creative control off Ashby and Bud said he wouldn’t promote the movie unless they gave it back to hal.
3. The movie bombed and Bud hasn’t work for Paramount still.
4. he was typecast as a weirdo and it killed his career.
5. He turned down a role in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”.
6. He has been in two major car crashes.
7. He was best friends with Ruth after they bonded when his Dad died.
So, you know, appear in one of the greatest movies of all time and watch your career blow up… why not?
