Jack Nicholson's solo directorial debut. It was one of two post-Easy Rider (1969) Nicholson films that weren't released on any kind of home video until 2010. That year, the Criterion Collection released this movie and A Safe Place (1971) on DVD and Blu-ray as part of their "America Lost And Found - The BBS Story" box set.
The outdoor riot scene was shot during an actual campus protest. During filming, students at a nearby college got in a scuffle with police. When Jack Nicholson heard about it, he took his actors and crew to the campus and shot footage without permission.
A scene was surreptitiously filmed of Michael Margotta running naked across the campus. The contract with the University of Oregon stated no nudity to be filmed on campus. The word got out, officials of the university objected, but that part of the filming had already been secreted out of the state. The movie's other nude scenes were filmed elsewhere. Source: Variety, Sep. 16, 1970.
While directing this film, Jack Nicholson coined the term "Dernsie," to describe Bruce Dern's habit of improvising dialogue or other behavioral quirks.
During a break in the filming of this movie, which he directed and which required a brief non-sexual nude scene for an actress, Jack Nicholson decided to operate his own personal casting couch to find the perfect girl. High on dope, grinning from ear to ear, Jack had the most beautiful starlets in Hollywood come to his office and made each disrobe for him. Some were more eager than others, but all disrobed and endured Jack's near-medical examination. He saw more than a hundred girls before he chose June Fairchild, an actress he had worked with before, and likely someone he had in mind for the part all along.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
