I have a couple distinct and possibly contradictory memories about this movie. But perhaps not. Oh, yeah, we’re back to my freshman year at Penn State again, just to let you know.

I recall a letter from Debbie Miller telling me how much she enjoyed the movie and that I had to see it. And I recall going to see the movie, which was playing at the Cathaum Theater. What I’m not sure about is whether there was a causal relationship between the letter and my going to see The Graduate. Because her letter is dated February 25, 1968, and the movie had already been playing for several weeks by the time I would have received it.

In any case I vividly remember going to see it for the first time, because the Cathaum was located on College Avenue, and it was the farthest first run movie house from Pinchot Hall where I was living at the time. And it was a particularly cold and windy night. Hah! It was Centre County; every winter night was particularly cold and windy. (I don’t want to hear anything from you folks in the more northerly climes!)

I recall walking back to the dorm and the last few hundred yards the wind was blowing directly into my face, so that when I got back to my room and looked into the mirror, my face was red and chapped, and I looked like something from a horror movie. (Once again, no smart remarks from the peanut gallery!) Happily, it was temporary, and I was ok by the following morning.

Whether Debbie’s letter came before or after I saw it, I did agree with her assessment, and it was that rare movie that I wanted to see a second time. 

So I talked Tim Toward (you’ve met him before; he’s Ed Stutz’s roommate; and you’ll meet him again) into going. Tim, being an upperclassman, had a car, so there were no worries about walking in the windy Centre County winter weather. And we took along another fellow from the tenth floor, Frank Baker (Mike Bibbo’s roommate; you remember Mike Bibbo, nickname “Dildo”).

Well, Tim was so enthralled by the movie, that when it ended, he didn’t want to leave. I mean really. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay and see it a second time right away. Well, I wasn’t about the brave the windy sub-freezing weather without a car, so I stayed, as did Frank. So I got to see it for my third time.

Tim was especially taken by the ending. He just couldn’t stop talking about it to everyone who had seen the movie. And by the ending, I mean the final minute, where Ben and Elaine are sitting on the bus and the camera stays focussed on them. What did we think was going through their minds? Tim was pretty sure Ben was thinking, “What did I just do? Where do we go from here? Holy shit!” Or something like that.

 

What do you think?