The Harrad Experiment

The Harrad Experiment is a 1973 coming-of-age film about a fictional school called Harrad College where the students learn about sexuality and experiment with each other. Based on the 1966 novel of the same name by Robert Rimmer, this film deals with the concept of free love during the height of the sexual revolution which took place in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The Harrad Experiment
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTed Post
Produced byNoel Marshall
Mel Sokolow
Dennis F. Stevens
Written byNovel:
Robert H. Rimmer
Screenplay:
Michael Werner
Ted Cassidy
StarringJames Whitmore
Tippi Hedren
Don Johnson
Bruno Kirby
Laurie Walters
Victoria Thompson
Music byArtie Butler
CinematographyRichard H. Kline
Edited byBill Brame
Distributed byCinerama Releasing Corporation
Release date
  • May 11, 1973 (1973-05-11)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$400,000[1]
Box office$3,000,000 (US/ Canada rentals)[2]

The movie stars James Whitmore and Tippi Hedren as the married couple who run the school, and includes a young Don Johnson (who would later go on to be Hedren's son-in-law) as one of the students who tries to go beyond the rules. It was directed by Ted Post.

A sequel, Harrad Summer, was released in 1974.

Cast
Additional cast
(all uncredited)

Home video

The film was released on DVD on May 22, 2001 by Marengo Films.[3]

Reception

Time Out said that while Post had employed long, "voyeuristic" takes and the theme music was poor, the film had more appeal than his other work and deserved its success.[4]

Cultural references

In The Wonder Years' season 4 episode "Growing Up", Kevin's hippie older sister is seen reading a copy of The Harrad Experiment while driving to a company picnic with her family.

In the Seinfeld episode "The Label Maker", George Costanza describes his girlfriend's having a male roommate as a "bizarre Harrad Experiment".

See also

References
  1. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1798&dat=19720421&id=QvgeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Fo0EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5178,5181325&hl=en
  2. "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974 p 19
  3. Tribbey, Ralph (March 30, 2001). "DVD NEWS BRIEFS: Marengo's 'Killer B's'; BFS' 'Sharpe's' Series; MGM's May Slate; A&E;'s 'Pearl Harbor'; Vanguard's June". hive4media.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2001. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  4. "The Harrad Experiment". Time Out. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
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