October 19, 1973: “The Way We Were” Premieres

Robert Redford & Barbra Streisand, 1973

October 19, 1973: The Way We Were premieres, directed by Sydney Pollack. Arthur Laurents adapted the screenplay from his own 1972 novel of the same name, which was based on his college days at Cornell University, and his experiences with the House Un-American Activities Committee.

It stars Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand, both at their peak. Streisand sings the theme song, which hit Number 1 the following February. It was written by Marvin Hamlisch, and the husband & wife team of Alan & Marilyn Bergman.

Katie Morosky and Hubbell Gardiner are immensely different. Katie is a staunch Marxist Jew with strong anti-war opinions, while Hubbell is a carefree WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant), with no particular political bent.

While attending college in 1937, Katie is attracted to Hubbell's good looks and admires his natural writing skill, which he seemingly excels at. Hubbell is intrigued by Katie's ability to communicate and persuade others into supporting various social causes. Hubbell's snobbish college friends mock Katie and her passionate political stances. Neither Katie nor Hubbell act upon upon their mutual attraction, and they lose touch after graduation.

The two meet again towards the end of World War II. Katie works at a radio station, and Hubbell, having served as a naval officer in the South Pacific, is readjusting to civilian life. They fall in love, despite their differences. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies on April 12, 1945, Katie is vocally incensed when Hubbell's friends make disparaging jokes. She rejects Hubbell's indifference towards their insensitivity and dismissive political engagement. Hubbell is uncomfortable with Katie's bluntness and strong opinions. Hubbell ends their relationship, but they eventually reconcile.

When Hubbell receives an offer to adapt his novel into a screenplay, Katie believes his talent will be wasted in Hollywood. Despite her frustration, they move to California, where he becomes a successful screenwriter, and the couple enjoy an affluent lifestyle.

As the Hollywood blacklist grows in the late 1940s, and what will eventually be known as McCarthyism encroaches on their lives, Katie's political activism resurfaces, seemingly jeopardizing Hubbell's position and reputation. Eventually, Katie and other Hollywood liberals confront the government over their suppression of personal privacy and free speech.

Katie's involvement strains the marriage, and Hubbell becomes alienated and refuses to understand Katie's persistent political combativeness. Although Katie is now pregnant, Hubbell has an affair with Carol Ann, his college girlfriend. After their daughter's birth, Katie and Hubbell divorce. Katie realizes Hubbell is not the man she idealized and that he will always choose the easiest path. Hubbell is emotionally exhausted and unable to live up to Katie's expectations of him.

Years later, Katie and Hubbell meet by chance in front of the Plaza Hotel in New York, where activist Katie is part of a "Ban the Bomb" demonstration. Hubbell, accompanied by a woman, now writes for a television show, essentially confirming Katie's prediction about him. After a brief, friendly reunion, they part ways, then Hubbell crosses the street to where she is protesting. He asks about their daughter, Rachel, and whether Katie's new husband is a good father to her. After a more tender and bittersweet goodbye, Hubbell goes to the waiting taxi.

That's it. No big ending. No reconciliation. No tragedy. The film just sort of... drips to an end. Men tend to end up disappointed in the film, not because the male lead is unheroic, but because watching the film feels like a waste.

Women don't feel that way at all: If Gone With the Wind is women's Casablanca, then The Way We Were is women's The Godfather. It became a trope of women in sitcoms watching it to help them get over a breakup.

The film was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning 2: Best Song, for Hamlisch and the Bergmans; and Best Original Score, also for Hamlisch. Streisand was nominated for Best Actress, but lost to Glenda Jackson for A Touch of Class. Redford was nominated for Best Actor -- not for this film, but for another film that year, The Sting. He did not win, losing to Jack Lemmon for Save the Tiger.

Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand, 2015

Streisand had already won Best Actress for her 1969 performance in Funny Girl, and would win for Best Song for "Evergreen" from the 1976 version of A Star Is Born. The Sting remains Redford's only nomination for Best Actor. However, he won for Best Director for the 1980 drama Ordinary People, in which he didn't even appear. He usually doesn't appear in the films he directs. Streisand has directed, and usually does cast herself.

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October 19, 1973 was a Friday -- the day before President Richard Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre." The World Series was on a travel day, between Games 6 and 7. The New York Mets led the Oakland Athletics, 3 games to 2, and only had to win 1 game in Oakland. They didn't, and the A's won the Series in Game 7.

There was a college football game between ranked teams: The University of Houston, ranked Number 14, beat the University of Miami, ranked Number 15, 30-7 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

There were 6 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 92-90 at the Cleveland Arena.

* The Boston Celtics beat their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers, 133-102 at the Boston Garden.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Capital Bullets, 117-103 at the Chicago Stadium. Phil Chenier scored 36 points in defeat for the Bullets, who changed their name to the Washington Bullets the next season.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Detroit Pistons, 96-94 at Cobo Hall (now Huntington Place) in Detroit.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 118-91 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, 111-99 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

There were 5 games in the American Basketball Association:

* The New York Nets beat the Memphis Tams, 101-88 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Virginia Squires beat the San Antonio Spurs, 105-93 at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia, outside Norfolk.

* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Carolina Cougars, 121-109 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Indiana Pacers, 101-96 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis.

* And the Denver Rockets beat the San Diego Conquistadors, 113-100 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena).

Only 1 game was played in the NHL: The Vancouver Canucks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. This was an outlier: The Canucks had a terrible season, while the Flyers went on to win the Stanley Cup.

There were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association. The Minnesota Fighting Saints beat the New England Whalers, 1-0 at the St. Paul Civic Center. ("Saints" because they played in St. Paul, not in Minneapolis, or in suburban Bloomington like the NHL's Minnesota North Stars.) And the Vancouver Blazers beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 at the Edmonton Coliseum.