You’d be hard-pressed to find a true cinephile who doesn’t own a copy of Harold and Maude. The 1971 box office failure, directed by Hal Ashby and written by Colin Higgins, has become a Hollywood classic since its rocky debut. A brutally dark rom-com, Harold and Maude tells the story of a death-obsessed young boy (Bud Cort) who falls for a free-spirited 79-year-old woman (Ruth Gordon), much to the chagrin of his oblivious, blue-blooded mother (Vivian Pickles). Not only has the film found a second life at film festivals, outdoor park screenings, arthouse cinemas, and on home video, but it’s also become a must-see movie for anyone serious about filmmaking. Here are 10 things you might not know about the film that pushed the boundaries of May-December romances.
1. BUD CORT NEARLY KILLED HIMSELF WITH HIS METHOD ACTING.
On the Harold and Maude set, Bud Cort was infamous for his Method acting. In an interview with , Cort shared that among the many scenes he improvised were his breaking of the fourth wall to give a cheeky glance at the camera and raising his middle finger at Vivian Pickles during her entire monologue after she tells him he’s joining the army. As further proof of his intensity, Cort described his commitment to the opening fake suicide scene, saying, “I was so into it that I believed I was hanging myself to death.” In , author Nick Dawson shared more instances of Cort’s devotion to the character, writing that during Harold’s fake drowning scene, “Cort lay face down in the heavily chlorinated water of the Rosecourt swimming pool for take after take until he could no longer keep his eyes open.”
2. BUD CORT REFUSED TO DO PUBLICITY IF THE STUDIO DIDN’T GIVE HAL ASHBY CREATIVE CONTROL OVER THE EDIT.
During post-production, Paramount Pictures stripped Ashby of his power to edit the film. Thus, in solidarity with his director, Cort told the film’s PR team that he wouldn’t do any publicity for the film unless Ashby got his movie back. According to , control over the footage was handed back to Ashby—save for a kissing scene between Harold and Maude that Paramount head honcho Robert Evans despised.
3. ACTRESS ALI MACGRAW, ROBERT EVANS’ THEN-WIFE, WANTED THE LOVE SCENE BETWEEN HAROLD AND MAUDE TO BE CUT.
Of course, her Paramount boss husband tried to oblige. Ashby furiously objected, saying, “That’s sort of what the whole movie is about, a boy falling in love with an old woman; the sexual aspect doesn’t have to be distasteful.” About the less-than-explicit scene, Being Hal Ashby author Nick Dawson wrote, “Ashby wanted to show the beauty of young and old flesh together, something that he knew the younger generation, the hippies, the heads, the open-minded masses would dig, but Evans said it would repulse most audiences, so it had to go.” In the end, Ashby won by sneaking the footage into the film’s trailer.
4. VIVIAN PICKLES BROUGHT HER OWN CLOTHES FOR MRS. CHASEN’S WARDROBE.
Pickles, who played Harold’s detached, socialite mother, flew in her own costumes for the character. “I had brought some of my own clothes over from England, which we had altered, and, in the week before shooting began, I shopped endlessly for the rest with the costume designer, Bill Theiss,” wrote Pickles for The Criterion Collection. “He was spot-on … He kindly raided his mother’s jewelry box to borrow antique jewelry for Mrs. Chasen.”
5. HARRISON FORD WORKED FOR SCREENWRITER COLIN HIGGINS—AS A CARPENTER.
Here’s a fun fact separate from the production of the film: According to The Criterion Collection cut, Colin Higgins employed Harrison Ford, then working as a carpenter, to build a hot tub and deck for his backyard.
6. BUD CORT AND RUTH GORDON’S REAL-LIFE RELATIONSHIP ALMOST MIRRORED THAT OF THEIR CHARACTERS.
In the April 2001 issue of , Cort revisited the cult classic and reminisced on his chemistry with his co-star. “During the making of the film, [Ruth] was very standoffish. Then, the day my father died, the first call I got was from Ruth, saying ‘Let me tell you about the day my father died,’” he told the magazine. “And suddenly we became the characters pretty much that we were in the film. We really became friends the night my father died. Oddly enough, he died waiting for me to show up on This is Your Life, Ruth Gordon.”
7. ONE OF THE FILM’S LOST SCENES INVOLVED HAROLD SERVING UP HIS OWN HEAD.
“It opened up with a shot of a large, silver-plated serving dish,” Colin Higgins told in 1972. “A hand comes in and removes the cover and there, on a little bed of parsley, is Harold’s head. Two hands come into the frame and pick up the head, and we move back and there’s Harold holding his head and looking at it. He sort of peels off the latex blood and walks over to his bedroom chair where a headless dummy sits. He puts the head on the dummy, but the head really isn’t sitting right, and he goes into the closet to find something.” Of course, that scene never made it into the theatrical cut.
8. ELTON JOHN PASSED ON DOING THE SOUNDTRACK.
According to The Criterion Collection version of the film, producer Charles Mulvehill initially approached Elton John to write the music for the movie, as Ashby was a fan of the pop star. John passed—but not before suggesting his friend, Cat Stevens, for the job.
9. HAROLD AND MAUDE WAS BASED ON COLIN HIGGINS’ THESIS FILM AT UCLA.
At the time, Higgins was working as producer Edward Lewis’ pool boy. According to , Lewis’ wife loved the script so much that she got her husband to give it to Stanley Jaffe at Paramount. At first, Higgins was going to direct the film, but screen tests proved to the studio that he wasn’t ready. Thus, Hal Ashby was brought on.
10. HAL ASHBY ALMOST WITHDREW FROM THE FILM A MONTH BEFORE SHOOTING BEGAN.
Frustrated with several issues he was having with the studio, including not being able to hire cinematographer Gordon Willis, Ashby considered leaving the picture altogether. “My creative juices have indeed finally been tapped and it would, I’m afraid, have to take its toll on the film, and Harold and Maude deserves better,” Ashby wrote to Robert Evans. “I feel like I could make the film as funny as the Vietnam War.”
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The Top 10 Baby Names of 2026, From Olivia to Dean
Is your favorite name on this year’s list—or is a 1950s classic taking its place?
ByNitya Rao|Oct 24, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT
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“What’s in a name?” Not much, other than a lifetime of coffee cup misspellings, monogrammed accessories, and first impressions you didn’t ask for. Shakespeare famously wrote that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” and yet, soon-to-be parents know there’s a difference in how Cate versus, say, Kate rolls off the tongue.
While some of it comes down to personal preference or history, the art of picking a baby name is inextricably linked to the linguistic trends of the time. In 2026, the most popular names are a mix of long-standing staples, newer monikers you might not see on every souvenir shop magnet just yet, and many, many names ending in –a.
Whether you’re predicted to pop before the ball drop, planning to start a family much further down the line, or simply looking for name inspiration for your new fur baby, you might be interested in reading BabyCenter’s latest list of the most popular baby names of 2026.
The Most Popular Baby Names of 2026
Once again, the vast majority of the top 10 girl names end in -a, with Olivia taking the top spot for the sixth consecutive year in a row. From Scandal‘s Olivia Pope to Olivia the Pig, this classic name is deeply ingrained in pop culture. On the other hand, second-place Eliana is both ancient in origin and fairly new in popularity. The predominantly Hebrew name means “My God has answered” and rose five spots from seventh place in 2025. Meanwhile, Eliana’s Latin and Greek roots stem from Helios, the Greek word for sun.
Those who want to preserve their little princess’s sense of individuality should steer clear of Amelia, Charlotte, and Sophia, which claim the third, fourth, and fifth most popular spots for girls in 2026.
On the flip side, if you’re hoping your baby boy won’t have to go by his last initial throughout grade school, Noah, Liam, and Oliver are the top three names to keep in mind. Famous for its Biblical ark roots, No. 1 Noah remains the most popular name for the third year in a row. Meaning “rest” or “repose” in Hebrew, Noah is trailed by the Irish classic Liam, which means “protector.”
Here’s a look at the full top 10 list for 2026:
| Rank | Boy Names | Girl Names |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noah | Olivia |
| 2 | Liam | Eliana |
| 3 | Oliver | Amelia |
| 4 | Elijah | Charlotte |
| 5 | Mateo | Sophia |
| 6 | Lucas | Isabella |
| 7 | Elias | Emma |
| 8 | Levi | Aurora |
| 9 | Ezra | Evelyn |
| 10 | Leo | Mia |
While the top 10 boy names remained mostly unchanged save for slight rearrangements, Elias is shaking things up in 2026. The variant of Elijah means “The Lord is my God” and made the shortlist for the very first time, coming in at seventh. Not far behind is Leo (“lion”), which just barely made the cut at No. 10 after falling short last year.
Speaking of E names, BabyCenter reports that the letter leads among girls’ names, with 15% of the top 100 starting with E. Two more E names that made the top 10 girl names are Emma and Evelyn, the latter of which reclaimed its top-10 spot for the first time in three years and carries meanings ranging from “desired child” to “little bird.” For boys, J ranks first overall, accounting for 14% of the top 100 names—though the first J name on the list, James, falls behind 15 others.
Meanwhile, parents searching for something classic but not entirely overdone are looking to the past for answers. Leading the retro revivals is Dean, a 1950s staple that has made its way back into the modern top 100 for the first time this century at No. 100. It could also have something to do with Millennials’ penchant for pop culture: from comfort show Gilmore Girls to breakout hit Off Campus, hunky, romantic leads named Dean continue to keep the name in the spotlight.
On the girls’ side, vintage elegance is getting its flowers as well. Magnolia made history as the only brand-new girl’s name to debut in the top 100 this year at No. 88. The floral-inspired choice ranked among the most popular girl names from the 1880s through the 1930s, previously peaking around 1909 and immortalized in Edna Ferber’s 1926 novel Show Boat. Other mid-century and botanical names having a major moment are Iris (up 18 spots) and Daphne (up 42 spots).
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