The Harrad Experiment
The Harrad Experiment is a 1973 coming-of-age film about a fictional school called Harrad College where the students learn about sexuality and experiment with each other. Based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Robert Rimmer, this film deals with the concept of free love during the height of the sexual revolution which took place in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
| The Harrad Experiment | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ted Post |
| Produced by | Noel Marshall Mel Sokolow Dennis F. Stevens |
| Written by | Novel: Robert H. Rimmer Screenplay: Michael Werner Ted Cassidy |
| Starring | James Whitmore Tippi Hedren Don Johnson Bruno Kirby Laurie Walters Victoria Thompson |
| Music by | Artie Butler |
| Cinematography | Richard H. Kline |
| Edited by | Bill Brame |
| Distributed by | Cinerama Releasing Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $400,000[1] |
| Box office | $3,000,000 (US/ Canada rentals)[2] |
The movie stars James Whitmore and Tippi Hedren as the married couple who run the school, and includes a young Don Johnson (who would later go on to be Hedren's son-in-law) as one of the students who tries to go beyond the rules. It was directed by Ted Post.
A sequel, Harrad Summer, was released in 1974.
Cast
- James Whitmore as Philip Tenhausen
- Tippi Hedren as Margaret Tenhausen
- Don Johnson as Stanley Cole
- Bruno Kirby as Harry Schacht (as B. Kirby Jr.)
- Laurie Walters as Sheila Grove
- Victoria Thompson as Beth Hillyer
- Elliott Street as Wilson
- Robert Middleton as Sidney Bower
- Billy Sands as Jack
- Sharon Ullrick (née Taggart) as Barbara
- Maggie Wellman as Cynthia
- Michael Greene as Yoga Instructor
- Ron Kolman as Evan
- Eric Server as Workman
- Robert C. Ross as Workman
- Additional cast
- (all uncredited)
- Ted Cassidy as the diner patron
- Gregory Harrison as a student
- Melody Patterson as Jeannie
- Dennis F. Stevens as the heckler at the Ice House
- The Ace Trucking Company
- George Memmoli
- Michael Mislove
- Mary Elaine Monti
- Bill Saluga
- Fred Willard
- Melanie Griffith as an extra
Home video
The film was released on DVD on May 22, 2001 by Marengo Films.[3]
Reception
Time Out said that while Post had employed long, "voyeuristic" takes and the theme music was poor, the film had more appeal than his other work and deserved its success.[4]
Cultural references
In The Wonder Years' season 4 episode "Growing Up", Kevin's hippie older sister is seen reading a copy of The Harrad Experiment while driving to a company picnic with her family.
In the Seinfeld episode "The Label Maker", George Costanza describes his girlfriend's having a male roommate as a "bizarre Harrad Experiment".
References
- https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19720421&id=QvgeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Fo0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5178,5181325&hl=en
- "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974 p 19
- Tribbey, Ralph (March 30, 2001). "DVD NEWS BRIEFS: Marengo's 'Killer B's'; BFS' 'Sharpe's' Series; MGM's May Slate; A&E;'s 'Pearl Harbor'; Vanguard's June". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2001. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- "The Harrad Experiment". Time Out. Retrieved 18 December 2019.