When it debuted in theaters 50 years ago this summer, American Graffiti touched off a tidal wave of 1950s nostalgia (even though the film was set in 1962) that engulfed the 1970s, giving us Happy Days, Sha Na Na and Grease! It also launched the careers of several actors including Richard Dreyfuss and Cindy Williams. It allowed Ron Howard to graduate from child star to adult actor (and eventually award-winning director), And of course, it gave writer/direct George Lucas enough clout in Hollywood to finally get his pet project bankrolled, a little thing he called Star Wars. Maybe you’ve heard of it?
Here’s a few things you might not know about this landmark film:
1. George Lucas made the film to prove a point to his then-wife. His first film THX1138 had flopped, both commercially and critically. His friend, Francis Ford Coppola told him, “Don’t be so weird.” His wife at that time, Marcia urged him to make a film that involved the audience emotionally. He told her there was nothing easier than involving the audience emotionally and wrote the script of American Graffiti to prove it.
2. The movie was almost called A Slow Night in Modesto. Universal Studios didn’t understand the title (join the club) and wanted it changed. They submitted several alternatives, really pushing A Slow Night in Modesto. But Lucas stuck to his guns.
3. Universal wanted to release the film as a made-for-TV movie. Universal had so little faith in American Graffiti’s subject matter that they wanted it released directly to television. However, the film’s producer – the aforementioned Francis Ford Coppola, had just won a raft of Oscars for his breakthrough movie, The Godfather, and used his newfound clout to put the film into theaters.
4. Harrison Ford refused to cut his hair for the small part he played. At the time of filming, Harrison Ford had just about given up on his dream of an acting career. He was working mainly as a carpenter when Lucas offered him the minor role of Bob Falfa (the out-of-town racer who spends the film looking for Paul Le Mat’s John Milner). The script called for Falfa to have a flattop haircut, but as the part was so small, Ford would only do it if he didn’t have to cut his hair. Lucas agreed, instead putting Ford in a cowboy hat to hide his more modem hairstyle.
5. One of the writers had to become Mackenzie Phillips’ legal guardian. Mackenzie Phillips was actually one of the actors really playing her own age. Just 12 at the time of the production, she almost lost out on the part because of a California law that required a parent or legal guardian to be present on the set whenever she was filming. They satisfied the law when one of the movie’s producers, Gary Kurtz, stepped up and actually became her legal guardian while American Graffiti was in production. She lived with Kurtz & his wife during the filming and reported it was a very happy arrangement.
When it was released, American Graffiti seemed like it was showing a bygone era, but the film was set just 11 years in the past. Imagine if a film was released today taking “a nostalgic look” at 2012. Think it would be a big hit?
