Milkaus Film Café: Harold and Maude

FILM + Cake + COFFEE (or Tea) ONLY €9.40 Black Comedy. Harold (Bud Cort) is a 19-year-old young man from a wealthy family. However, he longs for a normal relationship with his mother, who seems uninterested in him. He tries to attract her attention with fake suicide attempts. Otherwise, he is rather introverted and spends a lot of time contemplating death, often hanging out in cemeteries in his free time. At a funeral, he meets 79-year-old widow Maude (Ruth Gordon), a life-affirming and humorous woman who wants to enjoy every moment of her life. A very special relationship develops between the two… The film's music is by Cat Stevens. Notable actresses such as Peggy Ashcroft, Lotte Lenya, Luise Rainer, Pola Negri, Elisabeth Bergner, and even writer Agatha Christie were considered for the role of 'Maude'. For the role of 'Harold', Richard Dreyfuss, Bob Balaban, John Savage, and even a young Elton John were reportedly in the running. "Harold and Maude" was initially a commercial failure, but a few years later, the film slowly developed into a cult classic. It wasn't until 1983, twelve years after its premiere, that Harold and Maude began to turn a profit. The film received two Golden Globe nominations - for Ruth Gordon in the category of "Best Actress" and Bud Cort as "Best Actor in a Comedy." "A gently anarchistic comedy that evokes the dreamy zest for life of the American flower children of the late 1960s and benefits from the charm of its lead actors." (Lexicon of International Film)