The Harrad Experiment (1973)

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Utterly silly story - based on a novel, amazingly - about a hippie-era coed commune/college where the students have nude classes, etc. This could easily have been a comedy i.e. satire/parody of the hippie era - that's how ludicrous and awful it is.To say that time hasn't been kind to this laughable little oddity would be putting it very mildly; what was once regarded as a revolutionary new way of thinking about life and the universe comes off today as rather pathetic, extremely naive - and just downright idiotic. Hence it's no wonder that the dialog sounds unbelievably corny, phony, naive, and very often crosses over into B-movie territory. The beginning of the movie shows a girl hugging a tree: this pretty much sets the intellectual tone for the rest of the proceedings.The movie's pluses are the unintentional humour (obviously), the 70s charm, and some nudity. The nudity unfortunately isn't on the usual 70s high level; namely, the women are mostly flat-chested.The most inane moments: the lesson in properly doing the "zoom", Tippi Hedren trying to make a point to Don Johnson by suggesting sex in the field, the cowardly and unsatisfactory answer by Hedren and her husband when confronted with a question about their own hypocrisy of a monogamous marriage, Johnson getting punched in the nose, Kirby's initial encounter with his roommate and the ensuing dialog, Kirby being set up by Johnson suggesting a roommate switch - and the list goes on and on.If this piece of crap is funny NOW, I can't imagine how it will look in a couple of decades.

I had seen the release version without "regional editing for content," at the Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk VA.It was an amazing, poignant, multi-faceted tale about inhibitions, and boundaries.There was A LOT of casual frontal nudity, male and female.Seeing this movie on DVD recently, AND I WISH I KNEW THE BRAND NAME TO TELL YOU WHICH TO AVOID, It was a hacked third rate print that had the sound cut-out on moderate swear words; and virtually ALL frontal nudity.It angered me that when the film first traveled around the country, some power mongers, wanted to dictate what others should not view, after getting a good show themselves, of course.This particular print was battle-scarred, but still had enough TRUTH sneak through the overzealous censors, who were too stupid to notice that while they cut out the nudity and profanity, the subtle dynamics of the various relationships SCREAMED for freedom. BOTH for the Characters AND the Viewers.In respect to the plot, about students attending a co-ed school wherein the genders were integrated in the same dorm rooms, and physical relationships encouraged to be activated; the movie IF remade today would press forward with RACIAL STEREOTYPING and SEXUAL ORIENTATION as well.I Fear, however, It would be, at the loss of the beautiful, lingering frontal nudity of 1970's American Art Cinema.This beautiful little film, more especially if you can get a pure print, is a MUST-ADD to your movie appreciation club's program.

The 1970's brought the movie rating system. The system allowed both nudity and overt sexuality into American films. Hollywood was trying to capture the youth market in a way they never had. This led to a number of "hip" youth low budget oriented movies. Some tried to capture a moments in time such as "The Trip". Some worked only as satire such as "The Seniors". Some tried social commentary as "The Harrad Experiment". All had common dominators: young people, sex and skin.Some hold up as a time capsule, "The Trip". Some as a silly nudie farce, "The Seniors". And some are just dull. "The Harrad Experiment" falls into this category. What was shocking to one generation, such as "The Chapman Report" and "Peyton Place", becomes boringly silly to future ones.It's not a bad film, its just a dumb film. Still, if you are interested in seeing youngish Tippi Hedren in bra and panties or a very young Don Johnson's backside; it's worth a look. Just remember, you've been warned.

Sheila: Do you like a girl who makes it right away. Stanley: Yeah if I'm the guy. The "Harrad Experiment", which is based on the 1960's free love novel by Robert H. Rimmer, starts out with Sheila, Laurie Walters, arriving at Harrad Collage. Later as all the students are paired off in the main collage auditorium by the collage founder and dean Dr. Philip Tenhausen ,James Whitmore, Shelia is alone in her dorm waiting for the boy she's to share her room with.Sheila who's very introverted and shy and as it turns out later, to one one's surprise who's watching the movie, a virgin is the only one in the collage who's partner hasn't shown up making Sheila feel even more insecure. Later that night Shelia's partner Stanley, Don Johnson,picked by the collage, through a battery of tests and interviews, arrives in her dorm room. Stanley to her surprise turns out to be the exact opposite of Sheila! Outgoing non-inhibited about sex and having what turned out to be later in the movie a roving eye for every girl and woman on the campus. During the course of the film we see Sheila coming more and more out of her shell and learning to have a lasting relationship with Stanley. Even though Stanley cheats on her and breaks her heart a number of times. The carousing Stanly at one point of the movie had Sheila so hurt and despondent over his infidelities that I thought that she would kill herself. During the course of the movie both Shelia and Stanley learn the hard way that when it comes to living together with someone you have to accept the bad as well as the good to make it work. Stanley to his credit sadly finds out that playing the field, when it comes to relations with the opposite sex, without any commitments is not what he thought it would be. He soon realizes that it's far better to have a life long and lasting relationship with someone who loves you as much if not more then you love them then changing partners as often as you change your socks. Far better then what most critics wrote about the movie the "Harrad Experiment" is not anywhere as wild and unfeeling as they say it is. The sex and nude scenes are very tastefully done and there is genuine feelings in the relationships between the couples involved in the film: Sheila and Stanley an also Harry, Bruno Kirby, and Beth, Victoria Tompson. There's not the uncontrollable lust between the couples like you would have imagine by reading many of the reviews about the movie. In fact in one of the scenes when Stanley and Sheila are in a diner a costumer Sidney Bower, Robert Middleton, who overhears that Sheila is a student at Harrad Collage tries to pick her up. Sidney must have thought,like many reviews of the film would make readers and viewer believe, that girls attending that collage are loose and easy and would think nothing of propositioning them without getting slapped in the face! Maybe Sidney read one of those reviews.The scenes between Sheila and Stanley are emotionally and heart-fully done and are so touching in some cases that they bring the audience almost to tears as well as those very emotional scenes between Harry and Beth.A postscript to the movie "Harrad Experiment". Don Johnson met his future wife in the movie Melanie Griffith, who was an extra in the film. Melanie is also the daughter of Tippi Hedren who played Margaret Tenhausen the wife of the founder of Harrad Collage Philip Tenhausen.