Hal Ashby and the Making of Harold and Maude

The original script was sold to a major Hollywood studio virtually overnight; the screenwriter was working as a pool boy and driver for the producer; the director was considered an "acid freak" by the studio heads; the star was a 74-year-old actress who didn't know how to drive a car. The film flopped upon release but later became one of the great cult successes of all time. This is the fascinating, never before told story of the making of Harold and Maude, shot guerrilla-style in the San Francisco Bay Area by a crew of "New Hollywood" filmmakers in the winter of 1971.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Cast of Filmmakers
1. The Chauffeur, the Pool Boy and the Screenwriter
2. The Harold and Maude Script
3. Selling the Script
4. The Accidental Director
5. The Kid Stays in the Picture
6. The Most Difficult Part of Making a Film
7. I Feel I Could Make This Film About as Funny as the Vietnam War
8. Bay Area Bound
9. The Rosecourt
10. The Motorcycle Cop, the Ambulance and the Railcar
11. Cat Stevens
12. Editing the Film
13. Dropping a Bomb and Rising from the Ashes
14. After Harold and Maude: Hal Ashby
15. After Harold and Maude: The Rest of the Cast and Crew
16. The Legacy of Harold and Maude
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index