FILM · 1970 · USA
Love Story
16 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
16 Interesting Facts About Love Story
Interesting Facts (13)
- #001
The scenes of Oliver Barrett walking alone through a snowy New York were added after principal photography was completed. The production had almost no money left and could not afford the permits required to shoot again in New York City, so all the footage was captured illegally with a skeleton crew and Ryan O'Neal.
- #002
To prepare for their roles, Ryan O'Neal learned to ice skate and Ali MacGraw learned to play the harpsichord. Once Arthur Hiller settled on O'Neal, he rehearsed the actor and MacGraw for 10 days because he wanted them to become friends before shooting began.
- #003
It was the first feature film of Harvard graduate Tommy Lee Jones, made a few months before shooting began. Erich Segal based Ryan O'Neal's character on Jones and on his Harvard roommate, future Vice President Al Gore.
- #004
Oliver Barrett asks his father for $5,000 (and gets it) for a "personal matter" — in reality to help pay his wife's medical bills. In 2026 that $5,000 would be equivalent to about $43,000.
- #005
The film marked Ray Milland's first screen appearance without the hairpiece he had worn for decades.
- #006
For the scenes in Harvard Yard, old-fashioned gas lamps and lamp posts from Boston's long history, including places like Beacon Hill, were added to make the producer's Harvard look more authentic. Ryan O'Neal ruined many takes by tripping on the chains holding them in place.
- #007
Both the Cornell and Dartmouth hockey teams were played by Dartmouth's real team. Cornell hockey coach Ned Harkness allowed Cornell jerseys to be used in the film on the condition that Cornell University beat Harvard University in the match.
- #008
The film was partly responsible for Ryan O'Neal being cast as the lead in Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975). Kubrick's film could only be financed if he cast one of the top 10 box-office stars in the lead. When casting began in 1973, O'Neal was second on that list, almost entirely because of this film's financial success (though that success was mainly attributed to his co-star Ali MacGraw). The only other actor suitable for Barry Lyndon was Robert Redford (fifth on the list), who was offered the role but turned it down. This was the only film of O'Neal's that placed him on the top 10 box-office stars list, another indication of how influential the film was on his career.
- #009
Original director Larry Peerce, who had directed Ali MacGraw in Goodbye, Columbus (1969), left the film during pre-production, and Arthur Hiller came aboard for $250,000 (more than $2.1 million in 2026) plus 25 percent of the net. According to Peter Bart, then one of Paramount Pictures' young executives, this earned Hiller an additional $5,000,000 ($43 million in 2026).
- #010
Until around 2018, incoming Harvard University freshmen, where the film is set, were traditionally shown a screening as a participatory viewing experience like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. After 2018, the Orientation Week film was changed to Legally Blonde.
- #011
The crew nicknamed Ali MacGraw "Bucky Beaver" because of her crooked teeth.
- #012
The film's famous line "Love means never having to say you're sorry" was parodied in the original trailer for Bullies (1986); the trailer's narrator jokingly says, "Revenge means never having to say you're sorry."
- #013
Filming began in Cambridge, Boston and New York. It was the first time a film had been granted permission to shoot at Harvard. The ice-skating rink scene of the Harvard-Cornell match was also filmed at Hamilton College. The scenes of the newly married couple living in Cambridge were shot in the Agassiz neighborhood. Oliver carries Jenny over the threshold at 119 Oxford Street.
Behind the Scenes (1)
- #014
The snow scene at Harvard University's football stadium was improvised after weather conditions prevented the originally planned picnic scene from being shot.
Characters & Cast (1)
- #015
Robert Evans, Paramount Pictures' vice president of worldwide production, bought the script with his then-girlfriend Ali MacGraw in mind for the lead role. He and Ali married a few weeks before production began.
Deeper Meaning (1)
- #016
The film is the source of the term "Ali MacGraw's disease," a condition whose only symptom is that the character "grows more beautiful." The term was coined by critic Roger Ebert.
Related pages
- The Birds — Love Story comes up in the facts on that page
- Sanjay Dutt — Love Story comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
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