PH OTO BY TI M FITZGERALD

The

Thirty years after its initial release, the film's original audience
reflects on a groundbreaking film.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

T

hirty years ago, 17-year-
old Iris Hirsch sat in a
movie theater in her na-
tive New Jersey and
gawked at the image on
the screen.
There, in wide-screen techni-
color, larger than life, was a red-
hot, bra and garter-clad
thirtysomething Mrs. Robinson
seducing a much younger Ben-
jamin Braddock. The straight-
laced student council member
and teen-aged cheerleader had
never seen anything like it.
"It was very sexy," said Ms.
Hirsch, now a West Bloomfield-
based advertising and market-
ing executive. "An older woman
with a young man was seen as
taboo. The movie did take you
someplace where no one had
dared to go before."
Considered risky in 1967
when it made its debut, The
Graduate tells the story of Ben-
jamin Braddock (Dustin Hoff-

man), a recent college grad with
the world at his feet. Unsure of
which direction life will take him,
he drifts back into his parents'
home to ponder his future. "Plas-
tics," he is assured, is the answer.
But fate takes a turn when, at
the party to celebrate his
achievements, he runs into Mrs.
Robinson (Anne Bancroft), a
much older, married friend of his
parents. Cool and seductive, Mrs.
Robinson quickly entices Ben
into an ongoing affair which
gives him a diversion from de-
ciding what to do with his life.
However, the liaison comes to
a screeching halt when Ben falls
in love with Elaine (Katharine
Ross), the Robinsons' only child.
In a valiant effort to sidetrack
the relationship, Elaine's parents
attempt to marry off their daugh-
ter in a ceremony Ben attempts
to crash.
Considered revolutionary for
its time, The Graduate earned

seven Academy Award nomina-
tions and became the second-
biggest grossing movie of the
1960s.
Now in its first re-release in
the original wide screen format,
the movie is slated to run in art
theaters around the country to
mark its 30th anniversary.
And while its first fans are
three decades older than when
they saw the film for the first
time, they continue to find mean-
ing in the movie's funny sp'n on
generational relationships as
well as disenchantment with life
after college.
Elliot Wilhelm, curator of the
Detroit Film Theatre, is excited
to see the film again. At the time
of its debut, Wilhelm was a 17-
year-old high-school student
edgy about his future, especial-
ly with the war in Vietnam
awaiting anyone not in school
and of a certain age.
"The Graduate put its finger

Katharine Ross (Elaine Robinson) and Dustin Hoffman (Benjamin Braddock) were
unknowns whose careers flourished after the release of The Graduate.

on so many anxieties," he said.
But others remember the film
less for its mirroring of societal
anxiety and more for its pure
sexuality.
Pearl Manello, a legal secre-
tary from West Bloomfield, re-
calls the film as the one where
she saw "an older woman and a
younger man in a hotel room in
their underwear, a
shocking sight."
"I hadn't been ex-
posed to that. I was
very sheltered," she
said, laughing. "I re-
alize now how tame
it was."
And the film is
practically virginal
by today's standards.
The subtle stocking
scene that riled au-
diences in 1967 (see
this week's JNE cov-
er) is quite tame.
"They were rolling
back the shade and
letting the world in,"
Mrs. Manello said,
adding that she
wishes new produc-
tions would revert to
the mere suggestion

Benjamin Braddock
(Dustin Hoffman) and
Mrs. Robinson (Anne
Bancroft) start their
affair at the Taft Hotel.

of sexual activity rather than the
raw portrayal.
Whichever way they remem-
ber it, fans may view The Grad-
uate differently the second time
around, Wilhelm says. Seeing it
now, 30 years removed from the
tension of the day, he feels peo-
ple will be better equipped to ap-
preciate the artistic quality of the
film as well as the humor lost to
some in the edginess of the day.
"I think its impact is very dif-
ferent now," he said. "One thing
we can do is see it as a movie and
as a comedy." El

The Graduate will be shown
at the Detroit Film Theater 7
and 9:30 p.m. Friday, April
11; 4, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Satur-
day, April 12; 4 and 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 13. Individual
tickets are $5.50, $4.50 for se-
nior citizens, full-time stu-
dents with valid student
identification and Detroit In-
stitute of Arts members; they
can be purchased at the door
or in advance by phone, by
mail or in person.
The Detroit Film Theater
is located in the rear of the
Detroit Institute of Arts, 5220
Woodward Avenue in Detroit.
Surface parking is available
in four lots off of John R
Street surrounding the the-
ater.
For more information, call
(313) 833-2323.