A minor scandal when it came out in 1973, this melange of soft porn and drama doesn't quite work out today and is only of interest for Don Johnson or Tippi Hedren fans.
In one of her few remarkable roles since she left Universal, Hedren plays Margaret Tenhausen, who, along with her husband (played by veteran actor James Whitmore), teaches 'free love' at the Harrad College, where free and open sexual relations between students are not only encouraged but required in order to graduate. Don Johnson plays Stanley, a young student who breaks some of the College's rules by thinking it would be a sexual gymnasium. In a great scene at the end, Hedren confronts him with the remarkable line, "True people make love with their minds and their understanding, Stanley, not just their bodies."
"The Harrad Experiment" was based on Robert Rimmer's best-selling novel and was quite a success, so a sequel ("The Harrad Summer") followed one year later. The film hasn't aged well, though. It's too talkative and boring by nowadays' standards, and it often has unintentionally funny moments (i.e. the tennis scene in which Tippi gracefully hits the ground), but it somehow works for its campy aspects.
The DVD available in the UK is a little shorter than the US video tape, so we don't get to see the frontal nudity of Don Johnson (which is a pity) and Bruno Kirby (which I praise God for).
In one of her few remarkable roles since she left Universal, Hedren plays Margaret Tenhausen, who, along with her husband (played by veteran actor James Whitmore), teaches 'free love' at the Harrad College, where free and open sexual relations between students are not only encouraged but required in order to graduate. Don Johnson plays Stanley, a young student who breaks some of the College's rules by thinking it would be a sexual gymnasium. In a great scene at the end, Hedren confronts him with the remarkable line, "True people make love with their minds and their understanding, Stanley, not just their bodies."
"The Harrad Experiment" was based on Robert Rimmer's best-selling novel and was quite a success, so a sequel ("The Harrad Summer") followed one year later. The film hasn't aged well, though. It's too talkative and boring by nowadays' standards, and it often has unintentionally funny moments (i.e. the tennis scene in which Tippi gracefully hits the ground), but it somehow works for its campy aspects.
The DVD available in the UK is a little shorter than the US video tape, so we don't get to see the frontal nudity of Don Johnson (which is a pity) and Bruno Kirby (which I praise God for).